Round 1 Post-Game

St Kilda 6.15 (51) d Sydney 6.13 (49) Match details

Riewoldt going nowhere
Saints skipper Nick Riewoldt yesterday lashed out at the scaremongers predicting he will return to captain the new Gold Coast side in 2011, saying his loyalty to St Kilda was rock-solid. Riewoldt last year signed a new three-year deal with St Kilda but the timing of that contract ending coincides with the projected start-up of the AFL's 17th side. While Riewoldt has spoken of his desire to stay at St Kilda he has never emphatically ruled out a return to the area where he was raised. That equivocation gave the talk some credibility, but yesterday he slammed the door shut on talk he would walk out on the Saints. "It is a bit frustrating to be honest. I feel like I have answered these questions for the last eight years," he said. "Ever since I came down (from the Gold Coast) there was all this talk about going to Brisbane and it was basically seen as a formality I would turn around and go home after a couple of years, and I re-signed and then the same things happened last year and I re-signed again. So it's come up three or four times when I have been out of contract and every time it's been a matter of putting pen to paper and there hasn't been the thought of ever leaving St Kilda. So I am not too sure what else I have to do to prove to people my loyalty to St Kilda. No doubt these rumours will persist for the next three years but I don't take too much notice of them. Riewoldt said he had never seriously considered leaving, so great was his focus on winning St Kilda's second flag. All my focus is on St Kilda and I won't rest until they win a premiership and that's what I am about. At this stage it's just complete pie in the sky."
Gritty Saints in heart stopper
If this is what season 2008 is going to be like, we are all going to need heart pills. St Kilda fell over the line against Sydney last night in a match that was desperate, exciting and frustrating in equal measures. Only one round in and flooding is back on the agenda as only 12 goals were kicked with players rushing from end to end in an exhausting encounter. Sydney's Jarred Moore, playing only his 10th game, had a chance to steal an unlikely victory for the Swans - who had trailed all night - but his snap under intense pressure with a minute to go narrowly missed. Remarkably, the winning team was held goal-less in two quarters and the Saints seemed spent at the end, after their tough and successful pre-season campaign. Both teams would be pleased with the efforts of some of their youngsters, notably Jarryn Geary, who made an excellent debut for the Saints, and Kieren Jack and Moore in their third and 10th games for the Swans. Match stats Michael Gardiner worked into the game nicely with Steven King in the ruck for the Saints. Former Cat Charlie Gardiner tried hard as the third key forward. The Saints might have been lucky to escape, although they looked the more dangerous team. The Swans had many of their stars down, but typical of a Paul Roos unit, they never stopped trying and looked a shade fitter at the end. The Saints began the season just as they had expected at the end of last year - without Fraser Gehrig. The temporarily retired full-forward failed to come up from the leg injury suffered in the pre-season and Jason Blake was also a late withdrawal. Blake might have been expected to run with Adam Goodes, but instead that job went to Leigh Fisher, who came into the team with Aaron Fiora. Fisher kept Goodes to only seven touches, although the Swan did play a key role up forward in his team's late revival.
Saints v Swans - snippets
CLASSIC GRAB: - Playing in just his seventh game, young Saints midfielder Clinton Jones showed great courage in a scene reminiscent of his captain Nick Riewoldt. Not altogether dissimilar in looks to Riewoldt with his blond hair, Jones ran back with the flight of the ball into St Kilda's forward line and, never taking his eyes off the ball, collided heavily with Crow-turned-Swan Marty Mattner. Even more impressive was Jones' awareness to then dish the ball off to former Swan Adam Schneider who goaled to give the Saints a handy buffer approaching three-quarter-time. St Kilda coach Ross Lyon was glowing in his praise: "That's as a courageous effort as you'll see, I reckon."
TURNING POINT: - That Schneider goal after the Jones mark gave St Kilda a two-goal break just as Sydney was challenging. While the Swans came close to snatching a thriller, Jones' effort would prove vital in the end.
UNSUNG HERO: - Unheralded St Kilda defender Leigh Fisher did a thorough blanketing job on Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes, holding him to just seven disposals. Fisher, who came into the line-up as a late replacement for Jason Blake, only picked up eight touches himself but his work to keep the Swans star quiet went a long way to St Kilda's victory.
Schneider-Milne combo lifts Saints' spirits
When St Kilda secured Adam Schneider from Sydney last year, some might have thought he'd have to watch out for Stephen Milne in the Moorabbin Oval car park. Surely the arrival of a 23-year-old premiership player meant Milne's specialist small forward role was under threat. But on the evidence of Saturday night's exciting, but ugly, encounter at Telstra Dome the two could form a handy partnership. "We've got a great friendship, me and Milney," Schneider said after the two-point win against his old side. We know we can play together, work on our forward pressure together and help each other out. It's a good little bond we've got going." The pair had 23 disposals, six tackles and 2.4 from six shots, important stats when St Kilda's 6.15 (41) was the lowest winning score in 373 matches at the ground. While happy with the win to follow the Saints' NAB Cup success, Schneider conceded the team would need to improve on what was a game full of heavy defensive running, uncontested marks, gang tackling and errors.
Who started the flooding at the Dome?
Let the finger-pointing begin. It's standard practice now whenever AFL football serves up a contest as turgid as was Saturday night's snoozefest between St Kilda and Sydney. Just who was at fault will be the question asked of the flood-riddled game that resembled more closely that first game of football played between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College 150 years ago. St Kilda has been through this before, last season, when it and Hawthorn managed to send thousands away from the MCG wondering whether they'd just witnessed the death of the game they love. Even that abomination served up four more goals than the 36,000 at Telstra Dome were treated to. But this isn't just about scoring. It's about football so congested, so scrappy, that even a two-point final margin cannot redeem it. There were claims around the coaching traps yesterday that Ross Lyon and the Saints' coaching panel "lost their bottle", protecting rather than building on their first-term lead, and getting sucked into the slog the Swans wanted. Rival clubs are quick to label former Sydney assistant Lyon's team the "St Kilda Swans", and Saturday night won't have done much to stop the snide digs. But Sydney comes out of Saturday night looking worse. The Swans bore opponents into submission more often than most, and this was one of their "better" efforts.
Saints will find 'chemistry': Lyon
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said his team will take some time to find its "chemistry" after grafting out a gritty two-point win over the Swans in a match where both teams could manage only 12 goals between them. "It's like a relationship, chemistry takes time, doesn't it, unless you fall in love. I think our boys are working through their relationship," Lyon said after the game. Lyon accepted the win was "ugly" but paid tribute to his young defence and said there was "a lot to like about our summer and a round-one win, really" ... "There were positives but we need to regroup quickly ... and play more direct, quicker footy and keep building. Four tight games, four games under a goal (in a row), so we must be doing something right under pressure situations."
Coach enjoys novel role as sideline eye
It was round two last year and Sydney was scrambling during a tight last quarter against Richmond at the MCG when pandemonium broke out in the Swans' coaching box.The phone system linking the box to the Swans' staff at ground level had broken down. With the game in danger of slipping away, coach Paul Roos made a snap decision to race down the stairs and coach the last 15 minutes from the sidelines. Amid the drama, Sydney kicked three late goals and beat the Tigers by 16 points. After the match, a frustrated Roos blasted the AFL for the "appalling" and "inexcusable" communications breakdown. But it got him thinking. The AFL may have done him a favour because a year on he credits those chaotic moments with his revolutionary decision, in AFL at least, to coach from the boundary line on Saturday night against St Kilda. It won't be a one-off. Roos said yesterday either he or the club's coaching co-ordinator, John Longmire, will be stationed at ground level for the rest of the season carrying out a new role he calls "bench coach".
Saints scrape home to win thriller
St Kilda has held off a gallant Sydney Swans outfit to win a thriller by just two points in their season-opener at Telstra Dome. Despite leading by just 12 points at three-quarter time and failing to kick a goal in the final term, the Saints kicked off their season in style by winning 6.15 (51) to 6.13 (49). While it wasn't pretty football for much of the night, the win was just what the doctor ordered down at Moorabbin two weeks after the club captured the NAB Cup premiership. Sam Fisher racked up plenty of disposal across half back and through the middle, while Jarryn Geary and Robert Harvey worked hard for the Saints. Leigh Fisher also did a superb job blanketing Swans playmaker Adam Goodes. In attack, captain Nick Riewoldt provided a reliable target all evening and booted two goals. Tadhg Kennelly ran all night for the Swans while Amon Buchanan was another to impress for the interstaters. St Kilda coach Ross Lyon would have been relieved to escape with the four points after his team blew several kickable shots in front of goal, the scoreline an indication of his team's missed opportunities in front of the sticks.
Goodes asked to explain shocker
... Goodes was nullified by the Saints' Leigh Fisher and Roos said they had to ensure their game-breaker did not have a repeat of 2007 when he took until mid-year to have any real influence on games. "Obviously it is a concern because if we want to be a good team this year, we can't afford to have Adam play like he did in the first half of last year and on the weekend," Roos said. "That is what we need to address during the week because for us to be a good team he needs to play a hell of a lot better than that. It is one thing having an ordinary game and it is another thing trying to get out of that as quickly as possible."
Swans stars must lift their games
... Saints coach Ross Lyon, who put big numbers behind the ball in the first quarter when the Saints dominated the game, called it "jungle ball". "We'll take the four points and move on," he said, clearly conceding that both teams would need to improve markedly to challenge the competition's high-scoring pacesetters Geelong. Roos said the poor goalkicking gave a slightly false impression of the contest. "Make it 15.6 instead of the other way round and it looks a bit different," he said. "When you have that many points kicked it means the teams are constantly starting from kick-ins deep in defence rather than the middle of the ground." But the stalemate also owed something to like-minded coaches refusing to break. "St Kilda had numbers back and when you try and spread and run from defence that can be an attacking move," said Roos. "But when the [opposition] defence holds its ground [as the Swans did] then it can become a defensive struggle."
Jones gutsy grab earns St Kilda's praise
Second-year St Kilda player Clinton Jones made an early contribution to the AFL's 2008 highlights video with his outstanding courage on Saturday night at Telstra Dome. Playing in his seventh game, the 24-year-old kept his eyes on a high ball that sailed into the Saints' forward line late in the third term of the match against Sydney. Jones took the mark despite crunching into Swan Martin Mattner and then had the presence of mind to dish off a handball to Adam Schneider, who kicked a vital goal. It put the Saints 12 points up in a match they eventually won by just two points. Jones has a snow-white haircut and some fans initially mistook him for Saints captain Nick Riewoldt, who is renowned for such acts of near-suicidal commitment. "The first difference between us is his is dyed, mine is natural," Riewoldt said. "But no, that was a terrific act, he showed great courage and it was team-lifting. Hopefully that's a watershed moment for his career. He can look at that and the next time he finds himself in a similar situation, he can go back with confidence." Without prompting at the post-match media conference, St Kilda Ross Lyon started talking about the Jones mark.
Ball too hot for Swans
For years Luke Ball has played in pain and been left behind in the considerable slipstream of the silky skilled Chris Judd and Luke Hodge, recruited in the same goldmine draft of 2001. Ball may have captained his club and played 100 games, but as an impact player, Ball has run a poor third behind Judd and Hodge. Last night, in a jet-propelled start to the new season, he had five clearances in the opening quarter, reminding us all why he was among the young hot shots of '01. When he was not pin-pointing teammates farther afield, he was tackling and blocking with nerve and bravery. Like old-time midfield champions, such as Greg Williams and Terry Wallace, he consistently involves others, easing the path of Lenny Hayes and the improving Leigh Montagna. Having kicked four of the first five goals last night, the Saints were carrying their momentum from pre-season into the real stuff. But no Sydney side is beaten at quarter-time and as the Swans clawed their way back to level the scores at half-time, some of the most prominent Saints went missing. Ball was one of them. He may not have been as deceptively effective, but he continued to tackle and make space, running from end to end, a clear sign of the extra fitness which he lacked for most of last year. Only Hayes laid more tackles for the Saints in the first hour as he ran and competed tirelessly, making up for the only occasional early contributions of other important Saints, including Nick Dal Santo, Jason Gram and St Kilda debutant Adam Schneider.
Two teams face their destiny, but will one take a tumble?
If the summer months intimated anything about St Kilda and Sydney, it was that they had more in common than former coaches, ex-players, former fitness advisors and a couple of jumper colours. Both teams have started the new season seemingly on the brink of something new — for the Saints, the success their now mature, now healthy and always talented team was surely bound to find; for the Swans, the demise, however low and long, success brings with it. Plenty of old Swans played last night, and they were good old Swans, who did the same things they always have. The side is getting older, but it still has its stars. The question is what comes next. Barry Hall, Brett Kirk, Michael O'Loughlin, Adam Goodes, Tadhg Kennelly and Ryan O'Keefe, to get started, will always be what they are, but Sydney has reached the point where the gap between its first and last picked players yawns wide. It needs other players to do big things if a couple of the bigger names don't (Goodes and Hall, last night.) And it means the season will tell interesting tales for two groups of players ... The St Kilda season may well be about whether Steven King and Michael Gardiner can stay up, and stay running, the big plus being that Justin Koschitzke can stay forward. The Saints still don't kick the goals they should. It might be about what Xavier Clarke can add (and if he can steer clear of injury and add it on a full-time basis). Then there is his more tormented brother: ask anyone in Darwin about Raph Clarke and they rave about the talent he could and should be. He needs games, and to not let himself get run down late in the tight last quarters of games.
We won ugly: Lyon
... "You know the NAB Cup sort of puts you under a bit of pressure, I suppose" he said. "[We had] four tight games, [we won] four games by under a goal so we must be doing something right in pressure situations, so the group will take that out of it. "Even though we won ugly, you know we can't obliterate a team ... to be sort of able to hang in and win ugly - we feel we've done that the last couple of times - we're confident our form will come if we keep persisting like this." Lyon said the fact that five players had made their debuts for the club was also a positive and was "exciting" for both him and the fans. The Saints started the match as if they were excited, booting four goals to one although they were playing as if they were going to kick 10, such was their dominance. "Our first quarter was outstanding without putting the score on the board, and then as you know the Swans will do [what they did]," Lyon said. "You know they dug in and made an enormous contest." Lyon singled out a few players for their efforts on the night but earlier started his post-match press by lavishing praise on youngster Clint Jones for his superb mark in the third term in which he flew back with the flight of the ball. After marking he dished off the ball to teammate Adam Schneider who drilled a long goal. "It's as courageous an effort as you'll see I reckon, for a player under 20 games," Lyon said. When asked just how vital Jones' inspirational mark was in the context of the match, Lyon replied: "How much did we win by?"
Saints hang on in thriller
... St Kilda was well-served by former Cats Steven King and Charlie Gardiner, who gave their midfield first use out of the centre, while captain Nick Riewoldt was the star with 19 disposals, 11 marks and two goals. Sam Fisher (24 possessions) got plenty of touches off half-back, veteran Robert Harvey - playing his 360th match, which moved him into sixth on the all-time list - showed he'd lost none of his skill and debutant Jarryn Geary (21) offered plenty in his first outing for the Saints. For Sydney, Tadgh Kennelly led the way with 25 disposals, while Jarrad McVeigh, Craig Bolton and Amon Buchanan each had 20 and provided plenty of run out of defence. The Saints started the better with twin towers Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke dominating up forward as they opened up a 20-point break at the quarter-time. Both teams employed heavy flooding tactics to try and negate any form of free-flowing action - and it played right into Sydney's hands as it managed to draw level at half-time after holding St Kilda goalless for the term. The Saints, through Sam Fisher and Leigh Montagna, dominated play in the third quarter but were unable to convert on the scoreboard. They saw three golden opportunities go begging when first Milne, then Harvey and finally Montagna all missed relatively simple chances. In a nail-biting final term, both sides had their chances to clinch victory. Adam Schneider, playing against his old side for the first time, had his chance to give the Saints some breathing space midway through the last term before Nick Davis - kept quiet for most of the night by Sam Gilbert - bombed a long goal from outside 50m to put Sydney back within two points.
Ugly can be pretty
... St Kilda failed to kick a goal in the second and fourth terms as Sydney fought back to within three points. Young Swan Jarred Moore had an opportunity to win the game off his own boot in the dying seconds but his kick went through for a behind. "Even though we won ugly ... we're confident our form will come if we keep persisting like this," Lyon said. "The fans would have liked the contest, but the ball use was really quite poor" ... His Sydney counterpart Paul Roos said the game wasn't pretty to watch but was pleased with the efforts of his side to get back into the contest. "There are a lot of positives," he said. "We're reasonably pleased in the end - as pleased as you can be in losing a game of footy. It is only Round 1 and we have a lot of improvement to get to where we want to get to." Roos, who coached from the boundary line, said either he or assistant coach John Longmire would continue to do so throughout the season.