Round 12
West Coast Eagles v St Kilda
There is a lot to unpack in this match, but the end result was a 14-point come from behind win by the Saints led by Mason Wood, who dominated the game with four goals, especially after Max King went off injured at three quarter time.
During the first quarter, I sent a message to few people stating I would rather have my eyes pulled out with a fork than watch the rest of this match, such was the level of play, but after quarter time, this game came alive with a bit of the good, a bit of the bad and some ugly.
St Kilda won the game, but the bigger stories to arise out this game will be a possible suspension for Harley Reid, Max King’s knee injury, and Rowan Marshall waving away the doctor in the final minutes of the game.
Let’s Start with Harley Reid – the Baby Face turned Villain
In the first half of this game, Harley Reid was having a blinder and he looked totally unstoppable as he literally ran over the top of the Saints midfielders and helped the Eagles to a 14-point lead at the main break. He was a beast, and there was no stopping him.
By halftime, Master Harley had accumulated 17 possessions, with seven clearances and six brutal tackles, and he was clearly the difference between the two teams. The AFL’s latest babyface was putting on a clinic.
Enter the Giant Slayer – Marcus Windhager
In a halftime interview, Ross Lyon admitted he had to find a way to stop the irrepressible Harley Reid if the Saints were to be any chance. It is rare for an opposition coach to praise a player from the opposing club at halftime, but such was the performance of Reid.
Ross sent Marcus Windhager to apply a tight tag on Harley after the break, who subsequently put the clamps on Reid and held him to just three possessions for the entire second half. Windhager harassed, crashed and bashed (all within the rules) the young Reid for the entirety of the second half, and took Reid right out of the game.
With Windhager effectively shutting Reid out of the game, Jack Sinclair, Paddy Dow, Nasiah Waganeen-Milera, and Jack Steele started to dominate the centre clearances, especially in the last quarter, allowing Liam Henry, Bradley Hill and Riley Bonner to exploit the Eagles on the outside with their run.
Reid was clearly frustrated, and in that frustration, he may well have cost himself the chance of winning the Rising Star Award at year’s end.
Harley Reid’s Errant Sling Tackle
In short, Harley Reid made, what at first glance seemed like a great tackle on Darcy Wilson, but Reid continued the tackling action and consequently, Wilson’s head hit the ground. A free kick was duly, and rightly awarded to St Kilda.
Within a minute, the incident was replayed over and over, and I am quite sure it will be replayed many more times over the weekend. An incident like this, involving a star player, is the kind of fodder the media buffoons live for – much like the media attention given to the Sam Darcy incident the night before.
I am old enough to remember David King running around for the Roos, and he was as brutal a player the game has seen. It would fair to say that quite a few players he lined up (and I mean lined up) in his playing days were left seeing stars after being tackled by Mr King, but as a commentator he is very self-righteous about certain incidents, especially if a star player is involved.
I have no doubt the MRO will offer Harley Reid a rest for a week or two, but the Eagles should not hesitate to take this one to the Tribunal. My two cents, for what’s worth, Reid’s action was a single action tackle, with the momentum of the players coming from different angles attributing to Wilson’s head hitting the ground. It was a football act, without malice or intent, but the MRO has to be seen to be doing the right thing – in other words, he is gone.
Reid was rattled for the rest of the match.
Harley Reid’s Frustration
Late in the last quarter when the game was still up for grabs, Reid ran into Windhager late after he got rid of the ball, and as such a free kick was paid down the field resulting in a goal and the game was put to rest.
Sadly, for Reid, and for the AFL in general, he will most likely be ineligible to win the Rising Star Award even though he is clearly the best player young player in the land. With Darcy being rubbed out last night, and with Reid almost certain to be suspended, the Rising Star Award has lost its appeal this year, and it would be fair to say the player who does finally win the award will feel a bit like Steven Bradbury.
Mason Wood and Max King’s Injury
I rarely review St Kilda matches, but whenever I do, Mason Wood stars. I would argue Marcus Windhager was probably best on ground, however, the four-quarter effort by Wood cannot be underestimated.
With Max King out of the game at three quarter time, and with Jack Higgins, Mitch Owens, Anthony Caminiti and Tim Membrey struggling to have any meaningful impact on the game at that point, the Saints needed somebody to stand up when the whips were cracking, and that man was Mason Wood.
In the absence of King, the entire St Kilda forward line seemed to find it’s mojo. Higgins, Membrey and Owens started getting touches and they all had an impact on the scoreboard in the final quarter, but it was Mason Wood who took ultimate responsibility as he kicked three decisive goals in the last stanza.
My overall knock on St Kilda is not their defensive strength, or even their midfield ability, but rather the guile of their forward line to capitalise on the good work being done up the field. I don’t know the exact figure, but it would fair to say the majority of this game was played in the St Kilda half, but they struggled for three quarters to finish the job.
For the first three-quarters the Saints seemed to bomb the ball into the forward line hoping King or Caminiti would take a clunker, but they were playing on two intercept specialists, in Jeremy McGovern and Tom Barrass.
King’s injury forced the Saints into moving the ball differently into the forward line, with players lowering the eyes, playing the angles and looking for the best option, and it worked. For the first time this year, in the last quarter, St Kilda’s forward line looked dangerous and capable of kicking goals. I hate to say this, but King’s adversity was St Kilda’s fortune.
Liam Henry
As a footballer I rated Liam Henry when he was at Fremantle, but I thought at times he would drift in and out of games. However, from the first bounce to the final siren of this game, Henry was the most dangerous small forward on the ground. He didn’t get reward for effort in front of goals, kicking only one goal, but he was instrumental for keeping the Saints in the game for three-quarters and being an important conduit up forward in the last.
Why did St Kilda win?
Under Ross Lyon, St Kilda play dour defensive football, which can be hard to watch at times. I did liken it to watching paint dry during the week. For three quarters, St Kilda’s dour game style kept the Eagles in touch, to the point the Eagles were able to absorb the pressure and get late goals in each of the first three quarters to keep their noses in front.
At three quarter time my thought was the Eagles would win this match, but the move of Windhager tagging Reid out the game, the subsequent lift in the St Kilda midfielder brigade, and the change in delivery of the ball to the forward line, in the absence of King, all conspired for the Saints to play some very attractive, attacking, and winning football in the last stanza.
The defence, led by Callum Wilkie and Josh Battle, intercepted and repelled the ball from defence with run, enabling the running players like Nasiah Wanganeen-Miliera, Bradley Hill, Liam Henry, Hunter Clark, Riley Bonner, and Paddy Dow to do their thing and cut a swathe through the tiring West Coast midfielders, while the usual generals, Jack Sinclair, Jack Steele and Rowan Marshall controlled the clearances.
In short, St Kilda played the game as it should be played in the last quarter, and they left the Eagles in their wake.
The Eagles were Gallant in Defeat
I tipped the Eagles to win this match, but five minutes into the first quarter I realised Tim Kelly and Jake Waterman were absent from the team, and if St Kilda had any semblance of form left from last year, they should beat them. Tim Kelly, when on song, is one the most talented ball beasts in the league, and as good as Elliot Yeo, Andrew Gaff, and Liam Duggan can be, Kelly is the mongrel of that centre grouping. As it was, Reid played with real grit and mongrel until halftime, but even he needs a mentor like Kelly.
Jake Waterman was always going to be missed up forward, and while Bailey Williams played okay, he was never going to have the same influence as Waterman. Williams shows potential as a forward, but he would be better utilised as the third tall option behind Darling and Waterman when he returns. Speaking of Darling, as he nears the twilight of his career and 300 games, he is playing an important role as the senior general up forward for the young Eagles to learn from, and he still knows how to kick a goal or two.
Liam Ryan and Jamie Cripps
Liam Ryan (3 goals) and Jamie Cripps (3 goals) nearly won the game for the Eagles.
Late in the third quarter, Liam Ryan kicked two goals in a way only Liam Ryan can, one a duck and swivel goal from the pocket, and the other a Pele special in the goal square, to put the Eagles in front at the last change. Liam Ryan is a special player to watch when he is running hot.
Jamie Cripps is to the West Coast what Mason Wood is to the Saints, a blue-collar ball winner and goal kicker who has the ability to turn a match. Cripps’ first quarter goal from the boundary line was sublime, a drop punt splitting the middle from 40 metre out. Right until the last, Cripps and Ryan looked the most lethal forward options for the Eagles.
Rock On Reuben Ginbey
It seems like Reuben Ginbey has been in the system for a long period of time, but he is only 19 years old, yet each time I have seen him play he has the composure and surety of a player who has played closer to 100 games. Ginbey finished with 20 possessions, and five marks, in a game that will not get any coaches votes, but his contribution today was stoic and reliable, as it is each time I see him play.
Gotta admit, his 1980’s circa Dermott Brereton hair rocks.
Barrass, McGovern, Alex Witherden, Harry Edwards, Liam Duggan, Brady Hough
Tom Barrass (9 marks), Jeremy McGovern (7 marks), Alex Witherden (5 marks), Harry Edwards (4 marks), Liam Duggan (8 marks) and Brady Hough (5 marks), are starting to form a genuinely solid and reliable backline. Barrass, McGovern and Duggan (when he is down back) have carried the defensive load for a few years now, and now with the ongoing improvement of Witherden, Edwards and Hough, the Eagles’ once-feared backline structure is starting to looks strong again.
In case I forgot to mention, the old hands of Elliott Yeo, Andrew Gaff and Dom Sheed still go okay, and they are taking the younger players along with them.
Matt Flynn and Campbell Cheeser
Matt Flynn played his first game in Eagles colour today, and while he looked like he needed the run, he performed admirably. Rowan Marshall beat him on the day, but he was not disgraced.
Campbell Chesser is a player I do notice, but I have never mentioned his name in any review. I don’t know why really, as I have covered enough Eagles matches, but he is one of the players who is coming on gradually, to become a long-term player for the Eagles.
Concussion Protocols – Rowan Marshall
With a few minutes left on the clock Rowan Marshall suffered what looked like, and probably is, a concussion. The St Kilda doctor thought it was serious enough to enter then field of play and remove Marshall from the ground, but the field umpire got in a tif, accepted a thumbs up from Marshall, and shoed the Doctor away.
It the Doctor deemed it important enough to enter the playing arena to remove a player for his own good, then the only person fit to make a decision as to whether he stays on the ground is the doctor, not a huffy field umpire, nor the player.
Next Week
If the Saints still fancy their chances of making it to September, then they MUST WIN against the Suns at Marvel next Saturday night. Gold Coast are not exactly Road Warriors – St Kilda should like their chances in that one.
The Eagles host the cellar-dwellers North Melbourne, the same North Melbourne that won the game last year to hand them Harley Reid, at Optus Oval next Saturday afternoon. There is no Reid-calibre player in the 2024 draft class.
