Whacky conditions made for a rather whacky game, as the Gold Coast Suns adapted to the slick Darwin deck quicker than their St. Kilda counterparts to take out a 13.11 (89) to 8.12 (60) win on Saturday night.
Big performances from a pair of dominant half backs, and more poise in front of the big sticks gave the Suns an edge over a Saints outfit that, without superstar Nasiah Wanganeen- Milera, seriously lacked the class needed to finish off plays.
It didn’t help that the Saints also lost their skipper and most important player, Callum Wilkie, to a back injury early in the game either, but it’s hard to find excuses for a team that gave themselves enough opportunities yet found a way to squander almost every one of them.
The long and short of it is that St. Kilda butchered the ball going inside their 50m arch, and the Suns butchered it slightly less.
All in all, it was a rather forgettable affair, and a performance that I don’t think either side will be particularly pleased with.
Still, the Suns fly once again hit the Territory up for four points on the board and a spot in the top six, while the Saints are likely to drop outside of the top ten pending Sunday’s results.
Now, while I had very little fun watching this game, that’s not to say I didn’t learn anything.
In fact, we have quite a bit to sink our teeth into, so let’s get cracking, shall we?
The Saints have no idea how to defend transition play
Or, to put it more bluntly, the Saints are shithouse at clamping down on opposition half-backs.
John Noble and Dan Rioli ran riot in this one. The former racking up 31 disposals, 13 marks, and a goal while the latter tallied 28 disposals, eight marks, and a goal of his own.
And that’s not to forget Bodhi Uwland who had 29 disposals and six marks himself.
They were everywhere, and it felt like every time I raised my eyes to the television screen, they were in frame.
Yet, somehow, the St. Kilda players could not see them.
It must be an infuriating watch as a Saints fan, knowing every single arm-chair expert with an AFL Fantasy team knows your side rolls out the red carpet for these damaging half backs, yet week after week, they are incapable of putting together any form of resistance.
Last week it was Nic Newman and Oliver Florent having their best games of the season against the Saints, the week before West Coast rookie Josh Lindsey gathered 31 disposals, and before that they made Wayne Milera and Josh Worrell look like Corey Enright and Luke Hodge born again.
Can someone tell Ross Lyon and his staff these blokes are important? It’s not just empty calories, and tonight those Suns half-backs were legitimately the reason his side got beat.
I am not sure whether it’s a tactical move to ignore the opposition’s more attacking defenders, an issue with the talent at his disposal, or simply an effort crisis. It might be a combination of all three, but whatever it is, the Saints forwards need to begin applying some sort of pressure and stop leaving their defenders stranded when these run-and-gun types take off at will.
Ben King was the difference tonight
One team had a key forward they could rely on, and the other did not.
Their passages of play weren’t always pretty, but the fact that Ben King was the one getting on the end of them meant the Suns had an instant leg-up on their foes – particularly when Wilkie went down in the second term.
King knew he had a serious advantage over any defender the Saints could throw at him, and he took his chances kicking four goals straight on the night.
Time and again the Saints backs were confused about who had the assignment, and King made them pay.
Contrast that with the other end of the ground where St. Kilda’s forwards constantly dropped chest marks or sprayed easy shots on goal, and it’s easy to see where the difference lay in this one.
I bet the Saints would love to have someone like Ben King playing for them… Sorry, couldn’t help myself!
There are players we judge too harshly based on who they play for
I’m not breaking any new ground here, and I reckon most footy fans will know this to be true. The phrase “what if this bloke played for Collingwood” is uttered weekly.
So tonight, with two largely off-broadway teams going at it, I wondered which players don’t get the credit they deserve.
For mine, I came up with Hugo Garcia and Marcus Windhager. Both of them are by no means perfect, but Garcia is a hugely improved player this year, and Windhager plays a pretty thankless role most weeks.
As for the Suns, most of their players are pretty well heralded, but Oscar Adams is a name you might be hearing more of in the future.
Saints not getting bang for buck from ruck combo
Plenty has already been said about the highly publicised recruitment of Tom De Koning and how he would work in tandem with the Saints’ pre-existing star ruckman, Rowan Marshall.
It seems the general consensus from fans (at least neutral fans), is that the duo simply aren’t providing enough return on investment, despite showing big signs last week. The Saints have poured a large portion of their salary cap, and more importantly have centred their game plan, around these two tall fellas, and so far the results aren’t great.
Now, I’d argue they’ve provided a touch more than most punters would have you believe, but certainly tonight I was left feeling underwhelmed at their performance.
Coming up against Ned Moyle and the odd Mac Andrew appearance, Marshall and De Koning had an opportunity to grab this game by the scruff, and as has become routine for them, they did not.
Moyle led the game in hitouts with 21, and more importantly, the Saints duo failed to make a great deal of impact around the ground.
They finished with a combined 30 disposals, seven clearances, nine marks, and zero goals. Not disastrous numbers, but not even close to “taking over the game” territory.
De Koning was once compared to Freo superstar Luke Jackson as a prototype “unicorn” ruckman, and, well, I think we can safely throw that comparison in the bin now.
But while the man known as TDK does not need to be on Jackson’s level to have an impact, he and Marshall certainly need to be providing more dominance and presence around the footy than they did tonight.
Fair enough, conditions weren’t great for rucks, but this armchair critic wanted more.
No Nasiah, no fun
I am not exaggerating when I tell you watching Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera play football was the only reason I put my name down to review this game.
So, you can imagine my great disappointment when he was a late out as “managed”. I may have had some choice words about Ross Lyon (who I usually adore) in our Mongrel group chat.
In all seriousness, though, the Saints really missed their superstar tonight.
It’s an obvious thing to say, but in a game where time and again the Saints would charge forward only to turn the ball over at the very end of a passage, Wanganeen-Milera’s absence was evident.
The game was hanging in the balance halfway through the fourth term. The Saints had mustered a final charge while it was still winnable, and I can’t help but think Nas would have been enough to get them over the line (I mean, we’ve seen it before).
Add to that the absence of Jack Higgins, and the injury to Wilkie, and it’s amazing the Saints had a chance to win it at all.
Suns skipper gets motoring
It’s taken Noah Anderson a while to get into the 2026 season.
He was quiet (by his lofty standards) in his side’s first few rounds, and then his appendix decided to burst, so it was a fairly stalled start for the usually prolific on-baller.
But with exploding organs now behind him, Anderson has put together a fortnight of form more resembling what he is capable of in wins over the Giants and now Saints.
Christian Petracca wasn’t quite as dominant as he had been previously in this one, but Anderson made up for it with 31 disposals and 10 marks to go with his four clearances.
Some quick hitters to finish off
- The Saints dominated the clearance count 39-21 in this game, winning centre clearances 15-7. It’s evident the Suns are severely lacking in that area anytime Brownlow medalist Matt Rowell is absent, and a better side would have made them pay tonight.
- Great game from Darcy Wilson, booting four goals from 22 disposals and looking the most likely Saint to have an impact when they needed it.
- Bailey Humphrey performed a similar role for the Suns, snagging one goal, two behinds on the night. Looked a class above up forward when the ball came his way, but needs to inject himself into the action more often.
- Way too many passengers for the Saints tonight. Liam Stocker, Mitch Owens, Anthony Caminiti, Dougal Howard and Mason Wood all had little impact. Too much left to too few.
- Speaking of struggling, only two behinds from four disposals for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan tonight. Conditions didn’t suit him, but all in all, he didn’t appear up to the level against a very undermanned Saints defence.
- Brad Hill is putting together a very impressive season.
- Oscar Adams going harder at the footy than his direct opponent set up two Suns goals and saved a certain one at a crucial time. A player to watch for the future.
Alright, that’s enough outta me. Hooroo!
