What a difference seven days makes.
This time last week, the Saints were running all over the top of the Dees, en route to completing the greatest comeback in V/AFL history.
This week, they were hanging on for grim death, as North Melbourne did everything but hit the front in the last quarter, and the Saints only goal for the final stanza came as a result of a 50-metre penalty and a kick after the siren. Like chalk and cheese.
There’s never a dull moment when you support the St Kilda Football Club, is there?
For North, after coming off a game where they were humbled by the Cats, it was back to normal. In saying that, I mean it was another of those games that they could have won, but seemed to lose in a ten-minute lapse during the second half. How many times has that occurred this season? I feel like every time I write about the Roos, they’ve shot themselves in the foot, to some extent, with a poor ten minute patch.
When you’re in a rebuilding side, that’s all it takes to snuff out your chances a little too often.
As we’re nearing the end of the season, and this was the type of game with little riding on it. As such, just like in the bedroom, I get to experiment a little and look more at over-arching themes, as much as reviewing the game, itself. It might end up being a bit of a mess, or maybe you’ll enjoy it?
Who knows?
Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Talking Points from St Kilda versus North Melbourne.
ROWAN MARSHALL HAD A PARTY AGAINST NOBODY
I’m sorry to North fans, but Brynn Teakle is not a somebody in the AFL. He’s just not. He’s a big body, and that’s about it. I liken him to the 1990s NBA centre, who is bouncing around the league getting an opportunity because he is big, and little else.
As such, it was never a matter of whether Rowan Marshall was going to have an influence on this game, but more, how much of an influence he was going to have.
I like Marshall, and always have, but he is, and will probably always be, a very good second-tier ruckman. He is capable of dominating a player like Teakle, because Teakle is not somebody. However, against a ruck in the tier above him (Gawn, Grundy, the missing Xerri), he is often found out and undersize.
That’s a good way to start, huh? Just with a bit of a putdown on Marshall?
Well, I hope it is taken the way it is intended – there is a reason the Saints are into Tom De Koning, after all.
However, here comes the praise – in this game, Marshall was everywhere. He took contested grabs (x2), hit the scoreboard (x1), and pounded the footy inside 50 repeatedly (x7) as he made Teakle look like the fourth-tier ruck that he is.
If you take him out of this game, I reckon the Roos get up and win, such was his impact. But here’s the thing – I want to see him do this type of thing repeatedly to round out the season. He was obviously in better shape in 2024, as he made a habit of registering 20/20 games (possessions/hit outs). This was his eighth of the season – he had ten last year. However, over the last three weeks of the season, he encounters Toby Nankervis, Todd Goldstein, and Kieren Briggs.
He should be able to run Goldy off his legs, but Nank is a different kettle of fish. As is Briggs. They reside around a rung under Marshall on the ruck tier list – not at the top, but still very handy on their day. I might have to show you this ruck tier list at some stage if I keep mentioning it, huh?
Marshall needs to hammer home his importance to the Saints down the stretch. If they are into TDK, then he needs to either sell himself to whichever team he ends up on, or demonstrate enough to the Saints to make them think they might just already have what they need in the ruck.
On that point – I ask you, as Saints supporters; are you content with Marshall as your number one ruck? Or would you prefer the club chase TDK in an attempt to get better?
For me… I am not sure De Koning actually makes the Saints better. He had moments at the start of the season where he looked like a million bucks, has had six of those 20/20 games over 2025, but he has come back to earth over the last couple of months. I actually have him right in the same tier as Marshall. You’ll just be paying a heap more to get similar results.
Out your arms around Big Rowan, Saints. He is a heart and soul player and would do well with a good backup. Use the extra money to keep Nas.
Speaking of Nas…
NASIAH WANGANEEN-MILERA WAS TWO KICKS AWAY FROM ANOTHER GREAT GAME
Those two kicks were misses at goal, but there were plenty of other touches that did not have the desired effec, either. Particularly in the first half.
However, if those two misses become goals… it wallpapers over a heap, doesn’t it?
I’m sure people will tell me that this game was great, irrespective of the way he squandered some of his ball use.
That’s okay – it is difficult not to be enamoured by the Big Wang and the way he plays footy, but with the increased profile comes increased pressure, and I reckon there were moments when he felt that pressure, in this game.
He had spectacular moments, as well – his burst away from Luke Davies Uniacke (who Tom Hawkins called UDL at one point… perhaps revisiting his misspent youth?) to hit Max Heath, was beautiful, and his three-bounce run to lace out Max Hall excited the crowd, as well. Both players then missed their ensuing shots which, if I were making plays like that, would really piss me off!
But Big Wang also had some moments he’d like back. He had 36 touches and nine clearances, but unlike those on the opposite team, he takes the game on, and that can result in turnovers. He had ten of them, and went at just 58% efficiency.
That said, if you ask me whether I want a player demonstrating run, dare, and screw it, the courage to continually throw down the gauntlet the way Nas does, or the safety-first approach of the North players, I’ll take the ten turnovers and missed goals because what comes with it is bloody brilliant.
St Kilda are not my team, but I hope like hell that Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera re-signs with this mob and helps them build this group into a finals team. You can see the makings of something there, but if you take Big Wang out of the mix, that something becomes lesser, as you are removing that which makes it special.
NORTH DON’T HAVE THE DARE THEY NEED
They have good ball users on paper, and there are times when they can string disposals together and retain possession, which is an art that has been well-worth their learning, but… and you just knew there was a “but” coming, didn’t you?
But – some of those ball users really lack dare when things tighten up.
I know that Caleb Daniel cops a heap from North supporters – I get it, he’s an easy target. And I am not saying you’re wrong when you point the finger at him for a lack of potency with the footy, either. But why does Harry Sheezel get a free pass for passing up tough options that would make his team dangerous and opting for the safe option, instead?
Between these two, they had 65 touches, and just seven of them were score involvements. They’re just too safe with the footy, almost as though they’re scared to death of making an error, and even that doesn’t stop Caleb Daniel making errors once his options dry up downfield and he is forced to kick to the same contest he could have kicked to ten seconds earlier.
We get some dare from Colby McKercher, and he is one I’d like to see North work to get free between 50-80 metres from goal, as he hasn’t had that dare scared out of his game to this point, but that may be a work in progress.
You’re not going to get more from Daniel, but I reckon you have a right to demand a bit more from Sheezel. If he morphs into a player that cuts teams up by foot, North are suddenly a lot more of a dangerous prospect to face.
CAM ZURHAAR SIMPLY HAS TO GET FITTER
I understand – he is a burst player. He is not the only bloke in the league that plays this way, and several teams have blokes exactly like him in terms of the way he goes about it.
But I ask you – what type of impact would Zurhaar had if he was able to provide sustained effort when the footy hits the deck? There were a couple of moments in this game when his first attack on the footy was great. He flew at it, dragged in a mark, or hit it at ground level and dished off.
But there were also times when he made that first effort, and when it came time to follow up, it was as though all he could manage was a desperate lunge at the ball or the player.
He finished this game with 2.3, was a target all day, but I reckon his tank is the one thing holding him back from being a genuine star of the game.
It’s not a comparison that North fans will enjoy, I’m sure, but right now, he is like the average version of Jake Stringer.
Told ya you wouldn’t like it.
The average version of Jake Stringer is a one-and-done player. Impactful, but only in very short bursts. However, the very good version of Jake Stringer is the one we saw at Essendon a few years ago – able to go into the middle of the ground and win the footy in clinches due to his power, and then run forward with purpose.
If Zurhaar can get his fitness up to a new level, he could be something special. If not, he will remain a decent third option in a lower-rung team.
He is no longer a kid – he is 27 years old, and careers don’t last forever. If he wants to be around when North genuinely start their ascent up the ladder, the work needs to be done now.
IF I WERE TO PICK ONE PLAYER WHO EMBODIES WHAT THE SAINTS ARE, AND WHAT THEY COULD BE, IT WOULD BE MARCUS WINDHAGER.
He is a very Ross Lyon-esque player, isn’t he?
I don’t want to downplay his skill, because he has that in spades, but his heart… his heart is unquestioned. If there is a ball to be won, he’ll put his head over it, and as the Kangaroos mounted their final challenge, I was amazed to see him sitting on the bench. It had to be an error, right?
I reckon Lyon thought it might have been a rotation he didn’t like, because as soon as he could swing it, Windhager was back in the action, taking a telling mark on the boundary to send the Saints forward for the final time.
I wrote last week, as we dissected the thrilling win over the Dees, that Windhager has a habit of stepping to the fore when he is required. Players like him, Hugo Garcia, and Max Hall are as hard at it as anyone in the league, particularly given their experience. With players like this in the team, I reckon the Saints are in good hands.
Will he, or the other two I mentioned be superstars?
Look, probably not, but not everyone has to be. If everyone is a superstar, no one is a superstar. What these three are is a trio that bring meat and potatoes to the table every night. And then you get the dessert with a cherry on top that are players like Big Wang.
All part of a pretty satisfying meal to look forward to over the next couple of years.
KICKING PRACTICE FOR THE MOOSE?
I liked everything I saw from Max Heath apart from the way he kicked at goal.
Really, this could have been a breakout game for him, but he managed just two goals from five shots, and that type of return, in a close game, could very well end up being the difference between a win and a loss. Just as Cam Zurhaar’s return was for North.
Heath is raw, and will take time to feel comfortable at the highest level, but what is clear is that he needs to start converting better in front of goal to maintain a place in this team.
When I look at the St Kilda forward line, everything comes with an asterisk next to it, as they have the return of Max King to look forward to in 2026. But the second and third option spots will be up for grabs, and whoever works best with King will likely be instituted in those roles.
Heath needs to clunk marks and kick goals. That’s his bread and butter. He can pinch hit successfully in the ruck, as well, but it will be what he is able to do inside 50 that dictates whether he sinks or swims in Saints colours.
SOME QUICKIES
He didn’t get the return on the scoreboard, but I did like the effort from Jack Higgins in this one. He demonstrated some unselfish play early in the piece at times when he normally would have had a ping, so it is good to see him not being seduced by the potential of being an All-Australian.
I personally don’t think he’ll make it, as he had a bit of a stretch where he went quiet, but I do think, and have always thought, his best footy is AA-worthy. Maybe he has a big run home to remind selectors of the year he’s had? A 40-goal season is great. A 50-goal season… pretty difficult to ignore. He needs nine more over the last three weeks.
A quieter game for Max Hall in this one, but he does play the game like someone who knows what it’s like to stand on the outside looking in. I was rapt to hear he signed a two-year extension. Well-deserved.
The Mitch Owens injury hurts. That’ll be it for him, this season, and I reckon he’ll be looking forward to playing more of a role where he is not a continued aerial target.
That might be as good as I have seen Jack Darling look around the ground. He was strong as the second ruck option, at times, and with a couple of goal assists, he was doing exactly what North want from him.
I don’t think George Wardlaw is anywhere near fit. He is a beast in and under, but second efforts are what suffer when a player is underdone, and I don’t think he has been right all year. Gotta nurse him through the 2026 pre-season to get the best out of him.
I get down this far and haven’t mentioned Cal Wilkie or Jack Sinclair. It gives a pretty good indication as to where their baseline is in 2025.
And finally, big props to Nick Larkey for getting back out on the ground, despite being under obvious duress. He is banged up, but is out there doing what he can for North – that’s leadership. I haven’t been a huge fan of his, at points, over the journey, but it is hard to knock what he provided in this one.
Next week, the Roos hit the road and face the Giants in Canberra. Sad to say, I can’t see them giving that one a shake.
As for the Saints, they can make it three on the trot, as they face the rebuilding Tigers at the MCG. It looks like one of those years where you will look back, and see losses to teams like Carlton in Round Nine, and West Coast in Round Ten, and you wonder what could have been. I am a believer in what the Saints are building. Stay the course.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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