Coming into this game between the Giants and the Saints both faced different paths going forward. The Giants’ path forward was clear: a win over the Saints kept their slim top-four hopes alive, but also, a win seemingly guaranteed the Giants a home final at some point in the final series. For St Kilda, a win would have meant they leapfrogged Carlton and finished the season in 11th, while a loss kept them in 12th, barring an unlikely shellacking in this game.
Coming into the game, the Saints had won four games in a row, all in nail-biters, but admittedly against weaker opposition than the Giants. In the last month, the Saints beat Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, and Essendon, all by less than two goals. For those who say the Saints play a boring brand of footy, try telling that to their supporters over the previous four weeks!
The two sides met earlier in the season, back in Round Five, with the Giants beating the Saints by just under five goals.
GWSgot off to the perfect start, kicking the first goal of the game through the milestone man Harry Himmelberg, who was playing game 200. The Giants doubled their lead through their captain, Toby Greene, who managed to evade multiple defenders before snapping for a goal from deep inside the forward pocket.
The Giants got a third goal before the Saints could register a shot through Harvey Thomas, after the winger drew a free kick from Jack Sinclair. The Giants then had the first blemish of the game with Greene missing a snap from the opposite pocket to his first goal that couldn’t bend back enough.
Still, it seemed as though GWS had come to play, and the Saints were back on their heels
Finally, the Saints registered their first score of the game through the newly re-signed Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, but he could only register a behind after streaming through the middle of the ground. The Saints then recorded more shots at goal through Zak Jones and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera again, but neither of them was able to register a major.
Giants forward Max Gruzewski made matters worse for the Saints when he kicked his team’s fourth goal of the game, pushing the margin out to 22 points. With 20 minutes gone in the game, St Kilda finally got their first goal of the game through Mattaes Phillipou. The Saints then got back-to-back goals through Collard, who stole a goal from teammate Isaac Keeler by throwing his boot at it on the line.
It was quality work by Keeler, who has really started to show a bit in the second half of the season. Another pre-season and some work on his tank, and he’ll be a keeper at Moorabbin.
Max Gruzewski almost had his second goal of the game, but his shot clattered into the post as it was swinging back towards the goals. Mason Wood then had back-to-back shots on goal for St.= Kilda, but the former Kangaroo frustratingly missed both. Giants key forward Jake Riccardi then finished the quarter with a behind, giving the Giants a ten-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Saints did a good job to halt the GWS momentum on the fly, demonstrating a growing maturity amongst the group. In the past, it would have taken until quarter time for the club to regather themselves, but their leaders stepped up and were able to shut down the Giants after a hot start.
Unlike in the first quarter, where the Giants got off to a quick start, the Saints were the first to score in the second quarter, albeit just a single point to Cooper Sharman. Max Gruzewski should have kicked his second goal of the game after marking the ball about 20 metres out with only a minor angle. However, Gruzewski pushed his shot to the far side. The big man was able to make up for his mistake a moment later after taking a contested mark over Callum Wilkie to even his ledger to 2.2.
Darcy Wilson was given a 50-metre penalty that took him from outside the 50 right to the goal square, where he kicked the Saints’ third goal of the game. Darcy Jones then had a chance to kick his first, but he couldn’t bend his snap shot far enough to hook it back. However, the Giants were eventually able to get their sixth goal of the game through Harry Rowston.
The Saints then fought their way back into the game through goals from Mattaes Phillipou, Cooper Sharman, and Lance Collard to give their team the lead for the first time in the game. The Saints would take their one-point lead into the halftime break.
The Saints carried their form into the second half, with Darcy Wilson kicking the first goal to extend the Saints’ lead out to eight points. The Giants then broke the Saints’ run of goals through Toby Bedford, and then Toby Greene put the Giants back into the lead with his second.
The two teams then traded goals, with the lead changing with each goal. Cooper Sharman restored the lead for the Saints before Darcy Jones put the Giants back in front. Max Gruzewski kicked his third goal for the game, giving the Giants an 11-point lead before the Saints finished the quarter with the final two goals through Isaac Keeler and Darcy Wilson. This meant that the Saints would enter the final quarter with an unexpected one-point lead.
It looked as though St Kilda were ready to play the ultimate party-pooper role
The Giants got an important goal to start the fourth quarter, again through captain Toby Greene. The Saints then kicked three goals in a row, including two goals to Darcy Wilson, that gave his team a 10-point lead.
This led to a wave of Giants goals, including a fourth goal to Toby Greene, as well as goals to Callum Brown and Tom Green. The Saints briefly had a spark of hope after Max Hall kicked a goal to draw the margin back to just five points. Zak Jones had a chance to put the Saints ahead, but he missed his set shot, which cut the margin to just four points with just under five minutes remaining in the game.
This would be the Saints’ last chance, as Darcy Jones kicked the sealer with less than 30 seconds left. The Giants would win the game by 11 points and book themselves a home final.
Injury Toll
It was a valiant performance from the Saints, who had very little to play for in their final game of the season, as the highest they could finish was 11th. However, that didn’t stop both teams from attacking the football, which led to injuries. For the Saints, Mattaes Phillipou was subbed out of the game in the third quarter due to a calf injury, and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was struggling at the end of the game with cramps after he had an excellent final month of the season. Rowan Marshall also finished the game worse-for-wear after he appeared to injure his ankle in a centre bounce late in the fourth quarter.
It has been such a wasted season for Phillipou, who many believe will have a huge impact on the St Kilda Footy Club. Unable to get his body right, he has not had a clean run at it all season, and will relish being able to give himself time to heal and regroup heading into 2026.
While there is no doubt that all of them should be fine for the Saints next year, the Giants may be sweating on the health of former captain Stephen Coniglio. Coniglio was subbed out of the game in the second quarter after suffering a concussion and failing the HIA test. This will put his earliest possible return to Friday-week at the start of the finals campaign after the mandatory 12-day return to play protocols.
Big Bags
In a close contest, Toby Greene undoubtedly led the way for the Giants, kicking four goals for the game. That wasn’t all, as Greene also took a fantastic mark going back with the flight that almost took out teammate Lachie Whitfield. This came moments after he took another spectacular mark inside 50, however, his chance to cover himself in glory was missed as his shot at goal missed the mark. Still, the way Greene was able to impose himself on the contest late in the game demonstrated just why he is held in such high regard as a competitor,
Greene had a bit of help in the forward line with Max Gruzewski and Darcy Jones also kicking multiple goals to cover for the absence of Jesse Hogan and Jake Stringer.
Meanwhile, the Saints scored most of their goals through Darcy Wilson. Starting at half forward, Wilson kicked a career-high five of the Saints’ 14 goals. Max Hall, Cooper Sharman, Lance Collard, and Mattaes Phillipou also had two goals each, but that wasn’t enough to get over the Giants.
Leaders Standing Tall
Even after losing Stephen Coniglio, the Giants’ leaders really stood up in this game, and I’m not just referring to the efforts of Toby Greene. The trio of Lachie Whitfield, Lachie Ash, and Tom Green all racked up over 30 possessions in the game and were able to power the Giants forward through the majority of the game.
In the end, the scoreline was only so close because the Giants weren’t able to be as effective in front of goal as the Saints were. The Giants went just over 50% in front of goal, while the Saints went at 60% with their shots at goal.
Boring Footy? Nah!
There is a belief that St Kilda play a boring brand of footy. I believe that take may be heralded by those who don’t actually watch this team play. Their last month of footy has been as exciting as any team in the game, and after learning how to defend, this team, could be one of the enuine risers of 2026.
An Audition?
One of the intriguiing story lines coming out of this game was Leek Aleer playing in defence against a team many believe he will be joining in 2026. Aleer was strong in the air and played the role normally reserved for Jack Buckley, as he collected nine intercepts for the game.
The Saints have struggled for a key position player to aid Cal Wilkie this season, with Dougal Howard continually on the sidelines. Is Aleer the answer?
Or just another question for the Saints in 2026?
Can the Giants win it from outside top four?
This season is wide open, to the point that any team could win it all with a hot run of form.
The Giants’ best can torch any team, but as is always the case, consistency will be the key to September. What this team cannot do is have even one quarter like they did a few weeks back against the Dogs. Without a couple of key players, they were humiliated to the tune of 88 points, and whilst they have been very good since, they have to avoid anything even remotely like the poor performance that has ultmately cost them a top four spot.
Their best can see them do anything, but their worst… play like that and their September foray will be over very quickly.
Where to Next?
The Saints will have to wait until 2026, when they will be hoping to build on their form from the end of the year. They were able to secure the signature of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and are seemingly about to sign free agent Tom De Koning away from the Blues. This will undoubtedly give the Saints more firepower to work with next year. The Saints are also in the running to secure additional players.
For the Giants, barring some bizarre results, they will finish in 5th. This means they’ll have a home Elimination Final lined up. However, who their opponents are remains to be seen, with the Giants potentially facing anyone from Fremantle, Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn, or Gold Coast.
