Updated ,first published
St Kilda thump down-and-out Eagles
Marc McGowan
St Kilda piled on 22 goals in their most dominant performance of the season on Sunday – including finally winning a third quarter – to thrash West Coast by 101 points amid another ARC controversy.
The lopsided victory at Marvel Stadium moves the retooled Saints to a 3-4 record, and they face two more bottom-four foes, Carlton and Richmond, in the next three weeks, either side of travelling to Darwin to meet Gold Coast.
A Mattaes Phillipou set shot in the final three minutes delivered St Kilda’s eighth unanswered goal of the last term, and the club’s first triple-digit victory since beating Essendon by 110 points in round 14, 2015.
It was the Eagles’ second 100-plus-point defeat for the year, following their 128-point hiding from Sydney in round four. Coach Andrew McQualter conceded on Sunday that his side had “gone backwards” in recent weeks.
But the biggest talking point was the decision to wipe about 50 seconds of play in the second quarter that followed what was initially called a Saints behind from a long-range Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera misfire.
After that lengthy resumption from the behind, the umpires sparked confusion when they suddenly motioned that an ARC review had determined Rowan Marshall marked Wanganeen-Milera’s kick before the ball completely cleared the goal line.
Replays appeared inconclusive on Marshall’s mark, and the goal umpire looked to be in an ideal position to make her original call, but he took advantage to kick St Kilda’s fourth goal about 18 minutes into the second quarter.
That kick-started a Saints flurry that extended their margin over the Eagles to 40 points at half-time.
It is common for goals to be reversed before play restarts in the centre after official, or silent, ARC reviews, but the circumstances on Sunday were unusual. The Age has contacted the AFL for comment.
“It was a bit of a different one. I’m glad they called it back in the end because I had a feeling that I might have marked it,” Marshall told The Age.
“I think that’s why the review’s in place. If it had been a goal the difference, it’s a big decision in the game, so I think the right call was made in the end.
“I said to the umpire, ‘I reckon it could have been marked’, but obviously, we want them to back themselves in, and I think that’s why the ARC’s in place … [but] I haven’t seen it [a scenario like this] in a game before.”
St Kilda led by 15 points at the time, which is why McQualter described the decision afterwards as a “little bit of a momentum swing”, but made clear it would not be right to blame the heavy defeat on the incident.
“I’m not going to spend too much time on it. I just think that if they’re going to do it, it’s got to be clear-cut,” McQualter said.
“They’ve got to get it right. If it’s touch and go; I would think you’re not changing the game, and the flow of a game, to make a decision like that … [but] I had bigger problems to deal with today. I don’t care. It’s their problem to deal with. If I lose a grand final like that, I’ll probably care a bit more.”
Saints coach Ross Lyon was circumspect with his reaction to the ARC call, but said the process in general contrasted with the want within league headquarters to shorten matches.
“Ultimately, it was on the positive side of the ledger for us, so I will take it,” Lyon said.
“In the context of the game trying to be shortened, I’m not sure it satisfies that criteria – but I think it’s best intentions. So, when people have the best intentions; I don’t think we should undermine it.”
Wanganeen-Milera was outstanding again with 34 disposals, while Jack Higgins kicked a game-high five goals and the league’s leading marker, Callum Wilkie, took 16 more and had 12 intercepts in his latest brilliant defensive performance.
Ex-Eagle Liam Ryan was also among the seven multiple goalkickers in his first appearance against his old team, while Hugo Garcia starred with 32 touches and two goals of his own.
Lyon insisted during one of his regular back-and-forths with the media after last week’s one-point loss to the Crows in Adelaide that his team had improved despite winning only two of their first six matches in 2026.
Part of Lyon’s argument was that St Kilda had endured a challenging fixture. The rebuilding Eagles, in that regard, were precisely the opposite. But he was not completely happy with what his Saints dished up against West Coast.
St Kilda lost their first six third quarters this year, and conceded the first two goals after half-time on Sunday before kicking seven of the next nine to end that drought and go to the last break with a 55-point buffer.
“We didn’t like [our third quarter] for reasons I won’t go into, but there was stability in our game in the other three quarters, so we’ll move on pretty quick,” Lyon said.
“There’s been other [third] quarters where we’ve dominated entries, 18 to 19, and then we were a bit inefficient. We had 10 to their nine today, and we kicked 7.1, which is what Brisbane did to us. So sometimes, there’s no rhyme or reason.”
Lyon chose not to comment on the AFL removing Appeals Board chairman Will Houghton KC, who oversaw the decision to significantly reduce Saint Lance Collard’s suspension for a homophobic slur in a VFL game.
Max King gets through return in VFL
Peter Ryan
St Kilda’s missing piece Max King made it through his first official match for 665 days as he returned via the VFL after a wretched injury run for close to two seasons.
The 25-year-old played about 60 per cent game time as he kicked out the cobwebs against the Gold Coast at Moorabbin on Sunday. He sat out the final quarter on the bench as Gold Coast ran away 35-point winners. King was on managed minutes and showed no discomfort throughout.
King played deep forward and attacked several marking contests with confidence playing on the Suns’ key defenders Caleb Graham and Caleb Lewis.
He missed a set shot in the first quarter after marking on the lead and had a snap for goal which fell short. He also made a nice smother and set up a goal at a forward 50 stoppage, but he finished with just four touches.
The Saints’ team included top-10 draft picks Alix Tauru and Tobie Travaglia as well as veteran Jack Macrae and speedster Liam Henry, while the Suns had close to a full team of listed players.
King’s most recent AFL match was on June 30, 2024 as he suffered a series of setbacks, including injuries to his knee and more recently a calf issue.
He has played 83 matches and kicked 159 goals in his career so far. King is contracted with the Saints until the end of the 2032 season.
The Suns’ Alex Davies showed why clubs are interested in his services beyond 2026 as he starred. Other experienced Suns, Joel Jeffrey and Charlie Ballard, were impressive in defence.
