Peter Ryan and Justin Chadwick
Updated ,first published
In today’s AFL Summary, your daily news:
- Richmond are confident their injury woes are behind them, and will avoid calling on the top-ranked players in the VFL against Essendon.
- Ross Lyon says St Kilda get that chance when they “go through the grades” to see how much they improved against Fremantle.
Reid all about it: Harley brings the Eagles back for a major upset
Bailey Williams produced the best game of his AFL career and Harley Reid was at his best as West Coast cruised to a 17-point win over GWS at Optus Stadium.
The Giants led by nine points early in the final quarter of Sunday night’s game behind a big performance from Clayton Oliver (38 possessions, 12 clearances).
But two goals from Jake Waterman and Williams scoring his second goal of the match helped West Coast win 13.10 (88) to 10.11 (71) in front of 36,781 fans.
The result snapped West Coast’s six-game losing streak and improved their record to 3-7, already triple last year’s win total. GWS slipped to 4-6, with an unexpected loss to their finals hopes a major blow.
Reid finished with 33 disposals, 10 clearances, eight kicks for 788 yards and two goals in the senior performance.
Williams, who was overlooked for ruck role at the start of the season in favor of Matt Flynn, won 40 hit-outs, 16 possessions, nine tackles, seven clearances and two goals in a brutal performance against Kieren Briggs (14 disposals, 31 hit-outs).
West Coast full-back Reuben Ginbey kept GWS skipper Aaron Cadman to just 0.1 from five goals in another key effort from the full-back.
Oliver tallied 12 goals and five clearances in the opening term alone but GWS were 10 points ahead in the final quarter behind 2.6 goals.
The second quarter was the Harley Reid show as the No. 1 draft pick from 2023 tore the game apart.
AAP
Injuries are hurting but the Tigers are confident they can name a full 26-man squad
Peter Ryan
St Kilda will set themselves up for a crucial three-match series against the teams above them on the ladder after moving up to ninth with a 36-point win over injury-hit Richmond at Marvel Stadium.
The win matches their season book with coach Ross Lyon saying they get the opportunity “as they go through the grades” to see how much they have improved when they take on Fremantle next Friday night.
Fighting for a top 10 spot, the Saints will face Fremantle in Perth, Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium, and Sydney in the port city in the next three rounds after winning five and losing five in their first 10 games.
“Can we continue through the score?” Lyon said. “I have faith in us and there is growth in us.”
A win in any of the three matches will give the finals a big boost even though star midfielder Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera will be absent next week. Liam Ryan and Mitch Owens are in doubt.
The Tigers have serious injury concerns after Campbell Gray’s hamstring injury added another name to their long injury list, however they are confident they will have enough fit players to select a 26-man squad against Essendon in the Dreamtime match on Friday night.
Richmond coach Adem Yze said the situation is under control. They ruled Samson Ryan and Caleb Smith out of Saturday’s VFL game to make sure they are available for Friday night’s play-off and Mykelti Lefau will be available after being managed if Jasper Alger.
He rejected any suggestion that the injury was forcing him to coach with one hand behind his back saying there are still many opportunities for players to grow whether they are on the field or not.
“Personally there are people who are getting opportunities right now that they might not have, so there will be growth in that,” Yze said. “And as a team we can still learn by sitting in meetings and understanding what beauty looks like.”
But on Sunday, following a four-quarter performance, the lessons for the Tigers came mainly from a poor first quarter. The Saints came out of the gate and opened up a four-goal lead before the game stalled as Richmond took advantage of limited opportunities to score five goals over the next two quarters.
The Saints were winning inside 50s at a world-record pace but couldn’t convert that dominance onto the scoreboard, holding a 26-point lead at halftime despite the Saints leading 36-14.
St Kilda’s Tom De Koning gave his silverware to the middles several times in the second quarter with Max Hall and Hugo Garcia benefiting. On more than one occasion, the Saints burst from midfield, but only one of those minutes turned into a goal when Mattaes Phillipou scored a long one-run goal.
Garcia collected 15 disposals, eight contested possessions, four clearances, six mark involvements and a goal in the first half. Hall, who has been one of the Saints’ best players this season, paced himself with 14 tackles, six clearances, six tackles and one goal.
Despite that Richmond were hanging on to nine shots from 14 inside 50s as Noah Roberts-Thomson kicked two goals with his first two kicks in his AFL debut. It was an impressive start to the career of the cousin of Sydney premiership player Lewis Roberts-Thomson.
The Saints continued to push in the third quarter but were again unable – through mistakes or dropped points – to make Richmond really pay.
The margin slowly increased but it did not get comfortable enough for the Saints to consider bringing in the off-spinner for the over as cricketers sometimes do with a laugh when the score is known.
First baseman Charlie Banfield, son of No. 1 player and West Coast major leaguer Drew Banfield, created a sensation when he scored in his first game.
Banfield took up residence in former AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan’s home after arriving in Victoria and looked as comfortable in the Marvel Stadium wing as if he were living in one of McLachlan’s mansion wings.
In the end, the Saints’ dominance was enough to see them reach 100 points for the fifth time this season, a sign that their offense is improving after scoring just seven times in the past three seasons.
Lyon said there were no worries about Jack Higgins despite being happy while Richmond’s Sam Cumming was suffering from corkie.
They weren’t flashy or scary at any stage, but they were better than the Tigers to run out 36-point winners in a game that didn’t reach great heights with St Kilda winning within 50 to count 63-37.
