LIFE AND DEATH (IN TWO ACTS)

LIFE AND DEATH (IN TWO ACTS) by Whispering Jack

The headline in the Gold Coast Weekend Bulletin announced "AFL alive at Carrara" and for the first half of St. Kilda's "home" fixture against Melbourne it was indeed a game that was not only pulsating with life but also one that was full of exciting, pressure football that was played at breakneck speed.

In this respect, the game was more closely akin to a top of the ladder clash than one between teams occupying the two extremes of the AFL ladder: first against last. It was a truly compelling contest of wit and will and when the siren sounded at half time the Saints were on top but nowhere close to being in control of the game as they had been in most of their previous nine games for the season.

Certainly, the score line of 7.8.50 to 6.6.42 was suggestive of the fact that AFL was most certainly alive on the Gold Coast. However, as the game unfolded it became clear we were watching an event that was more in the nature of a two act tragedy because, unexpectedly and dramatically, it expired during the main break. By the time the teams ran out to herald the start of the second half, rigor mortis was already setting in.

It was a case of life and death in two acts.

The Demons simply ran out of the legs and the class to match it in the second act with the likes of Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes and Brendan Goddard. St. Kilda took control of the stoppages and attacked for most of the third quarter leaving Melbourne to sink into a defensive mindset, heavily flooding the back line and overusing its handball.

The game was turned into an ugly scrap that could be won only by the side with the most talent and skill. The Demons failed to enter their forward fifty until the 23 minute mark of a third term in which the Saints booted three goals to nil. The defensive mood continued and St. Kilda scored the only goal in the last half hour, a period punctuated by atrocious kicking for goal. They romped to their tenth consecutive win, the margin was a comfortable 37 points.

For their part, Melbourne could content itself with a strong first half showing and the fact that it had kept its opponent to its lowest number of goals for the season.

The Demons' younger brigade also showed something on the night with Jack Grimes, Addam Maric and Jamie Bennell continuing to display more than a few glimpses of future stardom and James Frawley and Cale Morton demonstrating more of the class they have been putting on show throughout the season.

The return of Mark Jamar to the ruck for the first time this year was also a bonus as it gave the Demons a winning edge in this department for probably the first time in 2009. Jared Rivers, Brock McLean and Brad Green worked hard as usual and showed out with some classy play and Matty Whelan was hard and tough in defence but many of the team's more experienced players let the team down with costly turnovers and the team lacked a focal point up forward in the absence of Russell Robertson and with the shading of Brad Miller at centre half forward.

After the game, coach Dean Bailey lamented his team's dreadful use of handball at times.

"I think our ball use was really poor in the second half, we had too many handballs, which really put us under enormous pressure,"

Bailey said.

"They counter-attacked on our turnovers pretty well and you can't turn the ball over against the good teams, they make you pay."

The trouble is that we've heard this all before during the course of the season and the problem keeps recurring. Too often the players were handballing because there were no teammates running and making space further afield. At other times, they got themselves into trouble playing too wide and bottling themselves up in pockets and on the flanks instead of going direct. And when they do kick the ball, the delivery is often lacking in precision (compare how the ball was often delivered high and slow to Melbourne's forwards while Riewoldt was regularly receiving the ball in front of the chest to outstretched arms).

There's still a lot to learn and a long way to go and, in the meantime, the team continues to sit at the bottom of the pack as the curtain begins to fold on the first half of the season.

Melbourne 4.5.29 6.6.42 6.6.42 6.10.46

St Kilda 5.3.33 7.8.50 10.11.71 11.17.83

Goals

Melbourne Bate Bruce Frawley Green Maric Sylvia

St Kilda Riewoldt 4 Goddard 2 Geary Gwilt Koschitzke McQualter Ray

Best

Melbourne McLean Green Bruce Frawley Jamar Rivers

St Kilda Hayes Riewoldt Montagna Goddard Dal Santo Ray C Jones

Injuries

Melbourne McDonald (knee)

St Kilda Gilbert (ankle)

Reports Nil

Changes

Melbourne – nil

St Kilda Stephen Milne (leg) replaced in St Kilda's selected side by Jason Gram

Umpires James Grun Kamolins

Crowd 9,112 at Carrara Gold Coast