WEST COAST
4.0 8.3 13.5 18.8 (116)
ST KILDA
6.7 8.12 12.17 13.19 (97)
GOALS
West Coast: Kennedy 4, Hill 3, Masten 2, Darling 2, Shuey 2, Cripps, Giles, LeCras, Priddis, Vardy.
St Kilda: Bruce 2, Lonie 2, Weller 2, McCartin 2, Acres, Gresham, Dunstan, Montagna, Membrey.
BEST
West Coast: L Shuey, A Gaff, E Yeo, J McGovern, S Wellingham, J Kennedy.
St Kilda: S Ross, D Roberton, N Brown, T Hickey, J Steven, J Geary.
UMPIRES
Donlon, Harris, O'Gorman.
CROWD
37,749 at Domain Stadium.
Football can be a cruel game. St Kilda had their heart ripped from them by West Coast at Domain Stadium on Saturday night. After almost leading from pillar to post, the Eagles kicked 5.3 to 1.2 in the final term to pinch a19-point win.
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West Coast took the lead for the first time with only six minutes to go in the game.
Even more of a kick to the guts for the Saints was that three of the Eagles' final-term goals came from the boot of Josh Kennedy, who had been so well held by Nathan Brown for three quarters beforehand.
The Coleman medallist, who booted seven goals in round one against North Melbourne, didn't touch the ball in the opening quarter as the Saints opened up a 25-point lead. His first touch came 11 minutes into the second term; his first and only goal before three-quarter-time came almost a quarter later.
Inaccuracy in front of goal hurt the Saints though. The scoring shots in the 13.19 (St Kilda) to 18.8 (West Coast) tally gave a better indication of who had controlled the game than the final margin.
But goals are what wins games.
St Kilda has put four terrific quarters of football together to start the 2017 season. Sadly, the season is two rounds old and they have been outplayed and outscored by their opposition in the rest of their games.
The season that promised so much during the pre-season and at times in the first two rounds, has started 0-2. They will host Brisbane at Etihad Stadium next week.
That 25-point lead the Saints had against the Eagles in the opening term should have been so much better. They gave the Eagles no room and wouldn't allow them to play their own fast-moving brand of football on their own turf. And Seb Ross and Dylan Roberton provided run through the midfield.
They also made the most of the Eagles' ruck injury woes too. West Coast's Jon Giles and Nathan Vardy took on Tom Hickey at the stoppages and the Saint won out. His forwards benefited too, with St Kilda kicking 2.1 directly from stoppages in the opening term.
The Eagles will need to work on that before they face Richmond at the MCG next week. The usually free-running Eagles were held up when they did have the ball. At times, West Coast's midfield was looking inside their attacking 50 with 18 St Kilda players in front of them. The hard-running and hard-contested football that they produced in the opening term against the Eagles would give Saints supporters hope.
But the one measure that means the most in the AFL is the scoreboard and the Saints failed to make the most of their opportunities.
At quarter-time, St Kilda led by 19points. From 14 entries into attack they had 13 scoring shots. The problem was they had 6.7 on the board. With Nick Riewoldt injured, they needed someone else to kick goals. They had six individual goal scorers at the first break.
This is a side that hasn't beaten West Coast since round 17 of 2011 and had an interstate record of 2-18 since Alan Richardson took the helm.
The Saints' inaccuracy from the first half carried on into the second. They added 2.5 for the quarter from 10 forward 50 entries.
They may have been a victim of the game's progression too. Late in the second term, the Saints had a long Maverick Weller goal (again from a stoppage) overturned after a review showed an Eagles defender had gotten a fingertip to it.
The margin would have been 25 points again. It stayed at 20.