North Melbourne v St Kilda: Saints keep Roos at arm's length on forgettable Friday night

ST KILDA  5.3     8.8     9.15     12.17     (89)
NORTH MELBOURNE  2.5     2.6     4.9     10.12     (72)
GOALS  St Kilda: Billings 2, Bruce 2, Steven 2, Membrey 2, Acres, Roberton, Gresham, Sinclair. North Melbourne: Clarke 2, Mullett, Brown, Waite, Ziebell, Turner, Wood, Hrovat, Goldstein. 
BEST St Kilda: Sinclair, Billings, Roberton, Ross, Carlisle, Brown, Montagna. North Melbourne: Goldstein, Gibson, Cunnington, Mountford, McDonald
UMPIRES Schmitt, McInerney, Fleer, Fisher.
CROWD 26,107 at Etihad Stadium.

What would Josh Kelly have seen if he settled down on his couch to watch this game on a rare weekend off? He would have seen St Kilda's Jack Lonie play for a free kick, fool the nearby umpire, then waste a gilt-edged chance to capitalise. 

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He would have seen North's Shaun Higgins – normally full of class – miss a regulation set shot, then moments later send a kick straight down the throat of Saint Blake Acres. 

He would have seen a string of errant kicks, stray handballs, and fumbles. He would have seen clanger contagion. And all that was in the second quarter alone.

What he would not have seen was much to suggest that North, or the Saints, two clubs strongly linked to the star midfielder, will provide him with anywhere near the opportunities for silverware he will have if he remains at Greater Western Sydney. 

The graveyard Sunday twilight slot would have been more befitting of this game, played at an awkward tempo and in front of an underwhelming crowd of 26,107.

Still, in the broad picture of this season, winning ugly will do for St Kilda. The Saints' victory was their first in more than a month, and keeps them within striking distance of the top eight, with six wins and as many defeats. And to be fair to Alan Richardson's side, while they looked pedestrian for most of the night, they also looked like winners from the game's early stages.

Their ball movement was less strained than North's, meaning that despite trailing in the contested ball stakes, they got the footy forward more often than the Roos. So while St Kilda forwards sprayed a glut of getable shots, they were afforded enough openings for spasmodic moments of brilliance, like the two snaps from Jack Steven just before half time which all but extinguished North's flame.

The Saints had built their first-half lead on the back of Jack Billings' fine finishing. The crafty forward was a welcome relief from the dire ball use around the ground. He got to celebrate kicking four goals. Despite his scoreboard impact, Steven was otherwise well-held by North second-gamer Declan Mountford, but such was the flow of the game, or lack thereof, that was enough.

Another of St Kilda's full house of Jacks – Jack Sinclair – was one of the few who was consistently tidy with the footy, while Seb Ross and Luke Dunstan were both industrious if not brilliant. 

In defence, Jake Carlisle shrugged off pre-game fitness concerns to beat Jarrad Waite, while Nathan Brown had the better of North's Ben Brown. Their work again allowed Dylan Roberton to get off the chain to provide ample drive, while Leigh Montagna too offered no shortage of run from defence. 

North didn't have much to crow about as they slumped to their eighth defeat from 12 matches this year, but Todd Goldstein returned to form with a strong ruck display, while Sam Gibson was tireless in the midfield, and youngster Ryan Clarke provided a couple of moments of spark.

The margin at the long break was 38 points, and a vital percentage boost was there for the Saints' taking. But almost defying belief, the game quality actually deteriorated from there. 

The turnovers came from both sides, most comically when Saint Sam Gilbert chipped a pass directly to North's Ben Cunnington, only for the Roo to send it straight back to Gilbert's teammate Billy Longer. 

St Kilda kicked 1.7 for the third quarter, but North could only muster 2.3 at the other end, so were still six goals down with a term to play, having kicked just four goals to that point of the game. 

That the Roos did somehow find six last quarter goals, reducing the final margin to just 17 points, should only frustrate them.