Painful defeat hurts Saints

ST Kilda was left to rue inaccurate kicking as a fortunate Geelong overran the Saints in a low-scoring but absorbing clash at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.

The 21-point defeat was compounded for the Saints by what appeared to be a foot injury to important big man Rowan Marshall.

Dejected Marshall was subbed out of the game midway through the third quarter, reporting soreness in his foot.

He hobbled to the huddle at three-quarter-time and was clearly distressed.

Marshall’s pre-season was delayed by stress fractures, causing him to miss the first three games of the season.

His return had been vital to St Kilda’s resurgence after a 2-4 start, but the 10.8 (68) to 5.17 (47) defeat was a dagger to its finals hopes.

The Saints should have held a substantial lead at half-time but wasted opportunities in front of goal proved costly as they kicked more behinds in the first half than an old-school headmaster.

They opened with nine behinds, including several straightforward chances, and their first major did not come until the nine-minute mark of the second term.

But while the Saints missed, Zach Tuohy hit with a sweetly timed barrel from deep in defence.

It was an old-fashioned ballburster that almost rattled the

Marvel Stadium roof and perhaps the only redeeming feature of the first half for Geelong, which was fortunate to trail by only three points at the long break.

But six second half goals helped the Cats sink the Saints and maintain their place in the top four.

Their defence had been overwhelmed in the first half.

Saints Max King, Tim Membrey and Marshall did everything but hit the scoreboard and their height troubled Cats defenders Tom Stewart, Jack Henry and Lachie Henderson.

Many fans would have been calling for Mark Blicavs, who had little impact up the ground, to return to the backline.

The Saints trio combined for 14 marks inside the first half.

It was only their inaccuracy that kept Geelong in the game, King the main culprit kicking 1.5 in what was otherwise an impressive performance.

Cat Tom Hawkins’ second major in the final quarter took the champion forward to 623 career majors, equal with former Carlton and Brisbane spearhead Brendan Fevola.