ST KILDA pummelled the Western Bulldogs by 50 points last night to take its second win of the season and inflict a second consecutive loss on a team many rate as a premiership contender.
It is early days for 2007 yet, but the result suggests St Kilda's window of opportunity may not have closed yet, while the Bulldogs' may be, for the moment, yet to open wide.
The return of Nick Riewoldt galvanised the Saints. He was close to best on ground in what was at times a fairly lacklustre match, but he was certainly most effective. Riewoldt had six kicks, six marks and two goals in the first half, nine, seven and four by the end of the match.
Not overwhelming statistics by any means, but a Bulldog defence that struggles against tall forwards anyway, could not find an opponent to match the big Saint's run or his marking power.
Understandably, as he has had no match practice this season, Riewoldt was less productive in the second half, but Justin Koschitzke was an adequate foil. St Kilda will be a threat to any team if it can consistently get this pair on the ground together. The Achilles heel, in each case, is their finishing, with both missing shots last night players of their class should convert every time.
Even in two rounds, these two teams had shown themselves to be mercurial. St Kilda had beaten Melbourne impressively in round one before wilting in the heat against Brisbane last week. The Bulldogs trounced Geelong like the premiership possibilities everyone reckoned them to be, then were out-run and out-witted by Adelaide last week.
From the start, however, it was apparent the barometer had risen at Moorabbin this week while Whitten Oval had remained mired in a slow-moving trough.
The game started at a fierce pace, but it was St Kilda that was running with more purpose. That tireless veteran Robert Harvey sparked them in the middle — Steven Baker's work against Scott West an invaluable assist — and Xavier Clarke fairly buzzed all over the forward line.
St Kilda worked hard to create space for Riewoldt and Fraser Gehrig up forward. At the other end, Brad Johnson had to work hard to find any space at all. While six players kicked St Kilda's seven goals to half-time, Johnson had all three of the Bulldogs', and three of the six behinds, too.
Not until the 20-minute mark of the third term, when Sam Power bounced one through from a fair range, did another Bulldog get on the goal sheet.
However, the Bulldogs remained vaguely in the game for much of the night. Always trailing, but there was constantly a possibility, too, that a sudden burst of scoring could bridge the gap.
That possibility became more remote by the minute as the second half started, with Nick Dal Santo now providing the drive from the middle Harvey had in the first half.
Dal Santo uses the ball like Uncle Scrooge uses money — wisely. Feeding off his supply, Baker, Harvey and Gehrig got the first three goals of the second half. St Kilda's lead, instead of bouncing around the three-goal mark, now doubled that.
Power added another goal within a minute of his first and Luke Darcy got one from a free kick, but St Kilda also added three more to maintain its six-goal buffer at the last change.
Some Dogs worked hard. Many — Johnson, West and Lindsay Gilbee — know no other way. Daniel Cross was a solid, game-long contributor, but it said something that Jordan McMahon, mopping up around the back line, was one of their highest possession winners.
St Kilda emerged from the game with renewed possibilities, though Gehrig may have a nervous wait as the match review panel assesses an off-the-ball incident with Brian Harris in the third quarter.
Otherwise, the team that for the past couple of years has been "Victoria's most likely", put in a solid claim that it may be so again this year. The Bulldogs' claim to that status is stuck in the pending tray.
ST KILDA 6.3
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.2
GOALS St Kilda: Riewoldt 4, Milne 3, Koschitzke 2, Gram, X Clarke, Gehrig, Montagna, Goddard, Blake, Harvey, Jones. Western Bulldogs: Johnson 3, Power 2, Cooney 2, Darcy, Addison.
BEST St Kilda: Dal Santo, Gram, Harvey, Baker, Goddard, Montagna, Riewoldt, Blake. Western Bulldogs: Eagleton, Cross, McMahon, West, Johnson, Boyd, Cooney.
INJURIES St Kilda: M Clarke (hamstring) replaced in selected side by McQualter. Western Bulldogs: Wight (blurred vision).
UMPIRES Donlon, McBurney, Rosebury.
CROWD 38,474 at Telstra Dome.
