victory at Moorabbin, the Saints stopped the Giants’ run and applied constant pressure throughout all four quarters.
Both teams displayed strong forward play, with key players Zarlie Goldsworthy and Jesse Wardlaw shining for the Giants and Saints, respectively, as their strong forward skills came to the fore.
Jess Doyle also provided a flash of brilliance with a goal that could easily win goal of the year.
The game started out scrappy as both teams struggled to hold onto the ball due to the typical Melbourne drizzle that fell at Moorabbin.
Coach Cam Bernasconi had previously said that this type of play best represents the Giants’ style of play, and the Giants were able to attack the Saints early, applying pressure to kick their first score from turnover.
After the Giants exerted significant pressure on the ball up the field, Goldsworthy buried the opening goal from a deep inside 50 entry.
With its free-flowing handball chains, St. Kilda was able to capitalize on that point and complete its own unique tsunami within 50 entries.
Greater Western Sydney ultimately fell short of the vigor that the Saints brought to the game, despite winning all of its previous encounters with St. Kilda.
The recent success of St. Kilda has been largely due to the contributions of Tyanna Smith (17 disposals, five clearances) and Georgia Patrikios (20 disposals), who were once again effective as they dominated clearance and Olivia Vesely helped them with their run and carry.
St. Kilda’s forwards were able to find themselves in space and release pressure because they transitioned the ball cleanly and worked together to bring it through the hallway.
St. Kilda was able to easily break into Greater Western Sydney’s forward fifty throughout all four quarters as a result of Greater Western Sydney’s inability to layer its defense.
Alicia Eva (24 disposals) and Rebecca Beeson (19 disposals, nine tackles), despite their struggles, were also productive.
Goldsworthy (two goals, 18 possessions, and nine tackles) was a standout player for the orange team.
Despite having an ankle injury, Alyce Parker (one goal, 24 disposals, and eight tackles) was outstanding in the third term.
Later in the last term, Nicola Xenos encountered a comparable problem.