St Kilda have broken through for their first AFLW victory in dramatic fashion, upsetting premiership favourites Melbourne by five points at Moorabbin Oval.
In what was surely one of the biggest boilovers in the short history of the AFLW, St Kilda, in their first season and rated a $101 shot to win the flag, triumphed 3.1 (19) to 1.8 (14) against the wasteful and inaccurate Demons.
Melbourne’s loss was compounded after Maddy Guerin appeared to dislocate her kneecap and Irish rookie Sinead Goldrick suffered a concussion in the second quarter.
The Demons dominated the inside-50 count 31-17 as well as the scoring shots 9-4, while they also had more disposals, contested possessions, tackles and hitouts.
But they couldn’t make it count on the scoreboard and the plucky Saints made them pay a heavy price.
Caitlin Greiser (11 disposals and four marks) was outstanding for St Kilda, having a hand in each one of her team’s goals, scoring two, including a match-winning bomb from 50 metres out, and setting up the other.
Olivia Vesely also played a big hand in the stunning result with 16 touches (nine contested) and six tackles, as did Tilly Lucas-Rodd who had 16 disposals (eight contested), Georgia Patrikios (15 disposals and five tackles) and Rosie Dillon (11 contested possessions, seven tackles and five clearances).
For Melbourne, vice-captain Karen Paxman stood out with 26 touches (13 contested) and six clearances.
Melbourne dominated the first quarter with 14 of the first 18 inside 50s, including the first eight of the game.
But wastefulness in attack, and a grim St Kilda defence, rendered the Demons incapable of capitalising on a strong breeze and they had to settle for just a four-point lead at quarter-time.
The Saints continued to absorb the Demons’ pressure in the second term and were rewarded late in the first half when Darcy Guttridge goaled against the run of play to ensure the hosts enjoyed a one-point lead at half-time, despite Melbourne doubling them for forward entries (20-10).
The arm wrestle continued in the third term with just three behinds all scored by Melbourne handing them back a slender two-point advantage at three-quarter time.
But the Dees were held scoreless in the final period and when Greiser spectacularly split the big sticks at the seven-minute mark, it proved to be enough for an historic result.
