A nightmare and an unlikely fairytale played out in unison at Marvel Stadium in a rare Sunday night game.
Carlton continued their revival under interim coach Josh Fraser and took a major step towards qualifying for the AFL’s inaugural wildcard round with a 44-point triumph over St Kilda, who played without Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera for all bar the first nine minutes.
The Blues had a single win from nine matches when Michael Voss resigned as coach in May, but this was their 10th victory in 12 games since Fraser took over – and propels them two games clear of the injury-ravaged Saints.
Tenth-placed Carlton can lock in a wildcard berth if they defeat the Western Bulldogs next Sunday, strengthening Fraser’s chances of being Voss’ permanent replacement.
St Kilda mustered only eight goals and 62 points in total, marking the eighth time in Fraser’s tenure that the suddenly stingy Blues conceded fewer than 80 points as they again dominated uncontested possession.
Playing for his third club, Francis Evans produced arguably a career-best performance with 22 disposals, 12 inside 50s, 10 score involvements and a goal to headline Carlton’s performance.
George Hewett had 20 of his 26 disposals by half-time, when the Blues already led by 25 points, while Marc Pittonet (two goals) took the ruck honours over ex-teammate Tom De Koning and Rowan Marshall.
The Saints, in 11th, remain mathematically in the race with a fortnight to go in the home-and-away season. But Ross Lyon’s men resembled the walking wounded on a night they honoured the late Danny Frawley in the sixth annual Spud’s Game.
Wanganeen-Milera barely trained all week because of a hip issue, but hobbled from the ground early in the first quarter after suffering a left hamstring injury in a chase on the wing.
St Kilda ruled out their $2 million match-winner soon after, and his season is probably also over.
They must beat Richmond and Gold Coast in the last two rounds to keep their finals chances alive – but also need the Bulldogs and Carlton to stumble in both their remaining clashes.
Nothing which followed that devastating blow could make St Kilda’s night worse, but Mason Wood (calf) joined Wanganeen-Milera on the sidelines before half-time, while De Koning (right shoulder), Liam Ryan (left shoulder) and Bradley Hill (left knee) soldiered on despite their own issues.
Hill’s return was particularly surprising after he appeared to have hyperextended his knee landing from an aerial contest in the second term before being helped from the field.
The 33-year-old gathered a match-high 31 disposals to join Max Hall (30, two goals, 10 clearances) as the Saints’ best players.
Expectations were high at Moorabbin after an off-season spending spree scored them De Koning and Jack Silvagni from the Blues, on top of Ryan and Sam Flanders, but St Kilda are in jeopardy of missing the finals for the third season in a row.
Silvagni and De Koning were greeted with boos from the Carlton fans all night.
Flanders played only 12 matches before sustaining a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture, and De Koning missed more than a month mid-season recovering from a punctured lung and broken ribs.
Co-captain and dual club champion Jack Sinclair’s campaign ended in June with a calf injury.
Perhaps worst of all, injury-cursed spearhead Max King’s first match in 757 days ended prematurely two weeks ago with his own hamstring strain, which followed injuries to both his knees.
Barring a Houdini-like escape from his side in the weeks ahead, Lyon will enter the final season of his contract next year under significant pressure to turn the long-suffering Saints’ fortunes around.
