Gryan Miers made a triumphant return to AFL with a match winning performance against the Saints on Thursday night to help Geelong return to the winner’s list, but the victory may have come at a cost with star midfielder Max Holmes to have scans on a potential syndesmosis injury.
Holmes’ leg folded back underneath him as he was met by oncoming traffic when he charged through a stoppage, and he had to be helped from the ground. He was on crutches and wearing a moon boot post game.
Geelong coach Chris Scott said the extent of the injury was unknown but admitted it was a blow as he could join Jeremy Cameron on the sidelines as the key forward recovers from AC joint surgery.
“I will just wait to see what it is and deal with it when we know. Obviously, it is frustrating but it is the game. If you asked a couple of weeks ago, ‘who do you really not want to lose?’ Yeah, Cameron and Holmes would be up there,” Scott said.
They also took Mannagh off the ground in the last quarter when the margin grew to a manageable lead after he battled hamsting soreness for most of the game. He is likely to have scans.
Miers had better fortune, kicking three goals and creating four more for teammates to blow the Saints apart and remind everyone that it was class rather than effort which separated the two teams. The eventual margin was a flattering 27 points after the Cats conceded the final three goals of the game.
Despite the comfortable win, it wasn’t until Miers kicked his third goal midway through third quarter to make the lead 28 points that Geelong could afford to feel the game was in control.
Only moments earlier the Saints were threatening to win in Geelong for the first time since 1999 when they started to charge at the Cats and hit the scoreboard.
They had kicked three goals in a row when Jhye Clark turned the ball over and opened the door for Cooper Sharman who was alone inside 50 and able to kick to a vacant goal from 35 metres out.
He missed. It was deflating. As the Saints dropped their shoulders knowing the margin was 16 points instead of 11 points, Geelong went for home.
They ran the ball down to the other end where Patrick Dangerfield was waiting to kick the goal and quell a growing sense of panic.
It was a devastating blow for the Saints who had fought back into the contest after conceding the first 26 points of the game.
Saints’ coach Ross Lyon rued the slow start and the missed moments with the Saints’ inexperience in the midfield obvious at times as they overused handball early and didn’t handle the anticipated opposition pressure.
“They took full toll and we didn’t and it was just some big moments that we didn’t quite take advantage of and they capitalised,” Lyon said. “There were some good signs but some real frustrations. It all depends which way you want to look at it.”
Sharman was not the reason St Kilda lost to the Cats on Thursday night, but he will still have nightmares about that moment, although his coach backed him to use the moment as a learning opportunity.
“It’s not ideal but people miss. That’s okay, just take the opportunity next time…on the other side of the coin, why did they take it down the length of the ground, so there are two pieces,” Lyon said. “It is half full or half empty? It all depends what we do with it from here.”
Sharman had not had much support inside 50 with Connor O’Sullivan and Tom Stewart welcoming Jack Henry back to defence.
Anthony Caminiti could not get near the ball and Jack Silvagni – who was their best defender – was moved forward late as the Saints tried to get some reward for effort late.
That they did was as much due to Geelong taking their foot off the gas and Holmes and Mannagh off.
The win was a relief for the Cats who had been playing reasonable football but not beating good opposition and a realisation that the Saints are not at that level yet.
Geelong had played good yet frustrating football in the first half, dominating possession and territory but not taking enough of an advantage on the scoreboard.
It’s been a consistent theme in the past month and makes them a harder watch for their fans than they have been used to for the past 20 years.
They had a 26-point lead before the Saints had even scored and had 51 first half disposals compared to St Kilda’s one. By half-time they had 11 more inside 50s but their lead was a an uncomfortable 27 points.
The good news was that Bailey Smith and Holmes were switched on and winning the ball on the inside and outside. St Kilda’s Hugo Garcia and Max Hall were competing hard but did not have the same options on the outside as their opponents.
Jay Polkinghorne was excellent, kicking a goal with his first kick when Miers caressed the ball to him he could mark directly inside 50. Polkinghorne took six marks inside 50 and kicked two goals and could have kicked more if he had been accurate.
By contrast the Saints had no-one forward of the ball to threaten and wasted too many chances when they presented. They were also left at the barrier with the final margin basically the same as it had been after 15 minutes when the Cats opened up a lead they never relinquished.
