Fantastic victory in the end. Very happy with the result. The Saints gave it their all and they still couldn't beat us. They've been playing good football lately, so we always knew they would push us all the way.
We dominated the 2nd quarter and we should have buried the Saints by half-time. We had 19 scoring shots to 7 shots up to half-time, so the game should have been over, but wasting opportunities was always going to come back to haunt us somewhat.
In regards to the last free kick decision, I have no sympathy for the Saints. I don't care whether they were robbed tonight or not, people should be aware that the first goal of the night by Saad came as result from a poor umpiring decision when Shaw was alleged to have deliberately kicked the ball out of bounds, despite it clearly not being deliberate by Shaw. When I saw the final decision with Harry O it initially it looked like a free from where I was sitting which was in level 1 of the Ponsford end.
We were ordinary in the early stages of the first quarter when the Saints jumped out of the blocks, but we worked our way into the game and by the 2nd quarter we were dominating them. It was a pity we didn't fully capitalise on the scoreboard in the 2nd quarter to guarantee there was no fightback. The third quarter was poor and our ball usage was average and against better sides we'd be trouble if we played like we did in the 3rd quarter. The last quarter was ok, but not great. I felt Daisy Thomas' goal in the final quarter gave the fans and the players the spark to hold on in the end. Great running by Daisy to beat Sam Fisher like that when the contest was there to be won.
Jolly was best on ground as he was terrific in the ruck. Beams was solid as usual, Thomas had a much improved game, Pendles was solid without being spectacular and Dawes was very good tonight. I couldn't fault the effort he put in tonight. Travis wasn't great, but he wasn't terrible either despite what others thought.
This was a must win game tonight and with Hawthorn and West Coast losing this weekend, it has given us a huge chance to stay in the top 4. We are now 2 games clear of the Eagles and a game clear of the Hawks which makes for good reading.
Bring on the Swans next weekend!
GO PIES!!!