St Kilda have piled on 22 goals in their most dominant performance of the season โ including finally winning a third quarter โ to thrash West Coast by 101 points amid another ARC controversy.
The lopsided victory under the roof at Marvel Stadium on Sunday moves the retooled Saints to a 3-4 record, and they face two more bottom-four foes, Carlton and Richmond, in the next three weeks, either side of travelling to Darwin to meet Gold Coast.
A Mattaes Phillipou set shot inside the final three minutes was St Kildaโs eighth unanswered goal in the final term, and delivered the clubโs first triple-digit victory since beating Essendon by 110 points in round 14, 2015.
It was the Eaglesโ second triple-digit defeat for the year.
But the biggest talking point was the decision to wipe about 50 seconds of play in the second quarter that followed what was initially called a Saints behind from a long-range Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera misfire.
After that lengthy resumption from the behind, the umpires suddenly motioned that an ARC review had determined Rowan Marshall marked Wanganeen-Mileraโs kick before the ball completely cleared the goal line.
Replays appeared inconclusive on Marshallโs mark, but he took advantage to kick St Kildaโs fourth goal about 18 minutes into the second quarter, which kick-started a Saints flurry that extended their margin over the Eagles to 40 points at half-time.
The goal umpire looked to be in an ideal position to make her original call. The Age has contacted the AFL for comment.
It is common for goals to be reversed before play restarts in the centre after official, or silent, ARC reviews, but the circumstances at Marvel Stadium on Sunday were unusual.
Wanganeen-Milera was outstanding again with 34 disposals, while Jack Higgins kicked a game-high five goals and the leagueโs leading marker, Callum Wilkie, took 16 more and had 12 intercepts in his latest brilliant defensive performance.
Saints coach Ross Lyon insisted during one of his regular back-and-forths with the media after last weekโs one-point loss to the Crows in Adelaide that his team had improved despite winning only two of their first six matches in 2026.
Part of Lyonโs argument was that St Kilda had endured a challenging fixture to open the year. The youthful and rebuilding Eagles, in that regard, were precisely the opposite.
The Saints had lost their first six third quarters this year, and conceded the first two goals on Sunday to West Coast, but kicked seven goals to four to go to the last break with a 55-point buffer.
More to come
