![\"That\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/d83925c6f5a55a4a1ff710d20a3aab84b91da84b.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nLoading<\/p>\n
Wanganeen-Milera\u2019s forward craft was obvious all afternoon, including in the shadows of quarter-time after a strong mark and long goal.<\/p>\n
Daicos and Wanganeen-Milera each booted 17 goals last year, the latter with four in a famous come-from-behind win over Melbourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey get him the ball at all costs, and why not? He is a real weapon for Ross,\u201d Hinkley said.<\/p>\n
Saints ruckman Rowan Marshall was also full of praise for his teammate. \u201cYou can put him anywhere, he is a superstar, he can do everything,\u201d Marshall said.<\/p>\n
Wanganeen-Milera\u2019s move came after Essendon coach Brad Scott had sent Zach Merrett to full forward. Rather than resting the blue-chip midfielder, Merrett was still put to good use, ensuring a quality defender needed to go to him.<\/p>\n
Saints small forward Jack Higgins (three goals) is primed for another strong goalkicking year, and worked well alongside Mitch Owens (two goals). Marcus Windhager (41 disposals), spending much time in a new role at half-back, found the ball at will.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That\u2019s trouble: Saint Mitch Owens is tackled by multiple Bombers on Saturday.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The Saints led by eight points at half-time in a contest dominated by stoppages, but took charge in the third term.<\/p>\n
Bombers draftee Dyson Sharp displayed tremendous work-rate, while former Sun Brayden Fiorini was impressive up forward. Archie Roberts (29 disposals) was busy, Nate Caddy worked hard inside attacking 50 and further afield, but the Bombers too often looked for Peter Wright when streaming forward. Mature-age ruckman Lachlan Blakiston gave himself every chance of round one selection.<\/p>\n
Loading<\/p>\n
The moment<\/p>\n
A strong mark and goal from Liam Ryan late in the final term highlighted why the Saints pursued the former Eagle. While the contest was done, Ryan reinforced he will be a major threat.<\/p>\n
The eye-catcher<\/p>\n
This wasn\u2019t so much eye-catching, as easy on the eyes for Saints fans wondering how Tom De Koning and Rowan Marshall would feature in the same team. At first glance, there shouldn\u2019t be a problem.<\/p>\n
Marshall was drafted as a forward, and blossomed into a blue-chip ruck. De Koning is a frontline ruckman but has been working on his forward craft.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can be real threats in the forward line, real threats in the ruck. They have a real bonus in that position, the Saints,\u201d Hinkley said.<\/p>\n
For the Bombers, it\u2019s great to see Darcy Parish fit and finding plenty of the ball<\/a> through the midfield. There is also excitement around small forward Hussien El Achkar, the draftee from the Calder Cannons delivering a lovely banana goal in the second term. A pairing with Isaac Kako (hamstring strain) will be dangerous for opponents. Small defender Jayden Nguyen was courageous in defence.<\/p>\n Injuries<\/p>\n Wilkie began this clash in excellent touch, patrolling the Saints\u2019 defensive half with typical poise. However, he finished the first term on the bench with ice on a corked right calf, the club said.<\/p>\n He hobbled around at quarter-time, and had Hinkley worried about his fitness ahead of the MCG clash against the Magpies.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was hobbling a fair bit, I think that would be a concern for them coming up to the round zero game,\u201d Hinkley said.<\/p>\n Wilkie has joined Jack Sinclair as co-captains this season, and is pivotal to the Saints\u2019 plans to return to the finals after their off-season recruiting spree. He will be monitored through the week.<\/p>\n Ryan Byrnes (ankle) hobbled from the field and is in doubt. Brad Hill (illness) was a late withdrawal, but the Saints expect him to be fit to face the Magpies.<\/p>\n De Koning took an errant elbow to cheekbone in the second term which left him bloodied, but he played on and later said he was fine.<\/p>\n The verdict<\/p>\n The Saints are likely to maintain Lyon\u2019s typical gameplan – have numbers back in defence, patient ball use from half-back, then look for a teammate forward of centre. There is no reason why they cannot finish in the top 10. There was much to like for the Bombers. But while they have plenty of talent, it shapes as another year of building for Scott and his men, although they will cause an upset or two.<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Loading Wanganeen-Milera\u2019s forward craft was obvious all afternoon, including in the shadows of quarter-time after a strong mark…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-509701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}