{"id":555098,"date":"2026-03-21T14:25:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555098\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T14:25:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:25:54","slug":"saints-squeeze-out-gws-in-delayed-afl-clash-bendigo-advertiser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555098\/","title":{"rendered":"Saints squeeze out GWS in delayed AFL clash | Bendigo Advertiser"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JackJack Higgins and the Saints set up a big lead to help hold out the Giants in Sydney. Photo: Mark Evans\/AAP PHOTOS<\/p>\n

St Kilda withstood a late GWS fightback to register their first AFL win of the season, squeezing out the Giants by four points at Engie Stadium.<\/p>\n

Saints kicked seven successive goals on a run from early in the first quarter until halfway through the second term, to at one point lead by 39 on their way to a 11.12 (78) to 10.14 (74) victory.<\/p>\n

GWS got within four in the last 23 seconds, kicking five of the six goals in the final quarter.<\/p>\n

They left their run too late and the Saints ended a run of four successive losses to GWS, who dropped to 1-2 for the season after consecutive losses of their own.<\/p>\n

It came after the start of the game was delayed by 50 minutes on Saturday due to lightning in the vicinity of the ground.<\/p>\n

“I thought our group relaxed, they were singing Dancing in the Dark before they went out, they were pretty chilled,” St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“I think we deserved that win, we learnt a bit about how to time manage better in the end and there were some really courageous acts.<\/p>\n

“We won’t get ahead of ourselves, it’s nice to get off the mark and pop that balloon.”<\/p>\n

\"StSt Kilda were terrific early to help them get on the board for season 2026. (Mark Evans\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n

The Saints superior pressure, better ball use and more accurate goalkicking had them well in front for most of the day, though they kicked just three goals after halftime.<\/p>\n

“I think they dominated the first half I think we dominated that second half,” GWS coach Adam Kingsley said.<\/p>\n

Saints did dominate clearances and contested possessions early on, but GWS fought back in both areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

St Kilda’s forward half turnovers set up 39 of their 56 first half points.<\/p>\n

“I’m not sure it was their pressure, I think we gifted them some goals, unfortunately through some poor decision making or poor skill,” Kingsley said.<\/p>\n

He lamented their inability to kick more than 2.7 in the third quarter, during which they had 15 more inside 50s and finished the term 27 behind, having scored just 5.13.<\/p>\n

\"JesseJesse Hogan was a usual key focal point for the Giants up front. (Mark Evans\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n

Jesse Hogan kicked the opening goal, but the visitors dominated the rest of the first quarter, slamming on five unanswered majors, two of them to Jack Higgins.<\/p>\n

Saints kicked the first two goals of the second quarter before GWS produced some resistance.<\/p>\n

Goals to Harry Rowston and Ryan Angwin briefly stopped the bleeding but Max Hall pounced on another GWS error to ensure the Saints won the second quarter and were ahead by 32 at halftime.<\/p>\n

Jack Sinclair had 32 disposals, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera finished with 27 possessions, five clearances and four score assists for St Kilda, who benefited from two goals each from Higgins and Alix Tauru.<\/p>\n

Lyon said Anthony Caminiti suffered hamstring tightness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lachie Ash gathered 38 possessions and Clayton Oliver had 33 for GWS, with hogan and Phoenix Gothard kicking two goals each.<\/p>\n

Australian Associated Press<\/p>\n

\"YourYour morning news<\/p>\n

Today’s top stories curated by our news team.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"TheThe lunch break<\/p>\n

Grab a quick bite of today’s latest news from around the region and the nation.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"TheThe evening wrap<\/p>\n

Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"NoteNote from the Editor<\/p>\n

Get the editor’s insights: what’s happening & why it matters.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"SportSport<\/p>\n

The latest news, results & expert analysis.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"FootyHQFootyHQ<\/p>\n

Love footy? We’ve got all the action covered.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"What'sWhat’s On<\/p>\n

Going out or staying in? Find out what’s on.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"PropertyProperty<\/p>\n

Real local, smart property news for regional Australia<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Senior<\/p>\n

Stay in the know on news that matters to you with twice weekly newsletters from The Senior.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"ExploreExplore Travel<\/p>\n

Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Echidna<\/p>\n

Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Informer<\/p>\n

Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"VoiceVoice of Real Australia<\/p>\n

Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network’s editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"MotoringMotoring<\/p>\n

Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarGuide, ACM’s exclusive motoring partner.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"BreakingBreaking news alert<\/p>\n

Be the first to know when news breaks.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"Today'sToday’s Paper Alert<\/p>\n

Your digital replica of Today’s Paper. Ready to read from 5am!<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

\"YourYour favourite puzzles<\/p>\n

Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily!<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jack Higgins and the Saints set up a big lead to help hold out the Giants in Sydney.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-555098","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\/555098","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=555098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}