{"id":849411,"date":"2026-08-09T18:56:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/849411\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T18:56:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:56:17","slug":"carlton-v-st-kilda-blues-on-cusp-of-finals-spot-as-saints-season-slips-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/849411\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlton v St Kilda: Blues on cusp of finals spot as Saints\u2019 season slips away"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Marc<\/p>\n

August 10, 2026 \u2014 2:21am<\/p>\n

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St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has described losing Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera to a potential season-ending hamstring injury as like an \u201carrow through the heart\u201d as Carlton edged closer to an unlikely finals berth.<\/p>\n

In a rare Sunday night game at Marvel Stadium, the Blues\u2019 revival continued under interim coach Josh Fraser as they took a major step towards qualifying for the AFL\u2019s inaugural wildcard round with a 44-point triumph over the Saints, who played without Wanganeen-Milera for all bar the first nine minutes.<\/p>\n

\"NasiahNasiah Wanganeen-Milera suffered a left hamstring injury in the first nine minutes of St Kilda\u2019s loss.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Carlton had a single win from nine matches when Michael Voss resigned as coach in May, but this was their 10th victory in 12 games since Fraser took over \u2013 and propels them two games clear of injury-ravaged St Kilda.<\/p>\n

The 10th-placed Blues can lock in a wildcard spot if they defeat the Western Bulldogs next Sunday, strengthening Fraser\u2019s chances of being Voss\u2019 permanent replacement.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Bailey<\/a><\/p>\n

Fraser, who played 218 games for Collingwood and Gold Coast, will make a call this coming week on whether he officially applies for the job, but Carlton fans made no secret about what they want, chanting \u201cWe want Fraser\u201d in the fourth quarter and post-match.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m brutally honest, I\u2019m not comfortable with it, purely because I feel like I\u2019m a product of a lot of people around me \u2013 but I appreciate it,\u201d Fraser said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate that they feel connected to us as a club at the moment. I think that\u2019s a really important thing for us moving forward. We live in reality that we\u2019ve got work in front of us, and we\u2019ve got to continue to build our style and build something that\u2019s sustainable.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, I absolutely appreciate the sentiment and the well-wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

St Kilda mustered only eight goals and 62 points in total, marking the eighth time in Fraser\u2019s tenure that the suddenly stingy Blues conceded fewer than 80 points as they again dominated uncontested possession.<\/p>\n

Playing for his third club, Francis Evans produced arguably a career-best performance with 22 disposals, 12 inside 50s, 10 score involvements and a goal to headline Carlton\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

\"ItIt was party time for Harry McKay and the Blues on Sunday night.Getty Images<\/p>\n

George Hewett had 20 of his 26 disposals by half-time, when the Blues already led by 25 points, while Marc Pittonet (two goals) took the ruck honours over ex-teammate Tom De Koning and Rowan Marshall, and Harry McKay booted three goals.<\/p>\n

The Saints, in 11th, remain mathematically in the race with a fortnight to go in the home-and-away season, but their hopes are fading.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Nick<\/a><\/p>\n

They must beat Richmond and Gold Coast in the last two rounds to keep their finals chances alive \u2013 but also need the Bulldogs and Carlton to stumble in both their remaining clashes.<\/p>\n

Lyon\u2019s men resembled the walking wounded on a night they honoured the late Danny Frawley in the sixth annual Spud\u2019s Game. Wanganeen-Milera barely trained all week because of a hip issue, then hobbled from the ground early in the first quarter after suffering a left hamstring injury in a chase on the wing.<\/p>\n

St Kilda ruled out their $2 million match-winner soon after, and his season is probably also over.<\/p>\n

Nothing which followed that devastating blow could make the Saints\u2019 night worse, but Mason Wood (calf) joined Wanganeen-Milera on the sidelines before half-time, while De Koning (right shoulder), Liam Ryan (left shoulder) and Bradley Hill (left knee) soldiered on despite their own issues.<\/p>\n

Jack Silvagni also played a week after dislocating his right shoulder after the club\u2019s medical staff gave him the green light.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been through it before. I\u2019ve had lots of stuff happen. Obviously, when it\u2019s \u2018Nas\u2019 [who gets hurt], it\u2019s an arrow through the heart, in a sense,\u201d Lyon said.<\/p>\n

\"RossRoss Lyon and his Saints could miss the finals for the third year in a row.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cBut my job\u2019s to lead people under pressure, and stay composed [but] I knew coming in it would be hard…<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure what the worst case is [for Wanganeen-Milera], but I would think, what I saw \u2013 and I don\u2019t know much about hamstrings, but you\u2019re [looking at] minimum three weeks. He\u2019s not going to play in the home-and-away season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Jake<\/a><\/p>\n

Lyon said he and Wanganeen-Milera shared a hug at half-time, but that the club\u2019s staff were perplexed at his and Wood\u2019s soft-tissue setbacks after an eight-day break between matches and not having a particularly arduous week of training.<\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s return to the match was particularly surprising after he hyperextended his knee landing from an aerial contest in the second term before being helped from the field.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old gathered a match-high 31 disposals to be among the Saints\u2019 best players, along with Max Hall, who starred with 30 touches, two goals and 10 clearances.<\/p>\n

Expectations were high at Moorabbin after an off-season spending spree scored them De Koning and Jack Silvagni from the Blues, on top of Ryan and Sam Flanders, but St Kilda are in jeopardy of missing the finals for the third season in a row.<\/p>\n

Adding insult to injury, Silvagni and De Koning were greeted with boos from the Carlton fans all night.<\/p>\n

Flanders played only 12 matches before sustaining a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture, and De Koning missed more than a month mid-season recovering from a punctured lung and broken ribs.<\/p>\n

\"BradleyBradley Hill brushed off a jarred knee to play out the match.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Co-captain and dual club champion Jack Sinclair\u2019s campaign also ended in June with a calf injury. Perhaps worst of all, injury-cursed spearhead Max King\u2019s first match in 757 days ended prematurely two weeks ago with his own hamstring strain, which followed injuries to both his knees.<\/p>\n

Barring a Houdini-like escape from his side in the weeks ahead, Lyon will enter the final season of his contract next year under significant pressure to turn the long-suffering Saints\u2019 fortunes around.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to wear it. I\u2019m fine. I\u2019m a big boy. I\u2019m happy to take what comes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeaders shepherd, protect, nurture and challenge their people under pressure, and that\u2019s my job. I\u2019ll continue to do it until I\u2019m either tapped, or I tap myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

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