Saints ease past struggling Eagles

St Kilda halted their slide down the AFL table with an important 35-point win over
West Coast at a windy Subiaco Oval on Sunday.
The Saints appeared in trouble when they fell behind by 17 points early in the third
quarter.
But the visitors slammed home nine of the final 10 goals of the match to storm to
the 13.13 (91) to 8.8. (56) win.
St Kilda's sixth victory of the season lifts them equal on points with the
fourth-placed Bulldogs, while the Eagles (3-6) remain in the bottom half of the
table.
Stephen Milne booted three goals and was by far the most dangerous forward for the
visitors, while Lenny Hayes (35 possessions, one goal) was inspirational in the
fightback and Nick Dal Santo, Raphael Clarke, Leigh Montagna and Brendon Goddard
were also important.
Eagles forward Ben McKinley, under pressure to keep his spot in the side, booted
four goals in the first half but failed to add to the tally in a poor second half.
Midfielder Matt Priddis, under close attention from Clint Jones all day, worked hard
to gather 34 possessions while Beau Waters, Adam Selwood and Dean Cox battled
valiantly in a losing cause.
Both sides struggled to adjust to the flukey breeze in a scrappy opening term, but a
big bomb from Quinten Lynch and a nice piece of play from Mark LeCras, which gifted
McKinley a goal, gave the Eagles a 14-9 edge at quarter time.
McKinley and Milne traded highlights in an otherwise forgettable second term but
neither side was able to make a major impact on the scoreboard.
The Saints had the better of play but McKinley bobbed up for three goals to counter
Milne's two as the Eagles went into half time with a six-point lead.
Goals to Adam Selwood and Waters to start the third term gave West Coast a handy
lead but the Saints, inspired by the midfield work of Hayes and brave defence from
Clarke, stormed back into the contest.
Six unanswered goals put the Saints up by 22 points early in the fourth quarter but
Selwood's second goal of the match and McKinley's mark 15m out from goal had the
home crowd believing a comeback was on the cards.
But McKinley's terrible spray signalled the end of the fightback, with the Saints
slotting the final three goals of the game to ease to the win in front of 36,244
fans.