A Jaimee Lambert masterclass has led St Kilda to a fourth straight win as the Saints defeated the GIANTS by 14 points, but it came at a cost with a suspected serious knee injury to Nicola Barr.
Lambert led the way for the Saints from the outset, kicking the opening goal before adding a second in the third term that was critical in taking the game away from the GIANTS to ensure the 4.6 (30) to 2.4 (16) win.
The 32-year-old had 25 disposals – 16 of which were contested - to go with her two majors as she firms for a third straight Saints club champion award to go with the three that she won at Collingwood.
The Saints' joy was diffused late though when Barr, who was lining up her against her former side for the first time, going down in agony and clutching her knee after it jarred in the Henson Park turf.
Barr’s injury came just a minute after important defender Bianca Jakobsson limped off with an ankle issue amid a composed showing down back.
The GIANTS stuck with St Kilda throughout the first half, matching them for field position and inside 50’s as they went into the main break only a point down.
But the extra class in the Saints' engine room – led by Lambert and Georgia Patrikios – started to take its toll on the home side along with the extra slickness in the Saints' ball movement and efficiency up forward as they kicked away in the third term with three goals.
As hard as the GIANTS tried in the absence of experienced stars Alyce Parker and Alicia Eva, their skill errors again proved to be their downfall highlighted by a defensive 50 turnover in the first quarter that led to Lambert’s first goal.
A source of optimism for the struggling GIANTS came in the form of second-year midfielder Kaitlyn Srhoj who had a career-high 27 disposals to go with eight tackles.
GIANTS 0.0 1.2 1.2 2.4 (16)
ST KILDA 1.2 1.3 4.4 4.6 (30)
GOALS
GIANTS: Davies, Garnett
St Kilda: Lambert 2, Smith, Simpson
BEST
GIANTS: Srhoj, Brazendale, Beeson, Goldsworthy, Garnett
St Kilda: Lambert, Patrikios, Simpson, Trudgeon, Xenos, Smith
INJURIES
GIANTS: None
St Kilda: Barr (knee), Jakobsson (ankle)
LATE CHANGES
GIANTS: Alicia Eva (quad) replaced in the selected side by Sophie Kavanagh
St Kilda: None
Crowd: 1,519 at Henson Park
