Saints have the winning touch
AFL Results 
/ Andy Morris / 06 September 2010 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
Their victory on the weekend, however, saw them installed as favourites to win the Grand Final.
Andy Morris sees St Kilda's victory over Geelong as signalling that the Saints are genuine premiership contenders, determined to go one better than last year.
The Saints' defeat to the Cats in last year's Grand Final, where they led for the first three quarters, left the club bitterly disappointed.
What a difference a year has made.
Beaten by 12 points last September at the MCG, the Saints upset their rivals by four points in the qualifying final at the same venue in front of almost 64 000 fans.
And their Grand Final dreams look closer to turning into reality, as this time, unlike the 2009 Grand Final, they showed their best in the last quarter.
The Cats were denied what looked like a famous victory when Cameron Ling scored with one minute, one second left. But umpire Matt Stevic ruled it out after Cameron Mooney's tackle on James Gwilt was deemed a pushed in the back
Lenny Hayes, with 25 possessions and nine tackles, led the way for the Saints, while Brendon Goddard had 26 touches and Nick Dal Santo 29. Nick Riewoldt was in top form, booting three goals and hauling in 11 marks, and Stephen Milne had three majors.
Geelong's hopes for another Grand Final success are not completely over, but their odds of making it three flags in four years have lengthened.
Jimmy Bartel, with 32 disposals, was a top performer for the Cats, but Geelong were left to rue their wayward kicking in the final term, when they registered 1.7 to St Kilda's one straight goal.
The Saints led by three goals at the long break, and were ahead by 11 points going into the final term, which proved to be a real classic in wet and wild conditions.
St Kilda led the table for three rounds of the competition early in the home-and-away season, yet went on to finish six points behind Geelong in the final ladder standings. Their victory on the weekend, however, saw them installed as favourites to win the Grand Final.
Despite being a foundation team in the league, the Saints have only won a single premiership, a famous one-point win in the 1966 VFL Grand Final.
But on the evidence of their victory over the Cats, they must be in with a good shout of securing a second flag at long last later this month.
