St Kilda’s decision to sell their Round 7 home game against the Power came back to bite them on Saturday night as Port Adelaide stunned the former top-four side with a one-point victory.
It was a frantic final three minutes that saw Ken Hinkley’s side record their second consecutive win, points to Zak Butters and Robbie Gray to win the match perfectly capturing what was ultimately a difficult game to watch.
St Kilda kicked just one goal and 12 behinds after the main break in tough, greasy conditions at Cazalys Stadium in Cairns, leaving Power great Kane Cornes questioning what the club are doing in far north Queensland in the first place.
“What are they doing?” Cornes said on AFL.com.au’s The Round So Far.
“They’re not kicking four goals 18 (behinds) at Marvel are they?
“When you miss the finals by one game last year, when you’re 5-1 heading into this game and you haven’t won a premiership in 56 years, why are you selling home games and going to Cairns of all places?
“It was the worst spectacle of footy I think I’ve ever seen and they’ve cost themselves probably two wins that they just would not lose at Marvel.”
It was just the Saints’ second game at Cazalys Stadium, the first coming in similar circumstances last year as Adelaide provided an upset for the ages to send St Kilda packing.
The 2022 loss now leaves the Saints with a 5-2 record and will see them fall out of the top four.
While the club’s decision to sell the game is commercially smart in the year after the pandemic, Cornes believes “no amount of money” is worth continuing to starve Saints fans of success.
“If that comes back to haunt them later in the year when your fans are that starved of success, no amount of money can make up for missing the big stage of the finals, which you just shouldn’t miss from 5-1,” he continued.
“I think they need to have a really hard look at their strategy about going up and playing in that part of Australia.”
The other question that will come of the game is the decision to play in Cairns in April at night. Hot, humid weather is often a staple throughout this time of year, and both teams kicking a combined 95 points is not a surprising outcome given the expected conditions.
Meanwhile, the victory is particularly crucial for the Power, Ken Hinkley refusing to give up hope on his side playing finals footy in 2022.
They’ve now got a huge game against the also struggling Bulldogs in Round 8, while the Saints face the toughest test in footy when taking on Melbourne at the MCG.