Half-time spray inspires St Kilda to wild comeback win over Geelong

St Kilda have completed a remarkable turnaround to defeat Geelong by 18 points in a topsy-turvy clash on Saturday night.

The Cats looked on track for a big victory when they dominated the first half to lead by 33 points at the main change.

But it was a completely different story in the second half as the Saints surged to an unlikely victory.

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They kicked seven goals in a brilliant third quarter before adding another six in the final term.

A win could have sealed a top-four spot for the Cats, but they can still bank the double chance with victory against West Coast next week.

After the match, star ruck Rowan Marshall revealed coach Ross Lyon gave his players a massive spray at half-time.

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“Ross gave us a bit of a bake at half-time and we probably deserved it,” he told Channel 7.

“The first half wasn’t really how we wanted to play, we got smacked in the centre bounce.

“I think we were really able to turn it around in the second half.

“It starts in the midfield and throughout the rest of the team. Really pleased with our second half.”

It was St Kilda’s fifth win in seven matches — an excellent finish to the season.

Skipper Jack Steele (28 disposals, two goals) and Rowan Marshall (28 disposals, 21 hitouts) were crucial to St Kilda’s resurgence.

Josh Battle largely kept Jeremy Cameron (three goals) quiet, while Callum Wilkie (28 disposals, 15 marks) was busy in defence.

Jack Higgins (three goals) and Darcy Wilson (two goals, 25 disposals) popped up at crucial times as the Saints shared the goals around.

But Bradley Hill (back) was substituted late, while Saints young gun Mitch Owens (two goals) could come under scrutiny after catching Tom Stewart high midway through the final term.

Classy Cats defender Lawson Humphries (24 disposals) stood out with his sublime ball use, while Jack Bowes (31 touches) and Shaun Mannagh (two goals, 21 touches) were among their better players.

Geelong kept the Saints goalless in the first term and nudged out to a 28-point lead via a Patrick Dangerfield long bomb early in the second quarter.

Steele finally got St Kilda on the board four minutes into the second quarter.

But a rapid-fire burst of three Cats goals put the visitors in control at half-time.

The Saints exploded out of the blocks to boot four unanswered goals, including two to Wilson, inside the opening five minutes of the third term.

Tim Membrey kicked St Kilda’s fifth on the bounce late in the quarter to level the scores, before Higgins gave the Saints the lead.

St Kilda led by six at three-quarter-time, and while the final term initially proved an arm-wrestle, five consecutive Saints goals put the game to bed.

The Saints (13th, 10-12) finish their season against Carlton next Sunday.

– With AAP

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