ST KILDA’S Mitch Owens is the fourth player in the pre-season to be hurt after an opponent pushed him into a marking contest.
Owens‘ shoulder injury added to a bad afternoon for the Saints, who were outplayed by Port Adelaide on Saturday in their AAMI Community Series game at Moorabbin.
Port kept the Saints goalless in the first quarter and cruised to a 14.9 (93) to 7.7 (49) win.
While the Saints improved after half-time they were outplayed and outworked early, giving coach Ross Lyon plenty to ponder ahead of their round one game on March 16 against the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
Saints assistant coach Corey Enright said they were unsure how badly Owens was hurt.
“We know he’s tough … it must have been a significant clash for him to do whatever he’s done,” Enright said.
Power ruckman Jordon Sweet gave Owens a nudge and the Saints forward then collided with Miles Bergman, a couple of minutes before half-time.
Owens immediately went to the rooms, nursing his left arm.
His injury comes two days after Brisbane premiership defender Brandon Starcevich was concussed in the Lions’ match against Adelaide, with Crows forward Dan Curtin also pushing him into an opponent.
Also on Thursday, Hawthorn captain James Sicily pushed Western Bulldogs youngster Jordan Croft at a marking contest.
Croft then collided with teammate Laitham Vandermeer, who was subbed out of the game with concussion.
That rules Starcevich out of the defending premiers’ season-opener next Thursday night against Geelong at the Gabba.
No.1 draft pick Sam Lalor has a fractured jaw and concussion after the Richmond youngster was pushed by West Coast’s Reuben Ginbey.
Fellow Saints forward Cooper Sharman also went off in the third term with a hand injury.
After kicking three goals in the first half, livewire Port forward Willie Rioli sat out the rest of the game with calf muscle awareness.
Port star Zak Butters had knee surgery this week and is sidelined for at least six weeks.
Kicking with the breeze, Port kicked 6.3 to a behind in the first term.
Joe Richards kicked the opening goal and racked up 10 disposals in the opening term, while Jeremy Finlayson similarly impressed off half-back as Jason Horne-Francis dominated through the midfield.
Finlayson is playing in defence as a stop-gap while Esava Ratugolea and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher recover from injury, but it looked worth persisting with on Saturday.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was a rare highlight for the Saints, who could not find targets in attack and were hammered on turnover.
Newcomer Hugh Boxshall, who is firming for a round one debut, finally kicked the Saints’ only first-half goal at 10 minutes into the second term.
Port captain Connor Rozee amassed 39 disposals, while Horne-Francis (31) was also prolific.
Former Western Bulldogs onballer Jack Macrae had 32 disposals for the Saints, as forward Isaac Keeler pressed for a senior debut with his impressive second half.
Port starts its season on March 15 against Collingwood at the MCG.
New faces
Former Bulldog Jack Macrae (32 disposals and six clearances) showed just why he made the move to the Saints with his impact in the middle. Hugh Boxshall (15 disposals and two goals), Liam O’Connell (eight and five intercept possessions) and Max Hall (nine disposals and a goal) showed good signs and could debut early in 2025, while Harry Boyd (10 disposals and 18 hitouts) fought hard against two Power rucks. Former Collingwood forward Joe Richards (20 disposals and a goal) impressed, particularly early, while Jack Lukosius kicked two goals and had nine score involvements in his 18 touches. No.15 draft pick Joe Berry (14 disposals) grew into the contest.
Round one chance
With Esava Ratugolea (knee) and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher (back) sidelined, Jeremy Finlayson has moved to defence and looked right at home on Saturday. Finlayson finished with 29 disposals, 13 marks and seven intercept possessions and should feature for the Power in round one. Saint Angus Hastie, who played five games last year, also showed good signs in defence, finishing with 14 disposals and had six intercept possessions, which was the second highest for St Kilda.
Medical room
Mitch Owens (shoulder) became the latest on a long list of injury concerns for the Saints, while Cooper Sharman also hurt his hand. There is still hope important trio Rowan Marshall (pelvis), Max King (knee) and Jack Sinclair (hamstring) will be fit for round one. But young gun Mattaes Phillipou (leg), key defender Dougal Howard (shoulder), speedster Liam Henry (knee) and midfielder Paddy Dow (knee) are all still out for a month or longer. The Power have injury worries of their own. Star midfielder Zak Butters (knee) is set to be sidelined for about six weeks, while forward Todd Marshall (Achilles) will miss most of the season. Esava Ratugolea (knee), Brandon Zerk-Thatcher (back) and Ryan Burton (groin) are all short-term absentees.
Fantasy watch
Defenders against St Kilda has been a great Fantasy match-up and that was again the case on Saturday. The Power took a staggering 140 marks (and had 342 uncontested possessions), both of which were the most in this year’s AAMI Community Series with two games left to play. Coaches would have liked what they saw from Connor Rozee (MID, $996,000) and Jason Horne-Francis (MID/FWD, $919,000) on their way to 142 and 113 respectively. Jack Macrae (FWD, $732,000) had 32 touches to score 107, while Miles Bergman (DEF/MID, $770,000) was one of many Port defenders to feast on his way to 108, with Jeremy Finlayson (FWD, $583,000) joining the party to score 115 in his new role in defence. Saint Hugh Boxshall (MID, $230,000) was the best of the potential rookies with 66 and potential forward option Hugo Garcia (MID/FWD, $421,000) had a decent role on his way to 67. Interestingly, star Saint Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (DEF, $1,003,000) spent time forward and in the midfield, finishing with a score of 59.
ST KILDA 0.1 1.4 4.6 7.7 (49)
PORT ADELAIDE 6.3 8.3 11.6 14.9 (93)
GOALS
St Kilda: Higgins 2, Boxshall 2, Wilson, Keeler, Hall
Port Adelaide: Rioli 3, Powell-Pepper 2, Lukosius 2, Byrne-Jones 2, Sweet, Rozee, Richards, Lord, Georgiades
BEST
St Kilda: Macrae, Boxshall, Wilson, Garcia, Steele
Port Adelaide: Rozee, Horne-Francis, Finlayson, Bergman, Lukosius, Wines
INJURIES
St Kilda: Owens (shoulder), Sharman (hand)
Port Adelaide: Nil
