St Kilda coach Ross Lyon was not particularly impressed with the off-the-ball tactics employed by Fremantle forward Pat Voss during the Saints' 30-point loss to the Dockers on Friday night. Voss played a 'keeper' type role on star St Kilda backman Callum Wilkie, ruffling his feathers with niggling and wrestling that kicked off right from the start of the match.
Lyon was asked about the "tactics" after the game and was clearly not amused. "I just thought to be honest the first 30 seconds was a bit bizarre really when there was an umpire right there," Lyon said. "We're all big boys. We love the competitive spirit — I don't know, I'm not the umpire. It was interesting some of it early."
"The umpire was right there so if they don't pay it, it must be within the laws and the spirit of the game. That's OK," he added. Wilkie ended up with only one intercept mark for the game, with Voss going on to kick three important goals, but the St Kilda captain finished with 21 disposals. "I thought Wilkie got to work," Lyon said. "In the end I think it became a none issue. I thought it was a bit of a floorshow. Each to their own."
Injury concerns for St Kilda
Lyon was also confident that Rowan Marshall avoided a worrying injury, despite the veteran ruckman limping off in pain during the dying moments of the game. Marshall landed awkwardly and could not put any weight on his right leg after competing in a ruck contest with just minutes remaining in Friday's 16.8 (104) to 11.8 (74) loss to the Dockers in Perth. The 30-year-old had his ACL and other aspects of his knee tested by medicos on the sidelines, but Lyon remains optimistic. "No knee, just the shin. That's what he told me," Lyon said. "I spoke to him, spoke to his family, as in just a casual chat, and they were like, 'No, it's just his shin', so I think he'll be fine. I was never overly concerned, like no one's flagged anything, although you just make me jumpy with 'was it bad?', but I don't think it was bad."
However, Saints fans should not breathe easy just yet. A week earlier, Lyon was confident Jack Higgins had only suffered grass burns to his knee rather than a serious injury in a 36-point win over Richmond. Just days after that win, Higgins was sent in for minor knee surgery, with no exact timeline set for his return.
Howard joins growing injury list
St Kilda were dealt a blow in the third quarter against the Dockers when Dougal Howard injured his calf. The defender is set to undergo scans to determine the extent of the strain. Howard will join the likes of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (calf), Higgins (knee), Mitch Owens (calf), Max King (hamstring), and Liam Ryan (calf) on the injury list ahead of next week's clash with Hawthorn.
Match recap
St Kilda led by a point early in the final quarter on Friday night as they threatened to ruin Fremantle's prospect of posting a club-record 10th straight win. But the Dockers tore the game to shreds with a devastating six-goal burst, sinking St Kilda to a 5-6 record in the process.
