Another Lockdown

19th July 2021

St.Kilda vs. Port Adelaide: Round 18 - Marvel Stadium - July 17th 2021

Final score: Port Adelaide 10.14.74 d. St.Kilda 8.13.61

After the magnificent win against Brisbane the previous week, and other results falling our way, the Saints would be in the Final 8 if they could beat Port Adelaide in this round. In a tumultuous week, the state of Victoria was locked down for the fifth time, throwing the lives of its citizens and the AFL fixture into chaos. There was even talk of playing this game in Adelaide, though it was a Saints home game and Port had already played us in Adelaide this year.

Clipping from July 18th 2021 - Copyright The Age.

In the end, the game was moved forward from 7.25pm on the Saturday night to 1:45pm Saturday arvo, so the Saints could fly to Perth straight afterwards to quarantine, and Saints fans could get in some day drinking. Like many previous games between these two teams, this was a dour low-scoring slog, with the ball pinging around between both Centre Half Back lines all day and many missed scoring opportunities from both sides. It could well have been a draw with under 10 minutes to go as the scores were a point the difference. The lead up wasn’t ideal, but the chances were there, and the Saints are still in the mix as they head West.