Saints edge Dogs in battle of the Burkes

It was slow going in the third quarter until Isabel Huntington converted on the siren, gifting the Dogs the only major of the term.

The Dogs gave it their best shot, charging back with two majors late in the piece, but it was too little, too late as Darcy Guttridge slotted her second for the night to seal the result.

Searle said she is proud of the brand of footy her team is playing. “I think you were an outsider here watching women’s footy you would be pretty excited about where the game is going,” she said after the match.

St Kilda were without star recruit Bianca Jakobsson due to a collarbone injury, but ex-Blue Jayde Van
Dyk proved a handy inclusion to the back line. Tarni White and Nadia von Bertouch made their
returns to the line-up after ruptured ACLs.

A trio of Bulldog pups made their AFLW debuts for the club. Former Magpie Katie Lynch, Jess Fitzgerald and Sarah Hartwig all wore the red, white and blue for the first time.

TRIPLE THREAT
The Bulldogs’ triple threat tonight saw Ellie Blackburn, Bonnie Toogood and Isabel Huntington
dominate the scoreboard with two goals each. The trio gave near-flawless performances but it wasn’t enough to claim the win. Skipper Blackburn left the field with 21 disposals.

GREISE AND SHINE
After booting the opener, Saint Caitlin Greiser continued to play a crucial role in the Bulldogs’
demise. As a proven star goalkicker, she did not disappoint, booting her second major in the goal square during the final term, breaking their quarter-long drought despite Dogs debutant Sarah Hartwig’s defensive attempts. Greiser and her thumping kick look a mainstay of this St Kilda side.

A FAMILY AFFAIR
Celine Moody extended her family’s high after twin sister Breann played for Carlton last night. They weren’t the only dual-teamed family at RSEA Park, with St Kilda’s Alice Burke handed a slow initiation in her debut against the team coached by her dad, Nathan, on the ground he called home during his 17-year career. It was a quiet night but the club won’t be rushing the 18-year-old, who was selected as St Kilda’s first father-daughter recruit in October. “Hopefully she did well enough tonight to get a game next week and I can actually sit down and play the dad role,” Nathan said.