Wardlaw propels Saints to AFLW's biggest

ST KILDA has come from the clouds to pull off the AFLW's greatest comeback, coming from 27 points down at three-quarter-time to prevail over Port Adelaide by 11 points at RSEA Park on Sunday afternoon.

Headlined by three final-quarter goals from Jesse Wardlaw, the Saints turned what appeared to be a certain defeat into an unbelievable - and at the time - unfathomable 8.5 (53) to 6.6 (42) triumph.

SAINTS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

The win marks the biggest comeback from three-quarter-time in AFLW history, and comes just two months after the club's men's side did the same against Melbourne.

Similar to Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera's star turn in that fightback, Wardlaw’s three consecutive majors within the space of five minutes turned the game on its head in the blink of an eye, with the Saints only gathering more and more steam as the possibility of victory materialised with every passing second.

The inspiring treble from the Saints spearhead put her side within two points, but a costly 50m penalty paid against Piper Window for handing the ball back to the wrong player from a free kick saw Georgia Patrikios march to within scoring range, cooly converting to put her side in the lead for the first time of the afternoon.

Port Adelaide were led superbly by Matilda Scholz (30 hit-outs, 15 disposals) and Gemma Houghton (two goals), the former of whom drove her side’s ascendancy at stoppages (17-24) and enabled the defence to rebound into attack with danger and dare, but the Saints’ comeback ultimately caught all by surprise.

Wardlaw (four goals) was the star of the show late, but was brilliantly aided by Tyanna Smith (24 disposals, 11 tackles) and Ash Richards (20 disposals), who was taken out from the game in the dying minutes with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Jaimee Lambert in customary fashion battled through a quad corkie — passing a fitness test pre-game — to amass a pivotal 19 possessions to lead the Saints’ on-ball charge.

The victory places the Saints inside the top eight as their hunt for a maiden finals berth beckons, leaving Port Adelaide’s own finals hopes fading out after letting slip a golden opportunity to stay in touching distance of the top eight.

Early, the Power were the ones with both hands comfortably on the wheel. Port Adelaide’s spring off the half-back line was a particular standout right from the game’s opening minutes, with the returning Piper Window the first beneficiary with an equally eye-catching kick on the run from long-range to get her side on the board.

The Saints had their own chances to curb the visitors’ surges at hit the scoreboard themselves, however their kicks inside-50 hit opposition defenders lace-out and opened the door for more counter-punches moving out of defence.

There was no better example than when Zoe Besanko was run down from behind by a desperate Teagan Germech, with Port Adelaide pouncing on the defensive turnover to move to attack and score through Gemma Hougton in the blink of an eye.

Houghton’s second major and another from the returning Jasmine Sowden blew the margin out to four goals at the main break, with Matilda Scholz’s dominance around stoppages giving every opportunity to further their steadily building lead.

Scholz ended her afternoon as Port Adelaide’s best player, dominating the hit-outs 36-12 and collecting 15 disposals to boot in what looked set to be a day of Power domination.

Despite a shakier to begin the second term in the hunt for their maiden goal, the Saints steadied through Jesse Wardlaw to piece together a much-improved second term which yielded two goals without reply.

Richards’ clean use and driving kicks in attack — standing in stark contrast to St Kilda’s opening term — was prolific in her team’s resurgence, with the ball living close to exclusively in the home side’s forward half with thanks to her efforts.

Nicola Xenos added to St Kilda’s spirited comeback with a long-awaited major after spending multiple months on the sidelines with a foot injury, however Port Adelaide still had punches left to throw.

Katelyn Pope and Indy Tahau quickly re-established Port Adelaide’s initial buffer within minutes of the third quarter, with their defensive tackling pressure and weight of forward-50 entries tightening their grip on the contest and making it appear all but certain that they would come home with the four points.

But then came the unbelievable. Lambert kicked off the Saints’ run before Wardlaw exploded onto the scene in style, with each celebration getting better and better as the red, white and black marched towards what just moments ago seemed the impossible.

Patrikios’ classy conversion put the Saints’ nose in front with minutes left to play as Wardlaw was pushed to the other end of the ground to shore up the defence.

Port Adelaide pushed hard to the end despite Amber Clarke firing through the would-be sealer with barely any time remaining, with the Power’s final push at the sticks fittingly marked by Wardlaw to signal one of the competition’s most memorable and inspiring triumphs.

Wonderful Wardlaw makes the magic happen

Santana and Rob Thomas’ hit of Smooth was just about on loop blaring through the stadium PA as Jesse Wardlaw got firing to give the Saints a shot at snaring the four points. And “smooth” might just be the perfect word to sum up Wardlaw’s season to date, amazing football acts and sublime celebrations included. Pushing up the ground to present as a marking target, soaring deep in attack and reeling in contested marks with ease before nestling back in defence to take the match-winning mark as the Power took one last throw at the stumps, Wardlaw has entrenched herself as the Saints’ most important player. As has been Dal Santo’s mantra when speaking about Wardlaw, “good players can play anywhere”, and that certainly is the case for the Saints' key forward in 2025.

Any way the wind blows

There wasn’t so much as a breeze blowing at RSEA Park this afternoon as a slight wind to the north, but it was enough to impact the scoreboard. Amazingly, not a single goal was kicked at the southern end of the ground, with the Saints and Power goalless in alternating quarters to keep the tight tussle going. The Saints ultimately made the most of the breeze late with six unanswered goals in the final term, while the Power conversely got a jump on their opposition early with four striking majors in the opening stanza, two of which came off the boot of Gemma Houghton in superb style.

Up next

St Kilda will hit the tarmac to face Greater Western Sydney at Henson Park next Saturday afternoon to further its push into the top eight, while Port Adelaide will return home to Alberton Oval to take on the Western Bulldogs in the hopes of keeping its season alive.

ST KILDA 0.1 2.3 2.3 8.5 (53)

PORT ADELAIDE 4.1 4.3 6.6 6.6 (42)

GOALS

St Kilda: Wardlaw 4, Xenos, Lambert, Patrikios, Clarke

Port Adelaide: Houghton 2, Window, Sowden, Pope, Tahau

BEST

St Kilda: Smith, Lambert, Wardlaw, Richards, Jakobsson

Port Adelaide: Scholz, Houghton, Goody, Dowrick, Paterson

INJURIES

St Kilda: Priest (nose), Richards (ankle)

Port Adelaide: Nil

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