Saints scrape home after Roos' late rally falls short

(L-R) Hugo Garcia, Rowan Marshall, Max Heath and Mason Wood celebrate a goal during the match between St Kilda and North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium in round 21, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

BREAKOUT star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has underlined why he is the hottest property in football after leading St Kilda to a thrilling nine-point victory over North Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.

A week on from his last-gasp matchwinning heroics against Melbourne, Wanganeen-Milera was again the star of the show in the 11.12 (78) to 10.9 (69) win at Marvel Stadium.

SAINTS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

Cam Zurhaar kicked a goal with 96 seconds left to cut the deficit to three points before the Saints held on, with Max Hall goaling after the siren.

St Kilda's second consecutive win came at a cost, with Mitch Owens suffering a hamstring injury in the third quarter that looks certain to end his season with just three games remaining.

He was replaced by skipper Jack Steele, who was a surprise substitute - just the fourth captain ever to start as sub.

ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS Previous Next 09:11 Lyon post-match, R21: 'We've got a battle on our hands but we're up for the battle' Watch St Kilda’s press conference after round 21’s match against North Melbourne

09:02 Clarkson post-match, R21: 'Seems to be a lot of people who think they can do it better' Watch North Melbourne’s press conference after round 21’s match against St Kilda

08:04 Highlights: St Kilda v North Melbourne The Saints and Kangaroos clash in round 21 of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season

00:56 'Let the footy do the talking': Nasiah tight-lipped on contract Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera keeps fans guessing on his contract call after starring in another St Kilda win at Marvel Stadium

03:36 Last two mins: Saints hold on after Roos' fourth-quarter frenzy falls short The thrilling final moments between St Kilda and North Melbourne in round 21

00:37 Boxshall's shoe in the box beats them all Hugh Boxshall soccers through a quick and clever finish through North Melbourne hands

00:38 Motoring McKercher goes all the way in electric play Colby McKercher puts on the jets and drills a sublime running finish to put North Melbourne back in front

01:03 'Brilliant' Nas trickery becoming a trend as Jack gets the bend Jack Higgins works the angles perfectly to get himself on the board after Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera's smooth moves in the middle

00:54 Roo on report: Off-the-ball strike spells MRO danger Paul Curtis goes in the book right on the siren after appearing to collect Angus Hastie high with a swinging blow

00:36 Gutsy Roo flies horizontally with 'unbelievable' grab Zac Banch attacks the footy at pace and takes a courageous aerial mark as Ryan Byrnes also showed bravery coming the other way

00:32 Harry's happy snap is all class as Kangas start hot Harry Sheezel nails a superb stoppage finish after Jack Darling's clever ruck work

00:47 LDU burns them and curls early gem to get North rolling Luke Davies-Uniacke bursts past his opponent and threads a slick snap for his side's first major

North's sixth straight defeat was made worse by Paul Curtis' report for inexplicably punching Angus Hastie in the throat on the quarter-time siren.

On his return from a right knee injury, Nick Larkey kicked three goals but appeared to re-injure himself when he marked on the lead in the final term.

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Saints Hunter Clark (25 touches) and Jack Sinclair (26) were also busy, while Jack Higgins and Max Heath kicked two goals apiece.

North star Harry Sheezel (33 disposals) was typically prolific along with Colby McKercher (36).

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Larkey kicked a goal on the quarter-time siren to send North out to a 14-point advantage, then delivered a 19-point lead early in the second term.

But the Saints reeled off the next three goals to take a one-point lead into half-time.

Kangaroo Zac Banch (ribs) was substituted at the main break while Owens made way in the third term.

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The Saints kicked four consecutive goals to lead by 23 at three-quarter time and North couldn't complete the comeback.

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St Kilda next plays Richmond at the MCG on Saturday while North travels to face Greater Western Sydney in Canberra on Sunday.

Nasiah the Messiah stars again

Last week's hero Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was outstanding, racking up the ball at will to once again be his side's best player. The uncontracted South Australian gun, who is in hot demand from Port Adelaide and Adelaide, had 20 disposals, 11 contested possessions, six clearances and five score involvements in the first half alone. He finished with 36 touches, nine clearances and nine score involvements. St Kilda fans are doing their bit to retain the young gun, exuberantly cheering his every possession against the Roos, which included a dazzling turn of pace, unbeliveable evasiveness and silky kicking.

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Nervous wait for Roo on report

North forward Paul Curtis is facing his second ban of the season after being reported for an off-the-ball strike on Saint Angus Hastie. There was a bit of niggle between the pair as Roo Nick Larkey lined up for goal on the quarter-time siren, before Curtis took a swing and collected Hastie in the throat. The 19-year-old took some time to recover from the blow, spending the opening five minutes of play in the second term on the bench. It would be the second ban for Curtis this season after he served a three-game suspension for a dangerous tackle that concussed Port Adelaide's Josh Sinn in round seven. Meanwhile, fellow Roo Cam Zurhaar could also come under scrutiny after he jumped off the ground to bump Rowan Marshall. Luckily for Zurhaar, he didn't collect the Saints ruck high despite the crunching bump and Marshall was able to play out the game.

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Saints' starting-sub surprise

St Kilda kicked off the day with a selection surprise, starting out-of-touch skipper Jack Steele as the sub. However, coach Ross Lyon told Fox Footy pre-game that it was all part of a management plan for Steele. "We've been conscious of managing our inside mids, he was really sore last week ... hopefully it goes our way and we freshen him up and he will definitely start (on the ground) next week as part of that plan," he said. While an early injury could have thwarted that plan, it went exactly how the Saints would have hoped with Steele coming on 10 minutes into the third quarter to replace the injured Mitch Owens (hamstring). Steele finished with eight disposals and two clearances from 29 per cent game time and will no doubt be better for the managed run ahead of the Saints' clash with Richmond next week.

ST KILDA 1.2 4.6 10.11 11.12 (72)

NORTH MELBOURNE 3.4 4.5 7.6 10.9 (69)

GOALS

St Kilda: Heath 2, Higgins 2, Boxshall, Byrnes, Hall, Marshall, Owens, Sharman, Wood

North Melbourne: Larkey 3, Zurhaar 2, Darling, Davies-Uniacke, McKercher, Sheezel, Wardlaw,

BEST

St Kilda: Wanganeen-Milera, Marshall, Sinclair, Macrae, Clark, Hill

North Melbourne: Sheezel, McKercher, Zurhaar, Davies-Uniacke, Larkey, Powell

INJURIES

St Kilda: Owens (hamstring)

North Melbourne: Banch (ribs)

SUBSTITUTES

St Kilda: Jack Steele (replaced Mitch Owens in the third quarter)

North Melbourne: Robert Hansen jnr (replaced Zac Banch in the third quarter)

Crowd: TBC at Marvel Stadium

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