Seasoned St Kilda star Leigh Montagna believes his side’s resurgence against Fremantle was testament to the character of the group after the Saints were outplayed in the middle part of last weekend’s game.
Alan Richardson’s side was able to overcome a poor middle two quarters, rectifying the game on the run, before storming home in the last quarter to record back-to-back victories for the first time since the start of 2014.
“It was a great sign of character from our group, a young group with backs against the wall in the second quarter to be able to work our way out of it in the game, that was really positive. But obviously some areas to continue to work on,” Montagna said on Fox Sport’s AFL Tonight.
“The second quarter was very disappointing, we got out to a great start and then they dominated the second quarter in the clearances and really got on top. We were able to grind it back in the third quarter and then blew it open in the last quarter.”
After only managing two goals in the second and third quarters, separated by a 40 minute goalless patch, St Kilda kicked eight unanswered goals in the final term to transform a 19-point deficit into a 34-point win.
“We reviewed that last quarter and it wasn’t anything fancy, we just won a lot of important contests. Sometimes it’s a pretty simple game,” Montagna said.
“We just won more one-on-one contests, started getting our hands on the ball in the midfield more and gave our forwards more opportunity. Sometimes it’s a pretty simple game if you’re able to do that you’re able to score more.”