St Kilda defender Dylan Roberton has described Saturday night’s 15-point win over premiership contenders Western Bulldogs as ‘massive’ in the context of the Saints’ season.
The 25-year-old produced one of his finest performances of the year, collecting 23 possessions, nine marks and three inside 50s to play a crucial role in the defensive half of the ground.
Along with Sean Dempster, Jarryn Geary, Sam Gilbert, Leigh Montagna and Shane Savage, St Kilda restricted the Bulldogs to their third lowest score (9.6) of the season, holding them scoreless in the all-important final quarter.
“We had a massive week; it was a really big game for us. We want to finish off the year really strong,” Roberton told saints.com.au following St Kilda’s ninth win of the season on Saturday night.
“That’s seven out of the last nine now, so we’re going to look to build. They [Western Bulldogs] are a quality side so it was really impressive.
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“They’re a bit ahead of us in terms of their development, so we’re looking to do similar things to what they’re doing.
“We just knew we had to bring our pressure – what we’ve been doing the last two months – and try and keep them to a low score which we were able to do. It’s a massive, massive win.”
For the second consecutive week, an even spread of contribution led the Saints to victory, with everyone executing their role at Etihad Stadium.
Aside from Jack Steven, who continued to dazzle with 39 possessions, you could throw a blanket over everyone else, in what was a significant positive according to the former Docker.
“It was the same as last week; we didn’t really have anyone stand out. Obviously Steven found a heap of the ball, which is no surprise, but a really even contribution in both pressure and offensively as well,” Roberton said.
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