St Kilda has opened its 2024 campaign on a perfectly punchy note, breezing past a stagnant Gold Coast to record a whopping 54-point win at People First Stadium.

The mercury was right up in the sweltering conditions on the Sunshine state, and likewise, St Kilda was red-hot and never really lost steam. The high-octane Saints packed the heat early with their fierce pressure and tackling ferocity to leave the Suns shellshocked, ramming home the first six goals of the game without reply as a result before Jamie Stanton gave her side a much-needed reprieve.

Gold Coast steadied from that point on and managed to stem the bleeding on the scoreboard for most of the third term, however it ended up being one of just two Suns goals for the game as the Saints cruised to victory 2.8 (20) to 11.8 (74).

Key forward Jesse Wardlaw was prolific up forward with two goals, 17 disposals and nine score involvements to ignite her side from siren-to-siren, while a hard-hitting Olivia Vesely (15 disposals, eight tackles) was dynamic from start-to-finish while simultaneously quelling the impact of Gold Coast’s Charlie Rowbotton.

The young Sun played close to a lone hand for her side with 27 disposals and 10 tackles, standing in complete opposition to the team-wide drive of the Saints, fuelled by last year’s narrow miss of an inaugural finals berth.

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Wardlaw had her maiden major handed to her on a silver platter — taking the ruck contest from a short throw-in unopposed to snap through her side’s first — and it was a similar theme for just about all the ensuing St Kilda majors as the club's transition from turnover came to the fore.

First-gamer Rene Caris, Vesely and Jaimee Lambert all put through their majors without a Suns defender in sight, the latter two strolling into an open square with time to straighten up and extend the Saints’ lead.

It went from bad to whose for the Suns as Ash Richards bagged the Saints’ sixth straight from a classy pick-up and Daisy D’Arcy left the field from the ensuing contest with a suspected elbow injury, however returned shortly after.

The Suns steadied either side of half-time, buoyed by Stanton’s goal, however couldn’t convert any of their regained momentum into scoreboard reward, despite leading just about all main metrics on the stats-sheet.

Gold Coast steadily continued to shore up and own the territory battle up forward, but J’Noemi Anderson had other ideas to put through the Saints’ seventh to undo all their opposition’s hard work.

St Kilda picked up steam in the final term, running in waves on multiple instances to blow past their lagging opposition; Darcy Guttridge, Ella Friend, Tyanna Smith and Hannah Stuart putting the exclamation mark on the end of an emphatic win and the biggest victory for the red, white and black under senior coach Nick Dal Santo. 

Big shoes to fill, but not impossible

The absence of Georgia Patrikios through injury comes as no doubt a huge blow for the Saints, but it’s certainly one that Nick Dal Santo’s side has quickly adapted to. Tenacious pinch-hitters Nicola Xenos and Ash Richards stepped into the engine room to promising effect to fill Patrikios’ shoes, providing solid support to established on-ballers Tyanna Smith, Jaimee Lambert and Olivia Vesely. Charlotte Simpson also folded through centre bounces in her debut outing against Charli Rowbottom, while Hannah Stuart, playing win her first game since rupturing her ACL early last season, also contributed with eight touches and a goal in her return.

Watch out, Liv!

Olivia Vesely is certainly used to the contested game and hard knocks, yet there was one moment late which caught her by surprise. With two minutes on the clock, Vesely was thrown off the ball by her Suns opponent, falling to the ground and tripping up the umpire in turn sending him tumbling. The resultant 50-metre penalty against the Suns eventually culminated in a goal to Hannah Stuart, who closed out St Kilda's season opener with a bang.

Up next

St Kilda returns home to RSEA Park for a blockbuster bout against Sydney on Sunday afternoon, while in the day's preceding game, Gold Coast will head up to Mackay to take on Carlton at Great Barrier Reef Arena.

GOLD COAST  0.1  1.2  1.6  2.8 (20)
ST KILDA  4.1  6.4  7.5  11.8 (74)

GOALS
Gold Coast: Stanton, Mauerer
St Kilda: Wardlaw 2, Caris, Vesely, Lambert, Richards, Anderson, Guttridge, Smith, Friend, Stuart

BEST
Gold Coast: Rowbottom, Bella, Whitfort, Single,
St Kilda: Wardlaw, Vesely, Smith, McDonald, Lambert, Richards, Priest

INJURIES
Gold Coast: D'Arcy (elbow)
St Kilda: Nil

CROWD
1,749 at People First Stadium