St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has described losing Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera to a potential season-ending hamstring injury as like an “arrow through the heart” as Carlton edged closer to an unlikely finals berth.
In a rare Sunday night game at Marvel Stadium, the Blues’ revival continued under interim coach Josh Fraser as they took a major step towards qualifying for the AFL’s inaugural wildcard round with a 44-point triumph over the Saints, who played without Wanganeen-Milera for all bar the first nine minutes.
Carlton had a single win from nine matches when Michael Voss resigned as coach in May, but this was their 10th victory in 12 games since Fraser took over – and propels them two games clear of injury-ravaged St Kilda.
The 10th-placed Blues can lock in a wildcard spot if they defeat the Western Bulldogs next Sunday, strengthening Fraser’s chances of being Voss’ permanent replacement.
Fraser, who played 218 games for Collingwood and Gold Coast, will make a call this coming week on whether he officially applies for the job, but Carlton fans made no secret about what they want, chanting “We want Fraser” in the fourth quarter and post-match.
“If I’m brutally honest, I’m not comfortable with it, purely because I feel like I’m a product of a lot of people around me – but I appreciate it,” Fraser said.
“I appreciate that they feel connected to us as a club at the moment. I think that’s a really important thing for us moving forward. We live in reality that we’ve got work in front of us, and we’ve got to continue to build our style and build something that’s sustainable.
“But, I absolutely appreciate the sentiment and the well-wishes.”
St Kilda mustered only eight goals and 62 points in total, marking the eighth time in Fraser’s tenure that the suddenly stingy Blues conceded fewer than 80 points as they again dominated uncontested possession.
Playing for his third club, Francis Evans produced arguably a career-best performance with 22 disposals, 12 inside 50s, 10 score involvements and a goal to headline Carlton’s performance.
George Hewett had 20 of his 26 disposals by half-time, when the Blues already led by 25 points, while Marc Pittonet (two goals) took the ruck honours over ex-teammate Tom De Koning and Rowan Marshall, and Harry McKay booted three goals.
The Saints, in 11th, remain mathematically in the race with a fortnight to go in the home-and-away season, but their hopes are fading.
They must beat Richmond and Gold Coast in the last two rounds to keep their finals chances alive – but also need the Bulldogs and Carlton to stumble in both their remaining clashes.
Lyon’s men resembled the walking wounded on a night they honoured the late Danny Frawley in the sixth annual Spud’s Game. Wanganeen-Milera barely trained all week because of a hip issue, then hobbled from the ground early in the first quarter after suffering a left hamstring injury in a chase on the wing.
St Kilda ruled out their $2 million match-winner soon after, and his season is probably also over.
Nothing which followed that devastating blow could make the Saints’ night worse, but Mason Wood (calf) joined Wanganeen-Milera on the sidelines before half-time, while De Koning (right shoulder), Liam Ryan (left shoulder) and Bradley Hill (left knee) soldiered on despite their own issues.
Jack Silvagni also played a week after dislocating his right shoulder after the club’s medical staff gave him the green light.
“I’ve been through it before. I’ve had lots of stuff happen. Obviously, when it’s ‘Nas’ [who gets hurt], it’s an arrow through the heart, in a sense,” Lyon said.
“But my job’s to lead people under pressure, and stay composed [but] I knew coming in it would be hard…
“I’m not sure what the worst case is [for Wanganeen-Milera], but I would think, what I saw – and I don’t know much about hamstrings, but you’re [looking at] minimum three weeks. He’s not going to play in the home-and-away season.”
Lyon said he and Wanganeen-Milera shared a hug at half-time, but that the club’s staff were perplexed at his and Wood’s soft-tissue setbacks after an eight-day break between matches and not having a particularly arduous week of training.
Hill’s return to the match was particularly surprising after he hyperextended his knee landing from an aerial contest in the second term before being helped from the field.
The 33-year-old gathered a match-high 31 disposals to be among the Saints’ best players, along with Max Hall, who starred with 30 touches, two goals and 10 clearances.
Expectations were high at Moorabbin after an off-season spending spree scored them De Koning and Jack Silvagni from the Blues, on top of Ryan and Sam Flanders, but St Kilda are in jeopardy of missing the finals for the third season in a row.
Adding insult to injury, Silvagni and De Koning were greeted with boos from the Carlton fans all night.
Flanders played only 12 matches before sustaining a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture, and De Koning missed more than a month mid-season recovering from a punctured lung and broken ribs.
Co-captain and dual club champion Jack Sinclair’s campaign also ended in June with a calf injury. Perhaps worst of all, injury-cursed spearhead Max King’s first match in 757 days ended prematurely two weeks ago with his own hamstring strain, which followed injuries to both his knees.
Barring a Houdini-like escape from his side in the weeks ahead, Lyon will enter the final season of his contract next year under significant pressure to turn the long-suffering Saints’ fortunes around.
“I’ve got to wear it. I’m fine. I’m a big boy. I’m happy to take what comes,” he said.
“Leaders shepherd, protect, nurture and challenge their people under pressure, and that’s my job. I’ll continue to do it until I’m either tapped, or I tap myself.”
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