The Western Bulldogs were able to overcome 11th-hour COVID concerns ahead of their 28-point victory over the Saints on Friday night, with Dogs coach Luke Beveridge revealing the club were forced to handle further absences to key personnel.
The Bulldogs were already without trio Aaron Naughton, Lachie Hunter and Josh Schache for the Round 18 fixture, with Luke Beveridge noting post-game that Zaine Cordy was also placed in COVID protocols ahead of the weekend.
Development coach Travis Varcoe, assistant coach Matt Spangher and welfare manager Brent Prismall were also unable to attend to their duties for the clash with St Kilda at Marvel Stadium, leaving Beveridge and the club to sweat on test results in the hours ahead of the opening bounce.
โAbsolutely there was (a fear there could be a spread). Everyone had to test this morning and we were holding our breath,โ Beveridge told reporters post-match.
โWe had a training session with the boys who didnโt play because there is a bye at state league level with our Footscray team. They were scheduled to train. We were toey, thought we might have to pull a couple of the boys out from that training session and bring them into the game tonight. A couple of the boys who played tonight were a bit late out of bed and tested a bit late.
โWe are all on our toes. Travvy Varcoe has been crook for a week and a half, we havenโt had him at the club, Matt Spangherโs got it so he wasnโt here tonight. Brent Prismall our welfare manager who helped us on the bench has got it as well.โ
The Bulldogs managed to get through the contest unscathed, with medical sub Luke Cleary not required as an inspiring performance from skipper Marcus Bontempelli led the Dogs to a convincing win over a fellow finals hopeful.
The victory sees the Whitten Oval club move level with the ninth-placed Tigers on premiership points, with Damien Hardwick's side seeking to regain their buffer over the chasing pack against North Melbourne on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the loss for St Kilda leaves Brett Ratten's side with an uphill battle to secure a spot in September, falling further behind the Bulldogs on percentage after handing their rivals the four points and ninth spot on the ladder.
The Bulldogs booted seven unanswered goals to start the match, while the Saints failed to apply any pressure on the Dogs' ball movement throughout the opening half.
St Kilda recorded 41 tackles for the match, 30 of which coming in the second half as Ratten's side looked to rescue a tumultuous performance.
The Saints coach reflected on his side's poor start to the game, labelling the performance "below par".
โI thought the first five to ten minutes we were up for the fight. The pressure was high, then some really costly turnovers that deflated our confidence and we went back into our shell. I think we had 11 tackles in the first half; itโs not where we want to be," he said after the loss.
โOne of our KPIs tonight was pressure and it just fell away. As a team, in this space, Friday night, weโre trying to make finals, weโre trying to get into the finals and we deliver that performance is below par. Our pressure has been up and down in games. When it has been poor, opposition has punished us. that happened again. Our pressure was not to where we want it to be.
"We didnโt (look mentally on at the start of the game). Our resilience before the bye was really sound and weโd fight and scrap, but post the bye weโve been inconsistent in that space, let run ons go for too long and not claw it back.
โThe boys were talking about the communication levels were down on the field and thatโs just a lack of confidence or going into your shell. When the game is going against it, do you sit on your haunches and just wait and say should we have done something?โ
An injury scare to veteran Paddy Ryder only added collateral damage to the defeat, with an Achilles complaint potentially placing the St Kilda ruckman out of action for next week's must-win match against West Coast.
Ratten remained hopeful an eight-day turnaround might give Ryder the required time to prove his fitness for the Round 19 encounter.
โWeโve just got to be wary of a player at 34, nearly 35, who has had a history of that,โ Ratten said.
"Whether he plays next week or not weโve got the eight days, which might help him. It will be touch and go."
St Kilda will make the trip to Perth to face the Eagles next Sunday afternoon, while the Bulldogs will host Melbourne at Marvel on Saturday night in what will be the second edition of a grand final rematch this year.
