- Dougal Howard joined the Sydney cheerleading team
- St Kilda managed to stop a Swans goal
- His intervention was crucial as Saints won
St Kilda staged an enormous AFL surprised them by beating leaders Sydney by two points in Melbourne.
And the coaching analysts might point to a monumental defensive performance from Dougal Howard as the moment that secured the team’s victory on Sunday.
The Swans led by 28 points early in the third quarter and looked set to extend that lead further when Nick Blakey fired home.
Even Channel 7’s commentary team expected another six points to be added to the scoreboard, but Howard trusted his ability to chase the ball.
He threw a hand to Sherrin but couldn’t stop his own momentum and leapt over the boundary barrier before landing on the Swans cheerleading squad, who then celebrated wildly when the referee awarded their team the full six points.
However, a review of the goal revealed that Howard had only touched the ball with a tiny bit of his fingertips, resulting in a deficit.
St Kilda went on to win the match by just two points, meaning Howard’s intervention was crucial in securing victory.
Dougal Howard was part of the Sydney Swans cheerleading team on Sunday
But his save helped the Saints beat the Swans in Melbourne
For the second week in a row, Swans forward Logan McDonald missed a shot on target as the Saints held on 13.6 (84) to 11.16 (82) at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
Sydney star Isaac Heeney’s Brownlow Medal hopes also appear to be dashed after he hit opponent Jimmy Webster high in an off-ball incident.
The Saints trailed by five goals in the third period, but went on to score nine of the final 11 goals of the game.
Ruckman Rowan Marshall and defenders Jack Sinclair, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Callum Wilkie were among St Kilda’s best players, while youngster Mattaes Phillipou had a superb final period in midfield.
Last week, McDonald missed his shot after the final whistle at home and Sydney suffered a surprise defeat to Fremantle.
This time his long-range shot in the last quarter looked good, but it ultimately failed to yield a point. It was also the last goal of the game.
It looked like Sydney’s notoriously slow start would continue as the Saints scored the first two goals.
But the Swans recovered quickly and after fifteen minutes the scores were level again.
Sydney star Chad Warner’s two goals gave his team a 25-point lead in the second half and the game looked to be going according to plan.
The margin grew to 30 points early in the third quarter, but then the game exploded.
The Saints scored four goals in six minutes and now trail by just six points.
Sydney then went forward and as Heeney took a shot, Webster was on his knees behind him holding his face.
The Saints defeated the league leaders Swans in a surprise result at the Marvel Stadium
Replays showed Heeney swinging his arm back and breaking away from Webster to take possession of the ball.
Heeney ran straight to Webster after scoring.
Two minutes later the Swans star player scored again and at the final change Sydney had a 19-point lead.
But the Saints scored four goals to nothing in the final period to seal an improbable victory, just days after losing key forward Max King for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
It also comes a week after Port Adelaide beat them by less than a goal at the same stadium.