No longer content to boast of the league’s largest collection of wooden eating utensils, the St. Kilda Saints served notice against the Port Adelaide Power in round one.
The Saints carried a 21-point lead into the third quarter and only an epic comeback by the Power saved the day to produce a 133-100 victory in front of their supporters at Adelaide Oval.
Early in the game, Port’s defensive game plan was no match for a tsunami of Saints attacks.
Robbie Gray put the Power on his shoulders with the game on the line and the side for all intents and purposes doing a credible imitation of that which crashed from third in 2014 to ninth last season.
Gray had been the sole positive factor early in the game, kicking three goals in the second quarter in the midst of an impressive display of clearance work and run from the back half by the Saints.
He finished with four goals, 26 disposals and eight clearances, inspiring his teammates and awakening them from their lethargy.
The Saints need only to improve on their finishing skills, as they put on a clinic in breaking down field with an advantage in numbers that resulted into open goals.
