‘Most exciting thing in footy’ powers Saints blitz despite ‘concern’ over hurt pair — 3-2-1

A second-half blitz has seen St Kilda overpower Essendon 17.13 (115) to 10.12 (72) in the clubs’ final tune-up in Ballarat before the start of the premiership season.

Despite the Bombers’ competitiveness and positive signs throughout the afternoon, the Saints created their buffer with a ten-goal-to-four second half, but it came at an injury cost.

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Co-captain Cal Wilkie exited the game in the first quarter with a corked calf, before Ryan Byrnes left in the third term due to a right ankle complaint.

The club quickly confirmed Wilkie would take no further part after copping a knock early in the first term, having received treatment from medical staff at ground level.

Former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said on Fox Footy: “The thing I noticed most at quarter-time was the Wilkie injury. He was hobbling a fair bit, and I think that’d be a concern for them coming up to Opening Round.”

Despite some showers earlier in the afternoon, the sides were treated to better conditions in the regional Victorian city after Friday’s Community Series clash between Melbourne and Richmond was abandoned due to lightning in the area.

And Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was the biggest beneficiary of the more suitable setting, kicking four goals, gathering 28 disposals and notching 12 score involvements to be best-on-ground for the afternoon.

The big-money superstar ran riot in the first half in particular, booting three goals from 17 disposals and six score involvements.

Brownlow medallist Gerard Healy said: “He might get double figures this year, coming out of the goalsquare … this is going to be scary — a full-back running to this bloke in the goalsquare one-out.”

Asked if Wanganeen-Milera had gone past Collingwood champion Nick Daicos, Hinkley pointed to the Saint’s prolific scoreboard impact.

“This bloke is the most exciting thing in football,” Hinkley said after ‘Nas’ booted his fourth of the afternoon.

“I think so (he has gone past Daicos) because of this. Four goals one — I think that (scoreboard impact) is what he’s gone past.”

THE 3-2-1 (what we learned) …

3. ‘MOST EXCITING THING IN FOOTY’ SETS UP EPIC CLASH

In just over a week, Collingwood will face St Kilda in an Opening Round blockbuster at the MCG, but former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is looking forward to an individual battle.

Blown away by the brilliance of Nasaih Wanganeen-Milera at Ballarat on Saturday, Hinkley described the Saint as the most exciting player in footy, with apologies to the brilliant Collingwood midfielder Nick Daicos.

“This bloke is the most exciting thing in football,” Hinkley said after ‘Nas’ booted his fourth of the afternoon.

“I think (he has gone past Daicos) because of this. Four goals – I think that (scoreboard impact) is what he’s gone past.”

Red time in quarters is often where the cream rises to the top as rivals start to fatigue and more space opens up across the ground. That proved the case in Ballarat on Saturday.

Wanganeen-Milera’s ability to find space in a game where it was at a premium, especially in a first half played in slippery conditions, was evident as he looked a class above the rest.

While the Saint, who is reportedly the highest-earning player in the league, spent some time in the midfield, Ross Lyon allowed him to show just how dynamic he could be as a forward.

In the final minute of the first term, the 23-year-old was able to lead into space and then boot a superb goal with what was the final kick of the quarter.

Late in the second, as the space opened up again, former Eagle Liam Ryan was able to pinpoint the reigning Trevor Barker Medallist inside the forward 50m arc again.

The combination was beaten to the punch only a couple of minutes later when the siren sounded as Ryan was about to kick to Wanganeen-Milera, who had ample space to move.

The pair were beaming as they embraced on the wing. Ryan did not have much to smile about in recent years at West Coast, but kicking to his new teammate will be fun.

This proved the case again in the dying stages of the third term when ‘Flying Ryan’ nailed another pass to “the Messiah”, who then snapped a superb set shot goal from the pocket.

In the dying stages of the fourth quarter, he gathered the ball on the half-back flank and took three bounces along the wing before kicking deep into attack, with Cooper Sharman snaring St Kilda’s 16th goal for the day.

Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy said the Saint could kick double-figures if allowed to play forward for an entire game. Hinkley waxed lyrical about a star whose first-half statistics were eye-watering.

Aside from the three goals he contributed, he also had 17 disposals for the half, with an even split between contested and uncontested footy, snared four marks and five inside 50m entries. He ultimately finished with four goals and 28 disposals.

“We can certainly see the damage he can do. You sometimes sit back and watch some players and think, ‘Wow. How good is he?’” Hinkley said.

“They just give him the ball at all costs and rightly so. He was 30 seconds away from having 4.1 in the first half of footy. He is an amazing player.

“It is impossible to coach against that because he can go inside, half-back and forward now, so he is a real weapon now for Ross, and I am sure he will use him that way.”

St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall, who showed good signs in partnership with boom recruit Tom de Koning, was blown away by the deeds of the Saints triple-threat.

“You can put him anywhere, and he is a superstar. He can do anything,” Marshall told Fox Footy.

So, where is he best suited?

Clearly, that will depend on what is occurring in a match, but Hinkley said his former peers in the coaches’ box would be most scared of Wanganeen-Milera when he was forward.

“He is certainly going to be that threat when they put him forward of the ball,” Hinkley said. “You are going to be nervous every time he goes up there. I think he is one player you would rather be on-ball or at half-back. You just don’t want a quality player like this getting the ball forward of centre, because you usually pay the price.”

2. YOUNGER BOMBERS CAPABLE OF SOARING

Essendon does not have a Wanganeen-Milera – such are his talents, it is likely every club in the competition will be envious of him – but they do have some promising young players.

It is just under a fortnight until the Bombers face Hawthorn at the MCG on Friday night, and newcomers Dyson Sharp and Hussien Al Achkar showed they could well debut.

Sharp, in particular, demonstrated tremendous running capabilities, with a passage that led to an Al Achkar goal, a demonstration when he won possession on flanks at either end.

“What I would say about these two players is that, one, you see a lot of work inside the screen, and that is Al Achkar, and one you don’t get to see outside the screen, and that is Sharp,” Hinkley said.

“His work rate in the first half was amazing for a young player, and Al Achkar, in the vicinity of goal, the pressure he mounts … with him and (Isaac) Kako together, it is going to be a good-looking forward line for a long time.

“They are going to make mistakes and you have to be brave enough to live with those mistakes … because every game they play, they will get better.”

While 2025 ended in despair for Essendon as injuries took a major toll in the second half of the year, they were highly competitive in the first half before the Saints’ sizzling third term.

But Fox Footy pundit Gerard Healy pointed to emerging stars including Archie Roberts and Nate Caddy as Bombers capable of lifting Essendon up the ladder in 2026.

Archie May did well to take a contested mark late in the match and kicked two goals in the final term in a demonstration that he has some talent, while Lachlan Blakiston fought hard against the Saints combination of Marshall and De Koning.

“They look like they have a good batch of youngsters, the Bombers,” Healy said.

“They have been rebuilding for a long period of time, but they look like they have accumulated some good ones.”

1. SAINTS SKIPPER ON ICE EARLY

If the most important goal in the pre-season is to get through it unscathed, St Kilda coach Ross Lyon must have been gnashing his teeth early on at Mars Stadium on Saturday.

With the first quarter not yet halfway through, new skipper Callum Wilkie was already on the bench, shaking his head as he picked up the phone for a chat.

The Saints’ medical staff were already strapping an ice back to his leg and not long after the confirmation came that the 2023 All Australian was out for the rest of the match.

The official explanation is that Wilkie has a corked calf, but he will be watched closely with only eight days until their opening round clash against Collingwood at the MCG.

Former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said it was evident at quarter-time that the St Kilda captain looked proppy when making his way to the huddle.

“The thing I noticed most at quarter-time was the Wilkie injury,” the Fox Footy pundit said.

“He was hobbling a fair bit, and I think that’d be a concern for them coming up to Opening Round.”

Wilkie has been remarkably resilient since being drafted from an accountant’s office in Adelaide, where he had been a star in the SANFL with North Adelaide.

The only season the 2024 Trevor Barker Medallist has played less than 20 games was in the COVID-reduced season of 2020, and he still managed to feature in 19 games.

He has not missed a game since arriving at St Kilda and and told Fox Footy’s Ben Dixon at half-time he felt he would be OK.

It did give St Kilda an extended chance to field Isaac Keeler, who cuts an imposing figure standing nearly 2 metres, in a defensive role as the Saints look to add to their versatility.

Ryan Byrnes will also be monitored in the infancy of the week after coming from the field in the third term with an ankle injury.

Re-live St Kilda vs. Essendon in Foxfooty.com.au’s blog below!

ST KILDA SELECTED SIDE

B: L.Stocker 14 C.Wilkie – C 44 A.Caminiti 47

HB: A.Tauru 26 N.Wanganeen-Milera 7 R.Byrnes 13

C: M.Windhager 2 H.Boxshall 38 D.Wilson 22

HF: M.Phillipou 25 M.Owens 10 M.Hall 40

F: C.Sharman 43 J.Higgins 1 R.Marshall 19

Foll: T.De Koning 21 S.Flanders 9 J.Sinclair 35

I/C: J.Macrae 6 B.Hill 8 I.Keeler 17 J.Carroll 18 L.Ryan 31 M.Wood 32 H.Garcia 34 C.Banfield 36

Emg: H.Clark 11 D.Butler 16 D.Howard 20 A.Dodson 30

Missing: Dan Butler, Dougal Howard, Jack Silvagni, Hunter Clark, Max King, Liam Henry

ESSENDON SELECTED SIDE

B: A.McGrath – C 1 Z.Reid 31 B.McKay 32

HB: M.Redman 27 Z.Johnson 40 J.Nguyen 42

C: J.Prior 25 Z.Merrett 7 B.Fiorini 8

HF: A.Perkins 16 P.Wright 20 D.Parish 3

F: A.May 26 N.Caddy 30 K.Langford 4

Foll: L.Blakiston 46 J.Caldwell 6 S.Durham 22

I/C: J.Farrow 2 D.Sharp 15 A.Roberts 21 X.Duursma 28 M.Kondogiannis 29 H.El Achkar 33 A.Clarke 36 S.El-Hawli 41

Emg: E.Tsatas 5 J.Gresham 11 V.Visentini 17 M.Guelfi 35

Missing: Jade Gresham, Matt Guelfi, Jordan Ridley, Nic Martin, Nik Cox, Nick Bryan, Isaac Kako