The Saints are the real deal

Official Website of the Australian Football League: "

3. The Saints are the real deal. The way a St Kilda side, beset by worries over the on-going sexual assault investigation into Stephen Milne and Leigh Montagna, destroyed Geelong on Saturday night was one of the highlights of the round. The Saints not only overcame such a difficult build-up but also a bad start to punish a side that made the mistake of publicly saying they still felt they were a better team than Grant Thomas' side despite their Wizard Home Loans Cup final defeat. But as the season wears on, it's doubtful too many other sides will dare to think they are better than the exciting Saints."

Saints flog soft Cats - News - www.realfooty.com.au

Saints flog soft Cats - News - www.realfooty.com.au: "ST KILDA 3.0 8.2 16.4 19.8 (122) GEELONG 4.1 5.4 6.7 9.7 (61)
Goals:
St Kilda: F Gehrig 7 S Milne 4 A Hamill 3 N Riewoldt 3 A Thompson A Jones.
Geelong: H Playfair 2 B Graham J Kelly J Corey P Riccardi K Kingsley D Milburn M Scarlett.
Best:
St Kilda: F Gehrig B Goddard N Dal Santo L Ball A Hamill L Penny A Jones.
Geelong: C Ling J Kelly J Hunt M Scarlett.
Umpires: B Rosebury G Dore D Margetts.
Crowd: 35,042 at Telstra Dome.
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas had said the turmoil of rape allegations against two of his players would galvanise his team, and the Saints proved good to his word with a thumping win over Geelong tonight. "

Saints belt Cats

Official AFL Website of the St Kilda Football Club: "St Kilda has started the home-and-away season with a thumping 61-point victory against Geelong at Telstra Dome on Saturday night with Fraser Gehrig booting seven goals."

Saints belt Cats

AFL: "The one-sided opening to season 2004 continued at Telstra Dome on Saturday night, with St Kilda's 61-point thrashing of Geelong. The Cats started brightly with the first three goals but it was all St Kilda from there. Fraser Gehrig booted seven goals in a masterful display, while Aussie Jones, Andrew Thompson and Stephen Powell provided plenty of drive. "

Saints belt Cats as Milne fires

Herald Sun : "ST KILDA coach Grant Thomas had said the turmoil of rape allegations against two of his players would galvanise his team, and the Saints proved good to his word with a thumping win over Geelong tonight."

Saints do it again

Sportal.com.au - Football: "St Kilda has opened the 2004 season in fine style, overcoming a slow start to belt Geelong by 61 points at Telstra Dome, 19.8 (122) to 9.7 (61)."

Preview: Round 1 -- Saints V Cat

"ST KILDA v GEELONG at Telstra Dome, 7.15pm
Head to head: St Kilda 76 Geelong 116
Last time: Geelong 12.12 (84) bt St Kilda 9.11 (65) - R22 2003
TAB Sportsbet: St Kilda $1.50 Geelong $2.40
Centrebet: St Kilda $1.50 Geelong $2.60
An unusual amount of interest centres on this game after verbal exchanges between St Kilda coach Grant Thomas and Geelong's Mark Thompson and the spectre of a rape investigation involving Saints players Leigh Montagna and Stephen Milne. Thompson and Thomas have been bickering since St Kilda hardman Aaron Hamill was accused of 'cheap shots' against the opposition behind play. There is also the matter of St Kilda's victory over the Cats in the Wizard Cup grand final and the insistence by Geelong's Paul Chapman that his side was the better team. The tone set by Brent Guerra, who crashed into Geelong's Cameron Ling at the opening bounce and was subsequently suspended for three weeks, could well be repeated on Saturday night.
Key: St Kilda still looks more impressive, especially with the mixture of young stars Nick Riewoldt and captain Lenny Hayes with seasoned players Robert Harvey and Fraser Gehrig, although the avalanche of negative publicity surrounding St Kilda and off-field allegations could have some impact.
Tip: St Kilda by 15 points. "