Webster set for lengthy ban after brutal bump

“He’s [Webster] obviously shown some remorse there and our thoughts are with the North Melbourne player in Simpkin, and hopefully he’s going to be OK. You obviously never want to see anyone go down … we’ll deal with what comes out of it.

“As we know with football, it’s one step here, one step there. It’s a fast game, faster than ever. These things happen really quickly, so, we can only take Jimmy for the person that he is, and he’s been a great character and great servant for our club.”

Simpkin, who has previously missed games after suffering three concussions throughout his career, could miss the round one game as a result of the hit.

He had just been cleared to play in round one, despite tearing a tendon in his finger last week in match simulation against Collingwood, with the aid of a protective glove.

Saint Liam Stocker had his hip looked at during the second quarter and Rowan Marshall was removed from the ground multiple times throughout the first half due to the blood rule after suffering a cut above the eye.

Mattaes Phillipou also left the ground during the third quarter with hip soreness and didn’t make a return.

The Saints’ defensive stocks took another hit when Dougal Howard limped off late in the final term. Howard suffered a hamstring injury and looks likely to miss the start of the season, though scans are required to determine the extent of the injury. The absence of Howard and Webster would leave significant holes in the St Kilda back line.

It was a game of momentum swings after St Kilda took a comfortable 34-point lead into half-time, but North Melbourne fought back in the third quarter with five straight goals. The Kangaroos then took the lead early in the final term off the boot of Nick Larkey (who finished the day with three goals) and the Saints drove it home late. It could (arguably should) have been a much bigger blowout, but the Saints were again let down by inaccuracy in front of goal with 11.18.

Mitch Owens.Credit: Getty

The strong wind played a pivotal role as each side’s run of goals came when aided by the breeze – best demonstrated in the second quarter when North’s Callum Coleman-Jones kicked the ball from the centre circle to clear it and was picked up by the wind all the way through the big sticks.

There were a number of Saints missing, including two-time All Australian Jack Sinclair and important midfielder Brad Crouch. In their place, teenager Darcy Wilson (24 touches) and former Port Adelaide defender Riley Bonner (30 disposals, one goal) made good additions, while Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was prolific with 29 touches.

North Melbourne had a strong focus on their run and carry and made good link-ups and overlaps through the middle but lacked clean entries into their forward 50. Tristan Xerri was dominant in the ruck with 31 hitouts, while Harry Sheezel finished with 32 disposals and George Wardlaw was relentless with 12 tackles.

What you need to know

It’s been a rough few years for North fans with their side having languished in the bottom two for the past four seasons. But many at Arden Street are adamant about turning things around – andthe kids look in good nick, including Luke Davies-Uniacke, Wardlaw and Sheezel. Draftees Colby McKercher, Wil Dawson and Zane Duursma will all make a push for early debuts. There’s particularly a lot of hope riding on 19-year-old Sheezel, who last year, in his debut season, took out the Rising Star and the club’s best and fairest. Zac Fisher has also been a handy addition, who they recruited from Carlton. While a huge leap up the ladder continues to look unlikely, the blocks are there, ready to be built upon.

Expert’s view

Things look encouraging for the Saints. The pass mark for St Kilda will be to reach the finals again after scraping into the eight last year but bowing out in their elimination final to GWS by 24 points. There are a lot of bright spots across the side as they head into the season, particularly regarding their crop of under-23s Mitch Owens, Mattaes Phillipou, Wanganeen-Milera and Marcus Windhager, who unfortunately suffered a broken hand in their match simulation against Essendon last weekend.

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Yet after bolting out the gate last year with a 5-1 start, they fizzled in the middle, winning just seven of 11 games, and showed a lack of consistency – impacted by captain Jack Steele and star forward Max King’s injury disrupted years. If King can keep in form, and stay out of the medical room, along with Steele and Sinclair, and the young ones continue to push, the top eight is not an unreasonable expectation, especially with bright new stars seemingly on the rise. But without a lot of depth to lean on should it be required, the Saints can easily find themselves middle of the pack.

Key playersWhat’s next?

Neither St Kilda nor North Melbourne will play in “round zero”, giving them an extra week to gear up for the season proper. The Saints will face Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday, March 16, while the Kangaroos hop across the border to play GWS at Giants Stadium the same day.

ST KILDA 5.2 8.12 8.14 11.18 (84)NORTH MELBOURNE 3.1 4.2 9.5 10.5 (65)GOALS St Kilda: King 2, Owens 2, Sharman 2, Membrey 2, Marshall, Bonner, Henry.North Melbourne: Larkey 3, Duursma 2, Zurhaar 2, Stephenson, Coleman-Jones, Goater.BEST St Kilda: Owens, Bonner, Wanganeen-Milera, Byrnes, Wilson.North Melbourne: Fisher, Sheezel, Xerri, Wardlaw, Larkey.

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