North Melbourne has defeated a woeful St Kilda by 52 points in the Good Friday clash at Etihad Stadium, but it won't be a game for either side to look back on fondly.
With both sides only managing to score an inaccurate 2.10 apiece in the opening half, North Melbourne managed to pick up the slack in the second half thanks to a six-goal bag from Ben Brown.
Although the Roos' and Saints' line-ups were unchanged going into the Good Friday clash, there will undoubtedly be several changes following a calamitous 13.17 (95) to 5.13 (41) display from the two teams.
Following their low-scoring affair against Gold Coast in horrendously wet conditions last week, North were set on a achieving solid start.
But their boots must have still been waterlogged, as even with the sun shining and the ground in pristine condition, the Roos only mustered an abysmal 0.6 from the quarter.
North simply had no excuses for their blunders.
Leading the inside 50 count 17-9, the Kangaroos' six behinds for the term from seven set shots was nothing short of horrendous as the sloppiness of their poor kicking transferred to their ball use.
The shambolic kicking display proved to be contagious, with the Saints similarly experiencing terrible skill execution.
St Kilda struggled to move the ball out of defence, and were too haphazard in their entries out of the 50 which frequently landed right into the North Melbourne defensive wall.
With fluid passages of play few and far between them, St Kilda managed to capitalise with a smooth transition along the wing from Jack Billings and Jade Gresham, allowing Jake Carlisle to kick the first of the game.
The goal drought was finally alleviated with an early goal to Brown from a vacant goal square, soon followed up by a Gresham major from a turnover to again narrow the margin.
But the sluggish nature of the first quarter soon returned, with a series of misses from North setting the tone for yet another lacklustre and amateurish term.
North's inaccuracy continued to plague them, with their set shot tally standing at 1.9 from ten shots at the end of the half; the solitary major from their kicking courtesy of Jarrad Waite.
With scores level at a deplorable 2.10 apiece at half-time, both sides - as well as the increasingly frustrated fans - craved majors going into the third quarter.
In a rare passage of fluent game play, North Melbourne kicked the first three goals of the
term from Jed Anderson and Brown, the latter of whom kicked two to see his total sit at four.
As the Roos surged off their temporary momentum, St Kilda significantly dropped off in terms of pressure, skill and execution.
Carving the Saints up across the half-back line, North were able to bang the ball into their vacant forward half with relative ease as the Saints slacked off.
Slow, sloppy and subpar at best, St Kilda's scrappy term and lack of skills allowed North to gain a crucial lead and an opportunity to notch up their first win of the season.
The Saints' inability to hit targets - be it from handballs or kicks - proved to be detrimental, as they allowed the Roos to roam free across the entire ground.
Their concerns were deepened following a groin injury to Billy Longer, who was close to immobile in the ruck contests and was off the ground for a significant period of the third quarter.
Three fortunate goals from Jack Steele, Jack Steven and a miracle major from Blake Acres outside the 50 proved to the only consolation to the Saints' dreadful term, resulting in a 21-point deficit at the final change.
But the Saints weren't able bring themselves back into the contest, being kept goalless as North Melbourne turned their inaccurate kicking around and piled on seven unanswered goals.
Brown again kicked the first of the term and ended his day with six majors, while Billy Hartung was best on ground for the Roos with 24 touches.
The shocking display from St Kilda will be a pressing issue for the club, whose aspirations of being a top-eight contender will be genuinely questioned following their embarrassing loss.
Heading against Adelaide next week, the Saints will be hopeful of showing some clean ball use and skill to get their second win of the season.
North Melbourne meanwhile will face off against Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
NORTH MELBOURNE 0.6 2.10 6.16 13.17 (95)
ST KILDA 1.2 2.10 5.11 5.13 (43)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Brown 6, Waite, Anderson, Hrovat, Jacobs, Cunnington, Turner, Hartung
St Kilda: Steele, Acres, Carlisle, Gresham, Steven, Armitage
BEST
North Melbourne: Brown, Hartung, Higgins, Waite, Ziebell
St Kilda: Webster, Roberton, Carlisle, Steven, Armitage
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Cunnington (hip)
St Kilda: Longer (groin)
TALKING POINTS
1. ST KILDA WERE ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING
St Kilda fans over recent times have become accustomed to dismal performances, but today's caper against North Melbourne takes the cake.
After a forgettable 2.10 first half, their abysmal efforts worsened, with no sense of cohesion, speed or skill as the match went on.
Their basic skill errors and lack of execution were nothing short of terrible, with the young side - now absent of Nick Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna - clearly struggling to gain any fluency.
Being kept goalless in the last quarter, the Saints were extremely disappoiting; their belief they will be a team in top-eight contention now seriously questioned after today's efforts.
Or lack thereof.
2. BIG BEN STRIKES
After the Ben Brown was kept to just the four touches in last week's torrid clash against Gold Coast, the 200cm big man returned with an impressive six-goal haul in what was a mediocre match.
Brown kicked the first goal of the second, third and fourth quarters, adding extra pressure on the Saints who were desperate to hit the scoreboard early in each term.
Watch out for the big shinboner.
3. THE FIRST HALF WAS HORRENDOUS
2.10 in a half of football at any level is abhorrent to say the least.
But the skill levels in the first half from the Saints and Roos were absolutely disgraceful, and were equivalent to a suburban fourth-division game of football at best.
With North kicking 0.6 from seven set shots in the first quarter and the Saints unable to string successive clean possessions together, spectators were visibly frustrated by the evident lack of skill and execution.
Thank goodness for Ben Brown in the second half to provide some excitement.
4. THE AXE WILL BE SWUNG
Both sides came into the Good Friday contest unchanged, but there will undoubtedly be some substantial changes going into next week.
Several Saints - including but not limited to Tim Membrey, Jack Sinclair, Josh Bruce and Billy Longer (who was injured in the third term but still had minimal impact) - should have a nervous wait until team selection next week, after dishing up performances which simply were not up to scratch at AFL level.
With Paddy McCartin also reported for an rough conduct in a marking contest, the St Kilda line-up will be given a massive shake-up as the likes of Luke Dunstan, Maverick Weller, Tom Hickey and Sam Gilbert appear more than likely to make their 2018 debuts.
North meanwhile might see veteran Ben Cunnington miss a week following a hip injury in the third quarter.
5. GOOD FRIDAY FOOTBALL HERE TO STAY, BUT WILL THE TEAMS?
Good Friday football is great, there's no doubt about it.
But with two sides who are admittedly lesser in stature than other iconic Victorian sides, the AFL will be wondering if they can draw bigger crowds - and more importantly more funds for the Good Friday Appeal - with more well-known clubs with larger fan-bases and are positioned higher up the ladder.
While the game drew a crowd of 33,966, there's no denying many became quickly disinterested or frustrated by the sloppy standard of play executed by both teams.
It would be exceptionally harsh, but remains a distinct possibility should both sides serve up efforts similar to today's clash for the remainder of the season.
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