St Kilda get full bang for buck from Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera’s licence to attack

By Jonathan Horn • June 14, 2026 • Sport

The Saints landed on the right side of a tight tussle with their young star in full flight alongside Liam Ryan in the AFL win over GWS Giants

To be frank, on a day where the Socceroos were opening their World Cup campaign and the New York Knicks captured their first NBA title in more than half a century, the prospect of AFL games at Ninja Stadium in Hobart and under the roof at the Docklands didn’t exactly get the pulse racing. And so, while the national sporting eye was on Vancouver, Brisbane did what they were expected to do in Tasmania with a win against Richmond. The more intriguing game of the two was between St Kilda and GWS Giants, and the cross-code fans who spilled out of bars after the Socceroos’ win over Turkey were treated to an entertaining contest. St Kilda have had plenty of those this year – the games against Adelaide, Fremantle and Sydney in particular. Their problem, and it is the reason they have been marooned in no man’s land yet again, is that they keep losing games like those from winning positions. But not this time. For so long, Ross Lyon-coached games were like chess games, but ones where king, queen and knights were all left in the box. He gives his major pieces more licence to attack and create now. He often speaks of “nourishment” and the Saints got their full fill against the Giants from their two Indigenous stars – Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Liam Ryan. Wanganeen-Milera was exceptional, attempting and pulling off kicks few others would be capable of. Coaches and commentators often speak about “lowering the eyes”. But “Nas” lifted his eyes. For nearly every one of his 25 kicks, he identified his teammate in the maze. And he almost always found him. His signature meant everything to the club last year. “If he’d left I would have questioned ‘what’s the point?’ to be honest,” Lyon told Caroline Wilson at, of all places, the Sorrento Writers festival. Many St Kilda supporters and literary enthusiasts presumably agreed. Wanganeen-Milera’s loping, long-range thumper in the third term, and his effort deep in the pocket in the final quarter to out-body two Giants, slither out of trouble and hit up Cooper Sharman, were pivotal to the 14.12 (96) to 13.10 (88) triumph. So too was Ryan, who has been in excellent form in recent weeks, having kicked a career-high five goals and probably taken the mark of the year at the SCG against Sydney last Sunday. He went one better against the Giants – all of them through craft, spring and guile. He isn’t a high possession player, but he provides full bang for buck. The DJ played Creedence Clearwater Revival for every one of Ryan’s six goals, one of the few occasions where musical intervention at the Docklands hasn’t made me want to stick my head in a fan. It was a win of great merit for the Saints, who have had a torrid time of it this year. They’ve done more miles than the Leyland Brothers and suffered some heartbreaking losses. Now, as befitting one of the more bewildering fixtures in world sport, they don’t leave Victoria for the rest of the year. On the other side of the country, after being pulverised the week before, North Melbourne simply had to win against an undermanned West Coast. At least they deigned to tackle this week. They did their best to stuff it up however, and can count their lucky stars Jake Waterman’s final set shot went astray. The Eagles were terrific in the final term, marking everything and putting the Kangaroos’ less than robust defence under extreme pressure. But North Melbourne handled the final seconds exceptionally well. The second quarter against Adelaide and the Bunbury abomination against Fremantle aside, the Roos are actually travelling OK. They have already secured the most wins they have had in a season since 2019, and they have Richmond and Essendon to come. But after the pitiful showing last week, and the close shave in their “home” fixture at Optus Stadium, North Melbourne were fortunate to escape Perth with four points. “It’s a fine line between pleasure and pain, isn’t it?” coach Alastair Clarkson said. While round 14 didn’t reach the heights of the previous week, it had its moments. Judging by commentator Dwayne Russell’s increasingly frenzied tone on Saturday night, one could be forgiven for thinking they were listening to a World Cup final. Russell was having a rollicking time, but his old club were once again nutted in a close one. Josh Carr’s Port Adelaide have now lost five games by a total of 11 points. In this instance against Sydney, they were a Brodie Grundy ruck thwack away from a major scalp. As Clarkson, Lyon and Chrissy Amphlett would say, it really is a fine line.

Source: The Guardian