Saints v Power, snippets

Star Man: Jason Gram, the much improved Saints defender, was the main reason why his side was able to get out of jail on Sunday with a fine four-quarter performance. Gram was one of the few Saints that played well during the first three terms as Port controlled the game before sparking his team's last quarter revival with 11 touches and a goal to just pip Port's Travis Boak as the game's standout player.

What a Goal: St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt but his first touch at the 19-minute mark was certainly worth waiting for. Riewoldt charged out to meet a loose ball with the Port defence right on his hammer but didn't panic and somehow was still able to hook the ball across his body and bounce home a great goal from 45 metres out.

Classic Grab: Just a day after Essendon skipper Matthew Lloyd appeared to have mark of the year sewn up and Port star Daniel Motlop came out with grab to challenge him during the third term on Sunday. While Motlop's mark was not a pack grab like Lloyd's, it was just as spectacular as he used his hands to get a great ride on Jason Blake (much to the anger of Saints' fans) and seem to hang in the air before pulling in a classic screamer. Unfortunately, Motlop then undid his good work by missing a sitter from just 25 metres out before making amends minutes later with a booming goal from 60 metres.

Turning Point: Port had the game in control in the third term but just could not put away the struggling Saints. But they had their chance when Tom Logan's shot on the run at the 27-minute mark of the third term looked set to bounce through to give the Power a four-goal lead at the last change. But instead it hit the post and when James Gwilt goaled a minute later for the Saints, the margin was only 13 points at the last change. And that late surge of momentum gave the Saints some much-needed confidence going into the final term as they took control of the game to overrun a tiring Port side.

Absolute Shocker: The Saints certainly outsmarted themselves midway through the first term as Daniel Motlop was lining up for goal after being the beneficiary of a soft free kick about 60 metres from goal. As Brendon Goddard stood the mark, with the ball only about 10 metres to his left and no Port player other than Motlop in the vicinity, neither Goddard or any other Saints player would return the ball to Motlop. After what seemed an interminable delay, Motlop finally went to retrieve the ball himself but then just as he was lining up for goal a St Kilda trainer ran through the mark and Motlop received a 50-metre penalty resulting in a certain goal in the goalsquare and raising the question of just whether the trainer would have had time to concede the 50-metre penalty had the St Kilda players returned the ball to Motlop in the first place.

Unsung Hero: Toby Thurstans is an experienced Port defender and used all his nous against Justin Koschitzke on Sunday. It was hard to recall Thurstans losing a one-on-one contest at any stage as the Saints big gun was kept to just one goal and five marks for the game while Thurstans also helped himself to 21 disposals.