Saints superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera lifted his team to a miraculous, record comeback win on Sunday afternoon. Hours later, he was lifted – literally – into the air by his coach.
Just hours after Wanganeen-Milera against Melbourne had 34 disposals and four goals – including the last two of the game – to inspire St Kilda’s six-point win at Marvel Stadium, the match-winner was central to the celebrations at Hotel Brighton.
A clip from the pre-planned club event emerged on social media on Monday afternoon, which showed Lyon celebrating with ecstatic players while having Wanganeen-Milera on his shoulders.
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“It was pretty funny!” Saints ruck Rowan Marshall – who assisted Wanganeen-Milera’s match-winning goal – told reporters on Monday.
“I think Ross tried to get me on his shoulders but I was too heavy. I think Nas is a bit lighter.”
Marshall added: “We had a planned club function that had been on the cards for about a month. I think it was great for everyone to get together and have a good a time. I guess the win made it even better.”
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After the Demons were penalised for a 6-6-6 centre square infringement, Wanganeen-Milera was instrumental in creating the space to lead into to take the mark from a Marshall, which led to the match-winning goal.
“We obviously knew we were getting the free kick, so ‘Windy’ (Marcus Windhager) and ‘Nas’ came over,” Marshall said. “We knew the iso was going to be on the left-hand side because they thought we were probably going to roll out onto the right foot.
“I sort of just said to Nas – and Nas said to me – ‘kick it to me’ darting out to the left-hand side. Sure enough, as soon as I got the ball, I saw a bit of space and lucky enough the kick came off … I guess the rest is history.
“We work a fair bit on win and ‘save game’ scenarios. It’s one thing Ross has been big on throughout the year. Often in training we’ll do a four-minute patch at the end of training because it’s such an important part to the games these days.”
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Marshall said watching his kick to Wanganeen-Milera felt like “it almost went in slow-mo”, but had confidence his superstar teammate would convert.
“It was a weird feeling. As soon as he took that mark, I knew it was going through He’s just that type of player,” he said.
“The boys were telling me to get back on the goalline, but I wanted to be around him to celebrate him when he kicked it.
“It was probably the best moment I’ve had in footy.”
Wanganeen-Milera proved yet again how much of a sledge hammer it’d be to St Kilda if he packs up and moves interstate.
The SA product is still to decide his future as he weighs up a move home to South Australia.
Asked how confident Saints players were Wanganeen-Milera would stay, Marshall said: “We’re hopeful … He’s such an integral part to this group, all the boys love him. But at the end of the day, that’s up to Nas and his manager and the club to sort out.”
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Marshall added: “He’s obviously a superstar. He’s such a humble guy. Over the last two years especially, but I’ve noticed it even more this year – not just on-field but off-field as well – he’s gone to another level with his leadership this year. The boys look up to him and he’s a superstar, he’s a freak.
“We saw what he did last night, but we’ve been seeing that for a long time.”
After trailing by 46 points at the last change, St Kilda’s final-quarter comeback to score an unthinkable win over Melbourne was the biggest win from a final-quarter deficit since Brisbane came back from a 45-point margin to beat Hawthorn at the Gabba in 1995.
“It was a crazy win. The first three quarters were pretty garbage from us … but I think that last quarter just shows what we can do,” Marshall said.
“It was awesome. I didn’t think it was possible until there was probably three goals down and we looked up at the scoreboard and thought ‘we’re in this’.”
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