Monday morning would have no doubt felt very different for St Kilda fans if Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera didn't play in Sunday's epic win over Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
The emerging superstar of the competition kicked four goals, including the two that gave the Saints credit for the biggest ever three-quarter time comeback (46 points), and gathered 34 disposals as one of the performances of the season.
But as his coach Ross Lyon revealed in his post-match press conference, all may have been missed.
"He said 'Nas' has come in, (we've) upped his antibiotics, given him an injection," Lyon said.
"I mean, they can sound quite morbid at times, the doctors. So, then I just said, 'How's Nas?', he's pretty confident. Then I rang him, he goes 'No, I'll be right'. But I just said, if you're not right, no pressure, we'll tap you out."
The Saints had kicked six goals up until the final change, as the Demons piled on 13 and looked home and hosed.
But a nine-goal unanswered onslaught through pairs of goals from Jack Higgins, Cooper Sharman, and most significantly, Wanganeen-Milera, helped pull off the greatest escape.
"I just told the forwards, get out of my way." 💪
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera talks through his match-winning heroics. pic.twitter.com/jysBG4tMkR
— AFL (@AFL) July 27, 2025
'Nas' was swung forward a calmly slotted a telling goal after taking a pack mark between two Demons to level the scores. But a 6-6-6 infringement from Melbourne gifted the Saints the ball.
As chaos descended upon Marvel Stadium, a heads-up dedicated play from Rowan Marshall and Wanganeen-Milera saw the latter mark the ball inside 50 with five seconds to go.
And as they say, the rest is history.
"You get confidence from quarters and performances like that. So, our young players never gave up, and our leaders never gave up… and that's how the brain works, right? There's the dopamine release of the rewards that are automatic, like kicking goals," Lyon said.
"So, the scoreboard gives you that natural enthusiasm, but you know, the deliberate brain can make choices to keep rewarding efforts that aren't obvious to everybody. So, clearly, our group did that, and in the end, they started to get that automatic reward, which, you saw it.
"We spoke about, you saw that with GWS, didn't you, after half time, that it just sort of builds and builds and it pops like a soufflé."
This video breaks down how Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Rowan Marshall orchestrated that last play and mark inside 50.#AFLSaintsDees pic.twitter.com/zdJMAyGHkm
— The Mongrel Punt (@themongrelpunt) July 27, 2025
Wanganeen-Milera's performance makes his contract situation even more intriguing as the 22-year-old has yet to make a decision for 2026 and beyond.
Receiving interest from home state clubs, Port Adelaide and Adelaide, the Saints will have to come to the party, and after Sunday's outing, it could be more than they first thought.
