St Kilda has made two changes to the side that narrowly lost to North Melbourne, with Dylan Roberton and Jack Sinclair returning from injury to face West Coast in Perth on Sunday.
Experienced key defender Sam Fisher won’t make the trip across to Western Australia due to soreness, whilst midfielder-forward Darren Minchington has been omitted from the senior side after playing the last five weeks.
After missing the last month following a medial ligament strain in his knee, Roberton comes straight back into Alan Richardson’s side, bolstering an undersized back six that will miss Fisher after he performed an important role on Drew Petrie last Sunday.
Sinclair was a late out against the Kangaroos last weekend due to a corked calf, but has been declared fit to face the Eagles at Domain Stadium. The classy midfielder produced one of the strongest performances of his 23-game career in his last start against Melbourne and will be looking to build on that form on the wide expanses of Subiaco.
Midfielder Eli Templeton, rebounding defender Brodie Murdoch and ruckman Lewis Pierce have all been named as emergencies, with the latter included in the preliminary squad for the first time in his career following a strong start to the season with Sandringham in the VFL.
West Coast has won the last six encounters between the two sides, including the last fixture by 95-points at Domain Stadium in the final round of last season. The Saints haven’t won in Western Australia since 2011.
St Kilda’s defence performed strongly against North Melbourne’s star-studded forward setup last weekend, reducing the Kangaroos to their second lowest score of the season, on the back of restricting key trio Jarrad Waite, Drew Petrie and Ben Brown to five goals between them.
With the Eagles possessing Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy inside 50, Jack Darling, Mark LeCras and dangerous smaller sized forwards Jamie Cripps and Josh Hill, West Coast’s offence is one of the best in the competition.
The absence of Fisher will hurt as he has gone to Kennedy in the past, but on the back of last week’s effort, St Kilda’s back six is poised to perform strongly again. Both Sean Dempster and Sam Gilbert were two of the Saints’ best, whilst Jarryn Geary quelled Brent Harvey.
Richardson has utilised Leigh Montagna on a half-back flank this season with aplomb, with the veteran working in tandem with Shane Savage to transform the Saints into a slicker ball moving team.
With Nick Riewoldt (six goals), Josh Bruce (five goals) and Tim Membrey (eight goals) combining for 19 goals in the past fortnight, the Saints have looked potent at times inside 50. Although they have lacked a spread of goal scoring contribution, something the Saints will be seeking more of in Perth.
West Coast has made a statement at the selection table by dropping prized off-season acquisition Lewis Jetta for the first time since he crossed from Sydney during last year’s trade period.
The Eagles have included 2006 premiership player Sam Butler in their preliminary squad, along with Jamie Bennell, Patrick McGinnity and potential debutant Thomas Cole.
Round 8 AFL Premiership Team
West Coast v St Kilda
Sunday 15 May
Domain Stadium 4.40pm
B: J. Geary, S. Dempster, S. Savage
HB: J. Newnes, S. Gilbert, L. Montagna
C: B. Acres, D. Armitage, J. Billings
HF: J. Lonie, N. Riewoldt, T. Membrey
F: M. Weller, J. Bruce, J. Gresham
R: T. Hickey, L. Dunstan, J. Steven
Interchange from: S. Ross, D. Roberton, J. Webster, J. Sinclair,
IN: D. Roberton, J. Sinclair
OUT: S. Fisher (soreness), D. Minchington (omitted)
