Fortress in the West

West Coast’s away form this season may have attracted some criticism across the first seven rounds of the season, but at home, on Domain Stadium, the Eagles possess one of the best home records of any team in the game. Losses to Hawthorn and Geelong in Victoria and Sydney at the SCG have caused some media pundits to put a line through West Coast’s premiership aspirations. But at home, Adam Simpson’s side is extremely tough to beat, winning its past nine games at Subiaco, including their qualifying and preliminary final triumphs over Hawthorn and North Melbourne respectively. And the Eagles form goes even deeper; they have won 18 of their last 20 on the wide expanses of Domain Stadium. Against the Saints, West Coast has won the last six encounters, including both clashes in 2015 by over 50-points. In Round 23 last year, West Coast put a full stop on St Kilda’s season, trumping the Saints by 95-points.

Without Fisher, Kennedy challenge amplifies  

The absence of stalwart key defender Sam Fisher is a tough blow for St Kilda this weekend, especially given the Eagles possess one of the best forward lines in the game and last year’s Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy. Kennedy’s start to the season hasn’t quite been at the level of the last few seasons, but that has been more to do with accuracy than not getting enough looks at goal. The All Australian spearhead has kicked 20.17 from seven games to sit in equal fifth position in the goal kicking; nine goals behind Sydney star Lance Franklin. Since booting 8.2 against Brisbane in the opening round, the Eagles vice-captain hasn’t kicked more than three majors, although he has had games that could have turned large – 1.4 v Fremantle and 3.6 v Collingwood. Fisher spent the bulk of the last two games against West Coast on Kennedy, but with him out Alan Richardson might throw the challenge to Sean Dempster who nullified Jarrad Waite last weekend, holding him to his worst return of 2016 at 1.2 and four marks.

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Newnes' numbers blossoming  

St Kilda’s improved midfield depth this season has come from a number of third to fifth-year players, with Seb Ross, Jack Billings and Luke Dunstan all on an upward trajectory. But one who has made a significant leap in terms of his numbers is Jack Newnes. The 23-year-old has played on a wing and across half-back in the first seven rounds, providing a damaging option on transition. Newnes is averaging 26.0 possessions (up by 5.4 from last year), 19.9 uncontested possessions (up by 6.4), 5.0 inside 50s (up by 1.8), 3.6 rebound 50s (up by 2.0) and 433.1 metres gained (ranked 3rd at the Saints). The Victorian played an instrumental role in St Kilda’s impressive performance last weekend against North Melbourne. Newnes’ durability has also been a feature of his career to date, with the endurance machine playing the last 51 games in succession - the best current streak at the Saints. With West Coast possessing All Australian wingman and renowned runner Andrew Gaff, Newnes could be in for some serious mileage on the biggest ground in the AFL.

First Gawn, then Goldstein, now Naitanui

This column is beginning to sound like a broken record, but again, Tom Hickey will face a big task this weekend. With Essendon and an Aaron Sandilands less Fremantle coming, some form of high-quality respite is in sight, but not this weekend. Instead, Nic Naitanui is waiting. The 2012 All Australian has started this season as well as Todd Goldstein and Max Gawn, ensuring the hunt for the No. 1 ruck mantle this season is as fierce as it’s been in several years. On the back of Naitanui’s dominance around the stoppages, West Coast is ranked No. 1 for hitouts differential (+19.9) and hitouts to advantage differential (+6.7). Naitanui is ranked 2nd behind Gawn according to Champion Data, with his hitouts winning percentage of 59.1 per cent separating him by some margin from every other ruckman in the game. After beating Gawn a fortnight ago, Hickey limited Goldstein’s dominance last weekend and will be tested on the big deck at Subiaco on Sunday night.

Scoring on the rise

St Kilda may have improved its scoring column by 12.7 points on last season (89.7 points), but Alan Richardson’s side is still only ranked 12th for points for in 2016, as scoring has risen this season. With the Saints trialling a handful of different forward formations in the opening seven rounds, the combination of Nick Riewoldt, Josh Bruce and Tim Membrey inside the arc has been impactful in the last fortnight. The trio have combined for 19.4 against Melbourne and North Melbourne, with Membrey accounting for eight, Riewoldt six and Bruce five. Riewoldt’s last couple of weeks have been exceptional, with the Saints skipper averaging 24 possessions, 15 marks, six inside 50s and three goals as he gets on the plane west in serious form. So for the Saints to continue to build their scoring, it must come from beyond the three focal points, with a greater scoring emphasis from the fleet of small forwards and more midfielders impacting the scoreboard.

Join cricket immortal Steve Waugh & champion AFL forwards Dunstall, Hall, Brown and Richardson for lunch on June 10.