After notching up a gallant 36-point win over Melbourne, St Kilda will look to make it three on the run against Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium this Saturday night. It was a tough evening at the office last time these two met, as the Saints went down by 57 points in Nick Riewoldt’s 300^th game

St Kilda vs Western Bulldogs
Round 2 - April 2, 2016

Summary

On a night St Kilda and the wider football community celebrated the 300^th game of champion Nick Riewoldt, the Western Bulldogs lead from start to finish – progressively building their margin as the game went on. Each quarter the Dogs got further away from the Saints, booting six goals to two after the main break.

Chasing the game after the Bulldogs jumped to a 17-point quarter time lead, St Kilda worked their way back into the contest in the second term. Winning the inside 50s 14-10, the Saints were moving the ball much better and giving the forwards clean delivery. However, inaccuracy hurt St Kilda as the Dogs grew the margin further at half time.

After wayward kicking early from the Dogs, they cleaned up their inaccuracy to kick away in the third and last quarter to run out 57-point victors.

Player Performances

In his 300^th game, skipper Nick Riewoldt showed what made him so great in the past 299 with 23 disposals, 14 marks and two goals. Fellow veteran Leigh Montagna led the way with 31 disposals, while Jack Steven was influential with 23 touches and six clearances.

For the Bulldogs, Lachie Hunter led all comers with 35 disposals and 10 marks. Jason Johannisen was electrifying off half-back with 27 touches, eight marks and six inside 50s, while forward Tom Boyd booted three majors.

Stats that mattered

The Dogs dominated total possessions (+125), inside 50s (+16) and contested ball (+34), with the Saints only winning tackles (+12)

Who was missing?

18 players who played for St Kilda in the round 2 clash suited up in the win over Melbourne. Shane Savage and Paddy McCartin both missed last weekend’s game, and while McCartin has been ruled out – Savage’s availability will be determined later in the week.

Western Bulldogs had 16 of the 22 who played against St Kilda featured in last week’s win over the Suns. Marcus Adams and Bob Murphy will be notable absentees as they both battle injury. While Clay Smith, who didn’t play last time these two met, has been inspiring since returning from three knee reconstructions.

What the coaches said?

“I thought some of our rebound against a pretty aggressive defensive team was reasonable. (But) some of our stuff then on entry was really poor,” – St Kilda coach Alan Richardson (April 2, 2016)

"When you consider our recent games against the Saints, they just keep coming, they're really dour, and their pressure and their physicality is always really strong, and it was tonight," – Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge (April 2, 2016)

ST KILDA                           1.1   3.5    4.5    5.6 (36)                  
WESTERN BULLDOGS        3.6   7.6   9.13   13.15 (93)           

GOALS
St Kilda: Riewoldt 2, Newnes, Lonie, Bruce
Western Bulldogs: Boyd 3, Stringer 2, Picken 2, Liberatore, McLean, Johannisen, Wallis, Hunter, Daniel 

BEST 
St Kilda: Dempster, Fisher, Montagna, Newnes, Steven, Armitage
Western Bulldogs: Hunter, Johannisen, Murphy, Wallis, Adams, Bontempelli, Liberatore