Back on the winners list after an inspiring triumph over the reigning Premiers, the Saints will be intent on backing up their performance against Carlton.

With the readjusted fixture thrusting the Saints into the Thursday night spotlight, there’s no better time or place to make statement.

Round 5

Carlton v St Kilda
Thursday 2 July
Marvel Stadium, 7:40pm

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Last time we met…

Carlton 11.12 (78) def. St Kilda 10.8 (68)

After getting out to a four-goal lead midway through the second term, the Saints let the penultimate game of Season 2019 slip through their fingers as Carlton overran Brett Ratten’s side in the second half to win by 10 points.

The lead swung three times in the final quarter, before the Blues bagged the final two goals of the game to gift David Teague his first win as senior coach.

Earlier in the season, St Kilda took home the four points in Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round, with four indigenous Saints – Jade Gresham, Ben Long, Matty Parker and Robbie Young – running out together for the first time in the club’s 146-year history.

The standouts...

Although skill errors and untidy play marred the disappointing Saturday afternoon affair, the day belonged to Jack Steele.

The resolute tagger quelled the influence of Carlton’s Patrick Cripps across the afternoon and notched up 20 disposals (12 contested), five clearances and 14 tackles of his own.

Seb Ross (29 disposals, two Brownlow votes) pulled in the numbers alongside Dan Hannebery (24), while Tim Membrey and a lively Nicholas Hind combined for five goals, four of which were put through in the first half.

Josh Battle also snared a NAB Rising Star nomination with just one more game left before he was ineligible.

For the Blues, it was the usual suspects who inflicted the most damage.

Marc Murphy cast aside doubts he was past his best with a flawless performance through the midfield, complete with a mind-boggling banana from the boundary.

Cripps shook free of Steele’s hard tag as the match wore on, while veteran Kade Simpson dominated the half-back line with seven rebounds, one of which gifted Josh Deluca the match-winner.

Matthew Kreuzer (23 hit-outs) ultimately won the ruck duel, while Levi Casboult tore the Saints to shreds with a whopping 10 marks and 11 intercepts.

Moment of the match...

Ben Long wove his magic just before half-time, with a run and snap from just inside 50 – while under pressure and veering towards the boundary line – breaking a run of three Carlton goals.

History repeating...?

If Jack Steele can come anywhere close to replicating his form from any of his performances against Carlton, it will go a long way towards helping the Saints’ cause.

In his four matches against the Navy Blue, the tough-as-nails mid has averaged 28 disposals and 10 tackles, all while going head-to-head with Cripps.

From the archives...

While footage from the last Thursday encounter between the Saints and Blues – dating all the way back to Round 4, 1900 – has been hard find, we thought we’d reflect on the last prime-time fixture between the two: Round 17, 2018.

Round 4 recap…

The Saints stormed back onto the winners list after a spectacular dismantling of Richmond last Saturday.

Dan Butler and Tim Membrey reigned supreme up forward with three goals apiece, while an even spread of contributors all over the ground signalled the Saints were ready to make something special out of Season 2020.

Carlton also claimed the four points last week, albeit in far more dramatic and heart-racing circumstances against Essendon.

A contentious 50m penalty against Eddie Betts in the final minute almost spelled doom for the Blues, with Bomber Jacob Townsend subsequently afforded a match-winning shot on goal from outside 50 in the dying seconds.

With the ex-Tiger’s kick falling short and inadvertently headered over for a minor score, Carlton claimed a nail-biting one-point triumph to bring its ledger to 2-2.

The ins and outs...

St Kilda will regain Jarryn Geary for Thursday night after he beat the clock – and the odds – to be fit for Thursday's clash.

While the skipper has overcome his hamstring niggle, the same can't be said for Zak Jones (hamstring tightness) who will miss one week.

The Blues will be bolstered by the returns of Harry McKay and Zac Fisher, with Jack Silvagni (fractured ribs) and Sam Philp (omitted) making way.

The brilliant ‘Baggers...

Sam Docherty was the star of the show last Saturday night, shining bright with a pivotal 32 touches and eight rebounds.

The Carlton co-captain was critical in securing the Blues’ second win of the year and could be just as influential this Thursday.

Jacob Weitering’s starring season has continued to blossom in 2020, while Levi Casboult’s strong hands could wreak havoc once again.

David Cuningham enjoyed a career-best performance against Essendon with 28 disposals (10 contested) after being thrust into the middle following Jack Silvagni’s injury, while Michael Gibbons (25) was just as busy.

The regular Carlton contributors remain a threat, with Patrick Cripps, Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson forming a classy force for the Saints to conquer.

In the absence of Matthew Kreuzer (ankle), new Blue Marc Pittonet has rucked exceptionally to give his mids first use.

Milestone men...

Saints Dougal Howard and Dan Butler will play their 50^th career matches on Thursday night.

On the injury front…

The five-day turnaround hasn’t been kind to players on both sides pushing for a senior return.

Zak Jones will be curbed following hamstring tightness, but will be utilising next week’s seven-day break to full effect.

Jack Silvagni will sit out this week’s clash with a bruised lung and fractured rib following an innocuous, glancing blow against the Bombers last week.

The smiles of St Kilda fans will be turning ever-so-slightly upward following a strong 18-point win over Carlton in its first prime-time fixture in over two years.

Coming off the back of a five-day turnaround, Brett Ratten’s men pieced together a fast, flowing and damaging opening half – complete with a pair of goals to the returning Jarryn Geary – to keep the Blues to just two majors, before a resurgent Carlton came to play in the third.

While the Blues’ momentum looked like overflowing into the last, a Jack Billings steadier just before three-quarter time and a dominant showing from Rowan Marshall (19 disposals, 22 hit-outs) in the final term was enough to confirm the 8.7 (55) to 11.7 (73) result and pop the Saints into the top-four.

Jack Steele (23 disposals, nine tackles) was superb all evening, keeping Patrick Cripps to just five touches at the main change before the dual-All Australian got going in the second half, while Callum Wilkie was elite down back.

The mature-age recruit notched up 11 disposals and four intercepts by quarter-time, and was complemented with terrific displays from Ben Long (12 disposals, six intercepts) and Nick Coffield (20 disposals). 

Geary played superbly in his new role as a defensive forward, winning the early duel on Sam Docherty and booting multiple majors for just the second time in his career.

The skipper finished the night with six touches, but made sure they all counted, contributing two of the Saints’ four opening quarter goals.

A contested clunk from Max King (two goals) got the ball rolling for the Saints, while the midfield – minus Zak Jones – fired on all cylinders to completely dominate in all facets.

The Saints were able to find ample space thanks to their pacey and high-pressure brand of football, finding themselves up 24 in the uncontested ball, plus 16 in marks and recording an impressive nine marks inside-50 by quarter-time.

Ratten’s men continued to dictate terms in the second, with Jade Gresham needing just 20 seconds to inflict more scoreboard damage as the margin began to extend in the Saints' favour.

Coffield’s continual efforts down in defence – whether it be a spoil to gift King’s second, a desperate tackle or an unrewarded, defensive play – continued to stand out, particularly as the red, white and black continued to find more space and capitalise off the Blues’ turnovers.

Dan Butler (two goals) hit the scoreboard as the Baggers’ panic began to set in moving out of defence, but a relapse in St Kilda’s pressure and hunt in the closing minutes of the quarter opened the door for the Carlton to creep back into the contest.

Despite scoring just two goals before the main change, the Blues rolled up the sleeves to even up the contest, with three quick scores to Will Setterfield and Jack Martin threatening to sour the Saints’ prime-time return.

As Cripps’ influence began to be felt after swinging up forward, a sensational Mark of the Year contender from Long helped stabilise the defensive end and put a slight dampener on the Blues' run.

A Josh Battle kick after the siren would have given the Saints a handy buffer heading into the final charge, but his sprayed kick left the margin at 23 points.

With the first goal crucial in determining the momentum of the last quarter, Tim Membrey rose to the occasion with a long-range major, before Dean Kent put the result beyond doubt to register St Kilda’s third win of the year.

Marshall took the game by the scruff of the neck when the game hung in the balance, notching up eight disposals, four clearances, two inside-50s and seven hit-outs in the final term to mitigate the Blues' last-gasp attempt to pinch the win. 

While Carlton put through three in the last, the damage from the opening half was enough of an advantage to get the Saints over the line.

A hamstring complaint from Dan Hannebery saw him sit out the game after half-time, with the extent of the injury yet to be determined.

As the fixture currently stands, St Kilda will return to Thursday prime-time against Geelong at Marvel Stadium, while Carlton will gain a 10-day turnaround before its clash with Sydney at the MCG.

CARLTON  1.1  2.4  5.6  8.7 (55)
ST KILDA  4.3  7.4  9.5  11.7 (73)

GOALS
Carlton: Setterfield 2, Betts, Philp, Martin, Gibbons, Cripps, Newnes
St Kilda: Geary 2, King 2, Butler 2, Battle, Gresham, Billings, Membrey, Kent

BEST
Carlton: Cripps, Jones, Martin, Jones, Simpson, Curnow
St Kilda: Steele, Wilkie, Geary, Marshall, Coffield, Long, Ross

INJURIES
Carlton: Fisher (gastro) replaced in the selected side by Philp
St Kilda: Hannebery (hamstring)