Expect a fiery clash on Sunday afternoon as both St Kilda and Carlton set about snapping their four-game losing streaks.
Fresh off the receiving end of a 93-point annihilation at the hands of Greater Western Sydney last week, Brendon Bolton’s Blues will be hellbent on bouncing back as they hunt for their second win of 2019.
Should the Blues get off to a fast start and establish a healthy buffer, it will go a long way in helping them improve their tally.
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Carlton have booted five goals or more in the opening quarter four times this season, but with the exception of their game against the Bulldogs, have relinquished victory against Hawthorn, Sydney and Port Adelaide.
St Kilda conversely have won just the one game after trailing at the first change, with the victory coming against Gold Coast by just the one point.
Almost half of the Blues’ points scored per game originate from the stoppages, so cutting Carlton off from their key source will be paramount to Alan Richardson’s men.
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It’s undoubtedly been Patrick Cripps who has been the Blues’ primary driver, with the 24-year-old superstar firmly in the hunt for the Brownlow Medal despite his side’s limited on-field success.
Cripps remarkably has double the amount of total clearances for his side (81) against the second-placed Zac Fisher (40), while his ascendancy around the stoppages (44) has been just as supreme and is again almost twice that of Fisher’s (26).
Much like last year’s epic encounter, it will be the two No. 9s going head-to-head, with Jack Steele given the assignment on the Blues’ leading man.
It was a game with cemented the Saint as the ‘Man of Steele’ and an elite midfielder of the competition, with 33 disposals, 10 tackles, seven clearances and a goal to his name.
While Steele didn’t take Cripps’ scalp that Friday night – who himself had 35 disposals and 10 clearances – the stage is well and truly set for another monumental battle between the two midfield bulls.
Jack Steele v Patrick Cripps will be a mouth-watering contest on Sunday afternoon.
And with Cripps coming off an uncharacteristically quiet 12 touches last week against the Giants, there’s no way the Carlton captain will be going down easily.
Cripps’ task to lift his Blues to victory is tougher without Marc Murphy in the line-up, leaving a great deal of midfield pressure on future cornerstones Sam Walsh and Paddy Dow, along with Fisher.
Ed Curnow and Sam Petrevski-Seton will add much-needed support to the midfield, with their elite running abilities on par with that of the Saints’ fellow wingmen in Ed Phillips and Jack Newnes.
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Petrevski-Seton will be pencilled in for a prominent outing for Sir Doug Nicholls Round, but he won’t be the only electric player out on the field.
Robbie Young – who after has two-goal debut has earned the nickname ‘Lightning’ – will hope to match his flair from last week, while Jade Gresham, Matty Parker and the returning Ben Long will round out the Saints’ indigenous talents.
The potential forward firepower from the four – and that of Tim Membrey – looms as an ominous prospect for the Carlton defence, yet the timely return of Nic Newman will be invaluable.
After spending the past three weeks on the sidelines, Newman was one of the Blues’ sole highlights from their match against the Giants with 29 disposals and 12 rebound 50s.
Under-fire Blue Dale Thomas will be just as influential across the back half, while the experience of Kade Simpson will be crucial in rallying together the maturing defence.
Up the other end of the ground, Harry McKay and Mitch McGovern will need to be at their best to overcome the Saints’ key position defenders.
Their combined 30 majors stands as an key area for the Saints’ defence to mitigate, yet the solid defensive work of newcomers Callum Wilkie and Josh Battle stands in the way of another haul from the duo.
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Wilkie in particular has been outstanding, with the mature-age recruit yet to be outmarked in a one-on-one contest at the elite level, while Battle has only conceded the four.
And with Charlie Curnow similarly in the mix, the Saints’ big-bodied defensive stocks in Nathan Brown and Jonathon Marsh will need to be on high-alert for the powerhouse to explode onto the scene.
With Sir Doug Nicholls Round never failing to produce spectacular contests, expect Sunday afternoon's spiteful clash between the Saints and the Blues to be no different.
