Does Melbourne’s poor record at Docklands mean anything?

Melbourne supporters have a reputation for avoiding making their way down to watch their side play Etihad, but if you look at the statistics, it’s hard to blame them.

The Dees’ have lost their last 20 matches at Etihad, their most recent win being round 19, 2007 and on top of that, they haven’t been unable to knock off the Saints since the 2006 Elimination final (which was at the MCG).

St Kilda loves playing at Etihad stadium and despite being a developing side, they have managed eight wins out of their last 20 matches at their Docklands home.

Both clubs have turned the corner in their rebuilding phase and, when playing their best footy, can take it to most sides. Expect a heavenly battle as the Saints fight to hold off the Demons.

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Is Jimmy Webster the most exciting small defender in the AFL?

Jimmy Webster has well and truly cemented himself as one the Saint’s emerging stars after a show-stopping performance against Hawthorn last Sunday.

The Tasmanian knew he faced a tough task the moment he saw his name listed next to Cyril Rioli’s on the whiteboard pre-game.

Webster managed to hold Rioli, one of the competitions most damaging small forwards, to a solitary goal and just 13 touches, and he did it while earning 27 disposals of his own at 81 per cent efficiency.

Do the Dees have a problem holding down tall forwards?

Despite Tom McDonald having a breakout year, the Demons’ backline still lack the ability to nullify opposition talls. Two weeks ago Melbourne allowed Jay Shultz to kick four while Travis Cloke kicked a bag of seven on the Queen’s Birthday.

Riewoldt has kicked 25 goals over his last eight games against Melbourne, while Josh Bruce is yet to front their backline. If these two get going, they’ll be hard to stop.

Is St Kilda ahead of expectations for 2015?

Three wins after the first 10 games has the Saints sitting 14th on the ladder when some punters had them dead last. They already have most commentators biting their tongue and are looking to continue turning heads. Last week Josh Bruce snuck onto the set of AFL 360 make David King eat his words.

Another win this week and they will equal last year’s total winning column and will make it very hard to finish the year with a wooden spoon for a second straight season.

While expectations may have been lower from an outside perspective, Alan Richardson knows he has a special group, especially considering he has two up-and-coming key position stars waiting in the wings; Paddy McCartin and Hugh Goddard.