St Kilda v Carlton at Telstra Dome, 7.10pm AEDT
FORECAST
20°C - Showers developing. Windy.
BETTING
St Kilda - $1.20
Carlton - $4.20
LAST TIME THEY MET
St Kilda 16. 15 111 d Carlton 15.11 101, round 17, 2007, at Telstra Dome.
FORM GUIDE
St Kilda and Carlton underwhelmed in round one. Both looked good in the first terms of their respective matches before fading away in the subsequent quarters. Fortunately for St Kilda, it managed to hold on for the win against Sydney, but Carlton weren’t so lucky against a blood-thirsty Richmond.
St Kilda tends to match-up well against Carlton and this gives weight to its recent dominance (they haven’t lost to the Blues since 2001). Where the Blues have strengths – in the midfield and up forward – the Saints have an equally strong engine room with some excellent tall and small defenders, often nullifying where the Blues might find an edge over others. However, it’s the St Kilda forward line which usually determines these games. If it fires, the Saints win – containing Riewoldt, Gehrig and Koschitzke has proved an all-too-difficult task for the Blues in recent years.
RANDOM FACTS
In the past six matches between these two clubs, St Kilda forward Fraser Gehrig – who makes his comeback from a short-lived retirement – has kicked 35 goals, an average of nearly six goals per game.
At the other end of the ground, Brendan Fevola has managed only 19 goals in his past six matches against the Saints. However, in the two matches between these clubs last year, Fevola hauled in bags of six and five respectively.
KEY MATCH UPS
Nick Riewoldt v Jarrad Waite
Carlton fans are at pains to point out they think Waite has Riewoldt’s measure – whether that’s true or not is another thing altogether. Saturday night might give us a conclusive answer.
Leigh Montagna v Chris Judd
There’s already speculation that Montagna fancies himself to go toe-to-toe with the Carlton skipper, and with Judd not yet at 100 per cent fitness, it could well be a match-up that works well for the Saints. Judd himself admits he probably won’t be at his best until round five.
Brendan Fevola v Max Hudghton
When he’s not busy injuring himself while backing into a pack, Hudghton is one of the most versatile and skilled defenders in the competition. Barry Hall found out that yet again last Saturday night, and Hudghton’s record on Fevola is equally sound. However, Fev will be determined to win this bout – if he does, the Blues can hold out real hope of winning.
WHAT THE CLUBS SAY
St Kilda
“To be sort of able to hang in and win ugly – we feel we’ve done that the last couple of times – we’re confident our form will come if we keep persisting like this.” St Kilda coach Ross Lyon.
“It was a little bit weird but I’ve been here [at St Kilda] four or five months now and I’ve found a great bunch of blokes here, you know they’re my family now so I’m really comfortable. ” Forward Adam Schneider.
Carlton
"It’s tough ... but I suppose we've got to start standing up now. We're all going to get better through the season, so as long as we stick together and work hard together, then we'll be right." Midfielder Richard Hadley.
THE TEAM
B: Jason Gram, Max Hudghton, Sam Gilbert
HB: Raphael Clarke, Sam Fisher, Xavier Clarke
C: Jason Blake, Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montagna
HF: Robert Harvey, Nick Riewoldt, Adam Schneider
F: Stephen Milne, Justin Koschitzke, Fraser Gehrig
Foll: Steven King, Nick Dal Santo, Luke Ball
I/C: Michael Gardiner, Leigh Fisher, Aaron Fiora, Jarryn Geary
EMG: Charlie Gardiner, Clint Jones, Shane Birss
In: Gehrig, Blake
Out: C Gardiner, Jones
