B: Jarryn Geary, Sam Fisher, James Gwilt
HB: Sean Dempster, Dylan Roberton, Jack Newnes
C: Farren Ray, Nick Dal Santo, Arryn Siposs
HF: Terry Milera, Rhys Stanley, Leigh Montagna
F: Tom Hickey, Nick Riewoldt, Stephen Milne
Foll: Ben McEvoy, David Armitage, Jack Steven
Int: Seb Ross, Ahmed Saad, Jimmy Webster, Beau Maister
Emg: Clint Jones, Jason Blake, Sam Dunell
In: B.Maister
Out: N.Wright (Injured)
Overview:
St Kilda travels to South Australia on the weekend looking to win consecutive matches for the first time since 2012. Last Monday the Saints were ruthless in their demolition of the Blues, leading by six goals at one stage before Carlton fought its way back into the game in the last term. Ahmed Saad settled the result with a goal from 50 in the dying minutes as the Saints held on by nine points.
The positive result was reward for effort with St Kilda's previous two games against Sydney and Collingwood yielding two losses, despite admirable performances.
Meanwhile, Adelaide has had an up-and-down season to date, thumping the Giants and Bulldogs and overcoming Brisbane to sit just outside the top eight. Without Kurt Tippett and forward Taylor Walker out for the season, the Crows' main concern prior to last weekend was finding a new avenue to goal. Enter Tom Lynch.
The key forward booted 10 goals including six in the third term to announce himself as one of the AFL's finest young talents.
Scott Thompson has picked up where he left off last year, averaging 27.4 disposals per game in the Crows engine room. For St Kilda, Jack Steven and Leigh Montagna have been prolific in the midfield, while Dylan Roberton in defence and Nick Riewoldt up forward have also enjoyed terrific seasons thus far.
St Kilda has booted 100 points or more in five of its last seven games against the Crows, while Adelaide has kicked over 90 points just once in this time. Both midfields are statistically evenly matched, so expect the game to hinge on whether Ben Rutten & co can limit Riewoldt's influence, and if the Crows can produce enough goal-kickers to worry a rock-solid Saints defence.
Stat focus:
- Nick Dal Santo has averaged 31.8 disposals in his last five games against Adelaide, more than any other player on either side.
- Nick Riewoldt has taken 12 more marks than any other player in the AFL this season, averaging 10.6 per game
- The last six St Kilda v Adelaide games have been won by the home team.
- The last time these two teams met, Scott Thompson collected 39 disposals.
- Before last week, the highest number of disposals Jack Steven had registered in a game was 32. He amassed 39 last Monday.
- St Kilda has kicked 11.11 (77) two weeks in a row.
- Stephen Milne will break the record for most games by a rookie-listed player this Sunday, eclipsing James McDonald's record of 264.
Injury list:
St Kilda:
Daniel Markworth (ACL) - Season
Sam Gilbert (knee) - 7-11 weeks
Lenny Hayes (calf) - 2-3 weeks
Adam Schneider (hamstring) - 3-4 weeks
Darren Minchington (hamstring) - 2-3 weeks
Nathan Wright (jaw) - 1-2 weeks
Tom Simpkin (quad) - 1-2 weeks
Adelaide:
Brad Crouch (hamstring) - available
Sam Shaw (hamstring) - 4 weeks
Lewis Johnston (knee) - 6-8 weeks
Taylor Walker (knee) season
Jack Osborn (hip) - 6-8 weeks
Last week:
St Kilda 11.11 (77) defeated Carlton 9.14 (68)
Adelaide 29.13 (187) defeated GWS 7.10 (52)
What they say:(Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson on Wednesday):
We're still looking to get the right mix up forward, but probably our most dangerous look is to keep throwing players through there rather than having the same six all the time. We rolled a lot of players through the forward line on the weekend.
There are no issues with our guys getting ahead of themselves. We know where we sit in the scheme of things. It's round eight, there's still a long way to go and we have to continue that good form against St Kilda, who were very good against Carlton on Monday night.
It's important we keep our consistency of performance going. We can't afford to take the foot off the gas, not in the position we are. We're outside the top eight with three wins and four losses.
What we say (Seb Ross on Monday):
It's definitely an exciting time to be a younger player at the club. We've definitely still got the older players around us, but we also have a good young batch of young blokes coming through which is pretty exciting for the club.Â
Running hot:
St Kilda: Jack Steven
A career-best 39 touches last Monday demonstrated all of Steven's promising attributes. He broke the lines superbly, and worked just as hard offensively as he did defensively. The youngster has become a vital cog in the Saints engine room, averaging 26.1 disposals and 3.1 tackles per game this season.
Adelaide: Tom Lynch
The former Saint burst onto the AFL scene last week with a 10-goal haul. He is especially adept below his knees, but also possesses a strong mark and terrific speed.
Watch out for:
St Kilda: James Gwilt
Gwilt's calmness in the back half on Monday was a major reason for the Saints success against the Blues. His inclusion provided a sense of stability and reliability, which allowed Sam Fisher to play more of a rebounding role out of the back 50. Gwilt finished with 24 disposals and seven marks, and is an underrated member of St Kilda's backline.
Adelaide: Patrick Dangerfield
The powerfully built goal-kicking midfielder has become one of the AFL's most dangerous players. Dangerfield is second at the Crows for total disposals, and first for goals. The Saints will be committed to limiting his influence forward of centre, given one of his great strengths is long kicking.
Last time they met:
Round 15, 2012 at AAMI Stadium
Attendance: 36,394
Adelaide 17.13 (115) defeated St Kilda 16.15 (111)
Disposals: Thompson (39), Dal Santo (34)
Goals: Tippett (5), Milne (3)
Significance: St Kilda was six goals behind at three-quarter-time and almost won.
The Saints will cut its interchange bench from seven to four on Saturday afternoon, before naming a substitute 90 minutes prior to the first bounce.
You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32
