There’s barely been enough time to soak in Thursday’s heart-racing win over Gold Coast, but Monday night’s battle with Geelong is already here.
Although the Saints will be coming off a four-day break, skipper Jarryn Geary is adamant the red, white and black won’t want to “flirt with form” against the in-form Cats.
The prospect of a fifth consecutive win – the first time since 2011 – might just be the extra kick to the spur the red, white and black on under lights.
Round 11
St Kilda v Geelong
Monday 10 August
Gabba, 6:10pm
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Last time we met…
Round 17, 2019
Saturday 13 July
GMHBA Stadium
Geelong 12.12 (84) def. St Kilda 8.9 (57)
St Kilda held sway with the top-of-the-table Geelong up to half-time – even holding a two-point lead at the main break – before the home side clawed its way to a hard-fought 27-point win.
The Saints were held goalless for almost an hour as the Cats’ backline solidified to superb effect, while Patrick Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan and Cameron Guthrie worked their way on top of the contest.
The Round 17 encounter was also the last with Alan Richardson at the helm.
The standouts...
The icy conditions couldn’t stop the red-hot Rowan Marshall (32 disposals, six clearances, one goal, two Brownlow votes) and Hunter Clark (25 disposals, nine tackles) from stringing together some of their best performances for the year.
Luke Dunstan (30 disposals, nine clearances) continued his dominant midfield run alongside Jack Steele (28 disposals, eight clearances), while Josh Bruce led all-comers with three goals.
The Cats recomposed after half-time, however, with Patrick Dangerfield leading the charge to rack up a match-winning 32 disposals, nine clearances and three Brownlow votes to boot.
Mitch Duncan (33 disposals, one Brownlow vote) served as a brilliant foil on the outside to Joel Selwood’s (22 disposals) inside grunt, while Gary Ablett highlighted his imitable class for the umpteenth time with two final-quarter goals to confirm the result.
The Little Master was joined on the scoreboard by Cameron Guthrie (two goals), Esava Ratugolea (two) and Gryan Miers (one).
The near-impenetrable defence was arguably the biggest winner of the night thanks to the combined efforts of Mark Blicavs and Tom Stewart.
Moment of the match...
Ben Long’s desperate tackle on Zach Tuohy resulted in a fourth consecutive goal for the red, white and black – his second – to put the ladder-leaders 10 points in arrears.
From the archives...
Simply put, Round 14, 2009 was one of the greatest home-and-away matches ever played.
The Saints and Cats were undefeated after the first 13 games of the season, with the exhilarating, high-octane contest only decided in the final moments with one of the most iconic grabs (and celebrations) from colossus Michael Gardiner.
Round 10 recap…
The Saints and Suns went down to the wire once again, with Brett Ratten’s men emerging victorious in the scintillating Thursday night contest by four points.
A blistering four-goal blitz from Dan Butler saw him snare a perfect 10 AFL Coaches’ Association votes for the match-winning performance, while Hunter Clark proved his class once again in the final, frantic five minutes of the game.
Jack Steele (21 disposals, two goals) and Jack Billings (27 disposals) were unwavering in their influence and Josh Battle was terrific in the clinches with two momentum-turning goals.
Geelong also snared the four points, albeit in a far less nerve-wracking affair, against North Melbourne at the Gabba.
Led by Gryan Miers (a career-best four goals) and Cam Guthrie (28 disposals, six clearances), the Cats sailed past the injury-hit Roos with minimal concern.
Patrick Dangerfield (17 disposals) spent the bulk of his Wednesday night up forward to remain fresh for Monday night, while Tom Hawkins (three goals), Sam Menegola (27 disposals, one goal), Lachie Fogarty (23 disposals, four tackles) and ex-Saint Rhys Stanley (20 hit-outs) performed strongly in the 33-point win.
The ins and outs...
Jack Bytel will make his much-anticipated debut on Monday night, joining skipper Jarryn Geary in the Saints’ assignment to take down the Cats.
Zak Jones (managed) and Geary’s replacement for Thursday’s match, Ed Phillips, will make way for the pair.
Geelong have cycled through another line-up shift into Round 11, with last week’s rested Cats Gary Rohan, Brandan Parfitt and 100-gamer Jake Kolodjashnij set to pull on the hoops.
Youngsters Darcy Fogarty, Zach Guthrie and Sam Simpson have all been managed.
The stat…
The Cats’ high-possession, incredibly patient build-ups from the defensive end has them averaging 40 more possessions (35 uncontested) and 18 more uncontested marks against their opposition this season.
| Uncontested marks | Uncontested possessions | |
| Round 1 v GWS | +20 | +20 |
| Round 2 v Hawthorn | +31 | +62 |
| Round 3 v Carlton | -21 | +11 |
| Round 4 v Melbourne | +59 | +54 |
| Round 5 v Gold Coast | +15 | +65 |
| Round 6 v Brisbane | +34 | +64 |
| Round 7 v Collingwood | -24 | +5 |
| Round 8 v Fremantle | +8 | +42 |
| Round 9 v West Coast | +36 | +28 |
| Round 10 v North Melbourne | +19 | +22 |
The Cats’ champions…
When on song, the Cats have no shortage of contributors to choose from; an ominous prospect for the red, white and black coming off a four-day turnaround.
Even with All-Australians, Brownlow medallists and Premiership stars scattered throughout each line, Geelong generally has a very even spread of influencers.
Patrick Dangerfield and the recently returned Joel Selwood shape as the obvious and credentialed candidates to unravel the Saints’ hopes of a fifth straight win, but it’s been the breakout efforts of their unsung midfield stars which have bolstered the on-ball brigade.
Mitch Duncan, Sam Menegola, Cameron Guthrie and Brandan Parfitt have barely skipped a beat this season, with all playing important midfield roles to help the Cats' climb up the ladder
Guthrie in particular has been impressive over the past few weeks, tailing just behind Dangerfield in all key metrics and on par in terms of influence on the contest.
The penetrating kick of Zach Tuohy and the stalwart efforts of decorated Cats Mark Blicavs, Tom Stewart and Harry Taylor make for a sublime defence, with all helping instigate their side’s deliberate set-up into attack.
Big man Tom Hawkins is always one to look out for as the lynchpin of the forward line, but the lethality of Grian Miers could pack an equally damaging punch – perhaps a job for young Saint Ben Paton.
The Saints will also go up against former teammate and four-time club champion Jack Steven for the first time.
On the injury front…
The Saints and Cats came out of their respective Round 10 clashes injury-free.
Jarryn Geary is right to go after being a late withdrawal last week, while the Cats’ regular rotations to remain fresh have yielded mostly positive results so far.
