The race is heating up, and every result is critical.

Fresh off an eight-day break, St Kilda will be looking to snare four points over Hawthorn and claim the Blue Ribbon Cup as it prepares for the final run home.

But even with a wealth of Hawks’ knowledge through Brett Ratten, David Rath and Jarryd Roughead in their corner, plus coming up a young side who hasn’t played in Queensland this year, the Saints can’t afford to be complacent.

Round 16

St Kilda v Hawthorn
Sunday 6 August
Metricon Stadium, 1:05pm AEST

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Last time we met…

Round 4, 2019
Sunday 14 April
Marvel Stadium

St Kilda 10.14 (74) def. Hawthorn 10.9 (69)

After being 26 points down midway through the third term, St Kilda stormed home with the final four goals of the game – holding the injury-hit Hawks goalless in the last quarter – to record a stirring win under the roof.

The Saints’ five-point triumph was built off their defensive pressure and accumulation of selfless acts, before absorbing Hawthorn’s pressure in the dying minutes after Jack Lonie put his side in the lead.

The full team performance improved St Kilda’s 3-1 after the first four rounds of the season, along with their third straight win at Marvel Stadium.

The standouts...

Seb Ross stepped up to the plate after Jarryn Geary was a late withdrawal through illness, being awarded with the Silk-Miller Medal for his best-on-ground display.

The stand-in skipper had his own Sherrin under the roof, amassing 39 disposals, six clearances and a goal in his charge towards an eventual second Trevor Barker Award.

Ross got the Saints off to the perfect start in the final term, feeding Rowan Marshall an opportunity to boot a much-needed major, before the fill-in skipper ended his afternoon with a dash off the Hawks’ half-back line to gain some valuable territory as the clock dwindled down.

It was arguably this match which marked the beginning of Marshall’s rapid rise, ending his magnificent afternoon bloodied and bandaged, but with 28 hit-outs, 17 disposals, seven clearances and a goal.

Jack Billings (34 disposals, six rebound-50s) was stiff to miss out on a Brownlow vote, while Jack Steele, Jade Gresham, Shane Savage, Jack Newnes, Blake Acres had over 25 disposals each.

Around the ground, Callum Wilkie was exceptional with several saves in the last line of defence, Matty Parker laid two crunching tackles to pave the way for his side to score, while Jack Lonie could have had a field day with 3.5 kicked for the afternoon.

For Hawthorn, recruit Tom Scully was a clear standout with 26 disposals, five inside-50s and a goal, while Hawk-turned-Saint Jarryd Roughead was dangerous up forward with two majors and six marks (three contested).

James Sicily led the backline with 28 disposals and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Ricky Henderson was incredibly smooth with 25 disposals and two goals.

Moment of the match…

Seb Ross’ long-range roost from outside-50 on the left peg put the Saints back in front five minutes into the second term.

From the archives...

After winning just one of its past 15 matches in 2001, an after-the-siren goal from Barry Hall brought the faithful to their feet to end a tumultuous season on a positive.

Round 15 recap…

St Kilda had its bye allocated for Round 15, but the week prior had suffered its first consecutive losses for the year at the hands of Melbourne in Alice Springs.

Hawthorn also found themselves deprived of four points last Tuesday, succumbing to a previously winless Adelaide by 35 points.

The loss made it nine losses from 10 games for Alastair Clarkson’s men, with the four-time Premiership coach saying post-match his side looked “dead-legged” against the sharp Crows.

Jack Scrimshaw was a redeeming feature for the brown-and-gold with 22 disposals, six intercepts and 521 metres gained, while Chad Wingard fought hard to gather 16 disposals and two goals.

Wingard was joined Jack Gunston (three goals) on the scoreboard and Tom Mitchell led the midfield with 23 disposals, but across the board were unable to contend with the Crows’ hunger to avoid a winless season.

The young Hawks side were convincingly beaten on the outside (-45 uncontested possessions) and weren’t able to capitalise inside-50 (seven goals from 35 entries).

The ins and outs...

Jack Lonie and Jonathon Marsh have been recalled as the Saints look to secure its ninth win of the season.

Tim Membrey (injured) and Nicholas Hind (omitted) have come out of the side, with the former expected to be available for Thursday’s match against West Coast after finger surgery earlier in the week.

Hawthorn will look to blood their youth in the final seven matches of the year, with seven changes from last week's line-up.

Experienced Hawks Liam Shiels and Sam Frost will join debutant Damon Greaves, Harry Morrison, Josh Morris, Dylan Moore and Will Day, with long-serving Hawks Ben Stratton (ankle), Jarman Impey (jarred hip), Shaun Burgoyne (managed), Oliver Hanrahan (managed) and Ben McEvoy (managed) moving to the sidelines with omissions Darren Minchington and Conor Glass.

The milestone men...

Sunday afternoon will mark skipper Jarryn Geary’s 200^th game; a career that has spanned 14 seasons, weathered through the club’s rise, fall and rise again and has seen him captain the red, white and black for 59 matches.

Alastair Clarkson will also celebrate his 500^th game as a player and coach, complete with four Premierships and All-Australian honours.  

The Hawks’ heroes…

It’s been a tough year for Alastair Clarkson’s brigade, who have been starved of their usual wins, key personnel and plaudits this season.

The losses of James Sicily, Isaac Smith, Jaeger O’Meara, Jonathon Patton and Ricky Henderson throughout the season have been felt across all lines, but it shouldn’t be reason for the Saints to underestimate their opposition.

The absence of numerous key position talents has opened the door for the Hawks’ youngsters to leave the nest and make their mark – most notably, Will Day.

The rangy defender has become a fan-favourite over the past few weeks, and equipped with a safe set of hands, good vision and rebounding skills, has the makings to be an important player in Hawthorn’s future.

Minus Day, Hawthorn carried eight players with under 50 games’ experience last weekend. On the flipside, the Saints had nine against Melbourne.

Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell continues to top his side’s disposal, contested possessions and clearances numbers, James Worpel has provided grunt inside, while the silk of Shaun Burgoyne has been a calming influence all over the ground in his 10 matches for the year.

With Sicily out of the side through a season-ending knee injury, Blake Hardwick and Sam Frost have filled the void down back, while Jack Gunston (23), Chad Wingard (17) and Luke Breust. (11) have led the side for goals.

The stat...

Returning Saint Jack Lonie boasts an impressive track record against the brown-and-gold from his past two outings, which has resulted in a combined 35 disposals, seven tackles, eight free kicks for and most importantly, seven goals.

On the injury front…

Surgery to repair a fractured finger has Tim Membrey on ice for Round 16, but the key forward is expected to return for Thursday’s match against West Coast.

Hawthorn has lost Ben Stratton (ankle) and. Jarman Impey (jarred hip) and will be eager to welcome back Jaeger O'Meara (hand) by next week.

Another step closer.

It certainly came with a few nervous moments and hair-raising passages of play, but St Kilda's finals hopes are alive after snaring a 14-point victory over Hawthorn in Jarryn Geary's 200^th game.

The Saints fought hard from siren-to-siren, overcoming the Hawks' five-goal opening term and seeing through their dangerous late surge to confirm the 11.14 (80) to 9.12 (66) scorecard at Metricon Stadium.

SAINTS MATCH CENTRE: View all stats, news and videos from Round 16

With key forwards Max King (managed) and Tim Membrey (injured) out of the line-up, Silk-Miller Memorial medallist Rowan Marshall (two goals, 14 disposals, eight marks) served as the key focal point in attack as the Saints spread the load with nine individual goalkickers.

Pressure-magnet Jack Lonie joined the best-on-ground Marshall as the club's multiple scorers for the afternoon, while Seb Ross (23 disposals, eight clearances, seven inside-50s) and Bradley Hill (22 disposals, 484 metres gained), plus some pivotal moments from Jack Sinclair, served as the backbone for their side's drives forward.

Hawthorn came close to raining on the Saints' parade and precipitating a finals boilover, particularly in the last term with nine shots on goal to put the margin within single figures twice.

But Brett Ratten's men steadied and controlled the game when it mattered, with crucial second-half goals from Jack Billings, Paddy Ryder and first-gamer Ryan Abbott staving off the hard-nosed Hawks and seeing Brett Ratten's men claim the Blue Ribbon Cup for the second consecutive year.

It was all brown-and-gold early as Tom Mitchell (27 disposals, one goal) and James Worpel – who suffered a nasty shoulder injury in the third term after colliding with Dean Kent – helped drive the Hawks towards kicking the opening three goals of the game.

Caught on the back-foot and unable to gain possession against the smooth Hawks around the stoppages, a pristine snap from Marshall late in the quarter broke the ascendancy and diverted the one-way traffic into more of an even flow.

Both sides registered a combined nine goals in the first quarter, with a determined smother from Paddy Ryder (26 hit-outs, three clearances) on Luke Breust's after-the-siren set shot preventing the Hawks from extending their slender lead.

If the opening quarter had the scoring floodgates wide open, the dam wall had been put up in the second with Lonie the only major benefactor in the dying moments.

With an emphasis on controlling possession and starving Alastair Clarkson's men of their run, the red, white and black controlled the airwaves – to the detriment of moving fast on the counter-attack – to register +27 marks for the quarter.

By final siren, St Kilda had reeled in a staggering 51 more marks against Hawthorn (43 uncontested), with 21 split between Nick Coffield (11) and Ben Paton (10).

Ben Long was at his tough best in defence mirroring the gritty efforts of Lonie up forward, while the fleet-footed Sinclair's individual acts continued to shine through as the Saints took a three-point lead into the main change.

The Saints came close to striking the right balance in the third term after dominating the clearances and inside-50s.

But unable to take full advantage, the door remained ajar for the Hawks as Breust snared his first to remain in touch.

St Kilda had came agonisingly close to pushing their lead beyond Hawthorn's reach, kicking five points in the third term and hitting the post four times throughout the course of the match.

Billings' tumbling cloud-tickler on his non-preferred, tucked up against the boundary, spiralled through the big sticks after the siren to gift the Saints a handy buffer heading into the final term – a goal that would prove crucial as Hawthorn mounted its final charge in the subsequent 20 minutes.

While a brilliant end-to-end chain saw Josh Battle join the scorers early in the fourth, their determined opposition had all opportunities to narrow the gap.

Near misses let the Saints off the hook as the defence weathered the Hawks' press, with the tension finally alleviating after a nervous few moments thanks to a perfect exhibition of dash and strength Jonathon Marsh and a consequent goal to Ryder.

Breust kicked true to put the margin back within single figures for the second time of the quarter, before former Cat Ryan Abbott slotted his first in new colours to effectively ice the game.

St Kilda will face West Coast this Thursday night at the Gabba, while Hawthorn will be desperate to snap its losing streak when it squares off against the Western Bulldogs next Sunday at Adelaide Oval.

ST KILDA  4.4  5.8  7.13  11.14 (80)
HAWTHORN  5.1  5.5  6.6  9.12 (66)

GOALS
St Kilda: Lonie 2, Marshall 2, Steele, Butler, Jones, Battle, Billings, Ryder, Abbott
Hawthorn: Breust 2, Lewis, Gunston, Moore, O’Brien, Hardwick, Scully

BEST
St Kilda: Marshall, Ryder, Ross, Hill, Sinclair, Steele, Coffield, Lonie
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Ceglar, Wingard, Day, Cousins, Greaves, Shiels

INJURIES
St Kilda: King (managed) replaced in the selected side by Abbott
Hawthorn: Worpel (collarbone)