Last time the Saints and Bulldogs met, it was nothing short of an absolute cracker.
The gripping elimination final ended in St Kilda’s first finals triumph in almost a decade, with the red, white and black holding on in the three-point thriller at the Gabba.
Now back in Melbourne, the two sides are set to reunite on the Saturday night stage.
The Bulldogs are yapping on the heels of the first-placed Demons; the Saints looking to establish a hold in the top-eight.
A great contest awaits.
Round 10 | 2021
Western Bulldogs v St Kilda
Saturday 22 May
Marvel Stadium, 7:25PM
Broadcast live on Channel 7, Fox Footy and Kayo
Key Storylines
Back into Gear
Jarryn Geary will play his first match in the red, white and black since recovering from injury this weekend.
Last time the Saints met the Bulldogs, Geary was inspirational in leading his side through to their first semi-final in a decade with two goals and four contested marks.
Following a successful return to footy last weekend through the VFL, Geary will add leadership and experience to the senior side.
Second-placed pups
The Saints will no doubt be challenged by the Bulldogs, who sit pretty at second on the ladder and have won eight out of their last nine games, including every match that they’ve played at Marvel Stadium so far this season.
Coming off an impressive win over Port Adelaide, the Bulldogs' engine room currently record seven more centre clearances than their opponents.
But St Kilda rank first in all midfield clearances.
The Saints have won the last three encounters against the red, white and blue, usually through ball movement from back-half turnovers.
Ruck ready
With Bulldogs' ruckmen Tim English (concussion) and Stefan Martin (achilles) missing Saturday's match, Paddy Ryder could be instrumental for the Saints as they push for their fifth win of the season.
Despite there being a Rowan Marshall-sized hole, Shaun McKernan will assist Ryder in taming the Bulldogs' ruck stocks, with Josh Battle available to lend a hand.
In last year's elimination final, Ryder was a stand-out with 20 hit-outs and two goals before injuring his hamstring in the final minutes of play.
Team selection
Co-captain Jarryn Geary will make his long-awaited return to the Saints' ranks, alongside Shaun McKernan.
Rowan Marshall (injured), Tom Highmore (omitted) and last week's medical sub Ben Long make room for the pair.
Where the match is won
The Bulldogs’ strength comes from their midfield, dominating contested possessions by an impressive margin and averaging seven more centre clearances than their opponents over the past five rounds.
From the first-mover advantage provided by their inside game, the Bulldogs' forwards have been making the most of their forays into the forward-50, with the highest numbers of marks and quality shots in the competition.
St Kilda have been establishing its own midfield stoppage credentials and rank first in all midfield clearances - excluding the centre bounces that the Bulldogs own.
St Kilda’s defensive rebound rate has also turned from an early weakness into a weapon, with Dougal Howard and Callum Wilkie anchoring a confident intercept and relaunch play.
Words from Ratts
On the radar
Despite losing some key performers to injury in recent weeks and playing the highest number of players (36) this season, a number of Western Bulldogs players have been performing consistently.
Aaron Naughton is the Bulldogs' second leading goal scorer (22) and currently averages 2.4 goals a game.
St Kilda defence managed to keep Naughton to just one goal and five disposals in last year's elimination final, and will be hoping to tame the flying forward potentially through the likes of Dougal Howard.
Lachie Hunter is also set to return to the Bulldogs’ line-up after missing last week’s match in Adelaide due to hand injury.
Keep an eye on
Josh Battle will raise the bat for his half-century against the Bulldogs.
The No. 26 missed last year’s elimination final against the Dogs due to injury but has played every game this season.
Battle has so far been spending his time floating between both ends of the arcs as a flexible tall, and may spend time assisting in the ruck.
Last time we met
A tight contest, St Kilda survived four late goals to the Western Bulldogs to hold onto an all-important three-point win that saw the club through to its first semi-final in a decade.
The Saints were led by an inspirational Jarryn Geary (two goals, four contested marks) with other Saints Dan Hannebery (20 dispsoals), Dougal Howard (20 disposals, six marks) and Paddy Ryder (20 hit-outs, two goals) making their experience count all across the board.
ST KILDA 2.2 5.4 9.6 10.7 (67)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.1 4.3 5.6 9.10 (64)
GOALS
St Kilda: King 2, Ryder 2, Geary 2, Membrey, Lonie, Butler
Western Bulldogs: Bruce, Johannisen, Crozier, Wallis, Naughton, Hunter, Liberatore, Daniel
BEST
St Kilda: Ryder, Hannebery, Howard, Geary, Coffield, King, Membrey, Carlisle, Hill, Clark
Western Bulldogs: Smith, Daniel, Bontempelli, Hunter, Williams
Moment of the match
With two minutes left on the clock, St Kilda held on to the victory through safe and controlled hands, with important clunks to Tim Membrey, Rowan Marshall and Ben Paton to confirm the Saints’ victory.
