History more often than not repeats itself, and if that’s anything to go by, the Saints are in for another tight contest against the Suns.

St Kilda has had more than its fair share of hair-raising moments against Gold Coast, with its last five matches all determined by less than 10 points.

Ahead of Saturday afternoon(’s anticipated nail-biter), we’ve wound back the clock to look at the last five edge-of-the-seat match-ups with our Queensland rivals.

Round 13, 2018 | Gresham’s slice of magic snatches victory

Gold Coast 11.12 (78) def. by St Kilda 11.14 (80)

GOALS: Battle 3, Membrey 2, McCartin 2, Gresham 2, Newnes, McKenzie
BEST: Ross, Steven, Billings, Battle, Gresham

Jade Gresham’s highlights reel is already chock full of moments others can only dream of, but his stunner against the Suns in 2018 will always be a cut above anything else.

The Saints trailed by more than five goals at the final change and, against all odds, had trimmed back the Suns’ advantage to sit four points adrift with less than a minute to play.

Enter Gresham. Billy Longer’s tap into space – something Gresham “teed up” with him prior to the forward stoppage – was all the No. 4 needed to produce his extraordinary slice of magic, snapping through the match-winner from tight in the pocket.

The minute it hit his boot, the small forward was off to the races.  

 Gresham’s goal snapped St Kilda’s 11-game winless streak, with only a Round 1 victory and a Round 5 draw to its name after the opening three rounds of the season.

The perfect endnote to cap off a miraculous final-quarter comeback.

Round 1, 2019 | Joyce’s late spoil staves off Suns

St Kilda 13.7 (85) def. Gold Coast 13.6 (84)

GOALS: Bruce 3, Membrey 2, Parker 2, Long, Sinclair, Lonie, Gresham, Kent, Steele
BEST: Ross, Billings, Steven, Newnes, Bruce, Steele, McKenzie

This game likely won’t go into the record books in any official capacity, but unofficially, it could very well be the match with the most nervous moments in the space of two minutes.

St Kilda held a meagre one-point lead courtesy of a Jack Lonie minor score, yet Gold Coast seemed the ones more likely to come away with the win as its final quarter charge gathered steam.

The Suns’ desperation to take home four points no matter what, although more than justified, arguably led to the result falling in the Saints’ favour.

Two legitimate chances to level scores were ultimately dashed, with Josh Bruce picking off a centring kick to the goal square before Darragh Joyce saved the day with a late spoil back with the flight against Peter Wright.

It was enough to buy the Saints a vital few seconds, with debutant Callum Wilkie getting the Saints out of danger to escape a potentially crushing Round 1 defeat.

Phew.

Round 13, 2019 | All good things come in threes

Gold Coast 11.10 (76) def. by St Kilda 11.14 (80)

GOALS: Membrey 3, Billings 2, Kent 2, Dunstan, Hind, Gresham, Battle
BEST: Billings, Membrey, Ross, Dunstan, Kent, Gresham, Marshall

Former coach Alan Richardson was the first to admit this match was “hard to watch”, but those final 30 seconds were arguably the most challenging to stomach.

What could have gone wrong almost did go wrong. A missed chance from Tim Membrey to ice the game opened the door for the Suns, before a potential 50-metre penalty against Luke Dunstan narrowly avoided the umpire’s gaze seconds later.

The cherry on top of the third straight nail-biter came via the returning David Armitage, whose chance to gobble up Gold Coast’s final entry slipped through the gate to keep the ball alive.

Fortunately, the thumping boot of Shane Savage swooped in to save the day, handing the red, white and black its third consecutive win against the Suns by less than a straight kick.

All good things come in threes, right?

Round 10, 2020 | Butler breaks free as Clark’s class saves the day

Gold Coast 11.8 (74) def. by St Kilda 12.6 (78)

GOALS: Butler 4, Steele 2, Battle 2, Gresham, Kent, Marshall, King
BEST: Butler, Steele, Billings, Clark, Ryder, Battle, Carlisle, Hill

Dan Butler may have slotted the Saints’ final goal – his fourth of the night – in the 2020 clash between two sides, but it was Hunter Clark who was the most influential hero late.

With the game on the line, the young Saint found a way.

Effortless doges through traffic, vital rebounds under intense pressure and moments of composure well beyond his years all made up Clark’s five minutes of brilliance, which gifted the Saints another win up in the Sunshine State.

The No. 11 had six disposals, three rebound-50s and one vital spoil in the dying moments, with his most important touch allowing 250-gamer Paddy Ryder and Butler to seal the deal.

Put simply, it was poetry in motion from Hunter Clark.

Round 8, 2021 | Crouch and Clark combine to make it five on the trot

Gold Coast 7.12 (54) def. by St Kilda 8.15. (63)

GOALS: Billings 2, Steele 2, Crouch, Higgins, King, Ryder
BEST: Steele, Billings, Jones, Clark, Ryder, Wilkie, Marshall

While not quite going down to the wire like the previous encounters, last year’s match-up still wasn’t settled until late in the contest.

It took quite a bit of the time for the Saints to get going – Jack Steele kicked his side’s first midway through the second quarter – but rallied in the last with four unanswered goals to bank the win.

Hunter Clark provided another dose of last-quarter genius against the Suns, drawing in several opposition defenders before looping a pass out to Brad Crouch who slotted the last of the game. Seven of Clark's 22 touches came in the fourth term, with the young Saint operating at 86 per cent efficiency at Metricon Stadium.

It’s now been five straight against the Suns… could this Saturday make it six?