SANDRINGHAM v CASEY SCORPIONS

Where: Trevor Barker Beach Oval

When: Saturday, 14 May

Time: 2pm

Last week:

Sandringham continued their winning ways with a comprehensive 67-point win over Collingwood at the Holden Centre under lights, following wins against Richmond and Footscray the previous two weeks. The Zebras sit in fifth place on the VFL ladder (3-1, 137.4%), with Essendon just above them on percentage. A win over the Casey Scorpions at home on Saturday will go a long way to potentially be sitting in the top four come the end of the weekend.  

Conversely, the top of the ladder Casey Scorpions are in dominant form having disposed of the Northern Blues by 107-points at Casey Fields. The Melbourne-aligned Scorpions have won every game except their Round 3 clash with reigning premiers Williamstown to sit comfortably at 4-1, with a huge percentage of 197.9%.  

Players to watch:

Sandringham – Paddy McCartin

The St Kilda power forward was impressive in his return to VFL level last weekend, pulling in 13 marks and two goals, to go with 22 disposals against the Magpies. It was an eye-catching performance by him, particularly given his injury-interrupted season to date. He will again play a vital role for the Zebras against the Scorpions, where another dominant performance is more than capable.

Casey Scorpions – Ben Newton

Influential in Casey’s demolition win over the Blues, Newton gathered 37 disposals and kicked two goals. Nine tackles, five inside 50s and three rebound 50s displayed how versatile the ex-Port Adelaide and now Melbourne-listed midfielder is. Expect Newton to be a key cog in the Scorpions’ engine room on Saturday, a man the Zebras will be keen to lock down on.

Conditions:

The weather is forecast to reach a sunny top of 22 degrees.

St Kilda players in the squad:

Daniel McKenzie, Hugh Goddard, Tom Lee, Darren Minchington, Paddy McCartin, Jason Holmes, Billy Longer, Luke Delaney, Cam Shenton, Nick Coughlan, Bailey Rice, Josh Saunders, Nick O’Kearney, Brandon White, Nathan Wright and Tom Curren.

Dylan Roberton, Jimmy Webster, Brodie Murdoch, Lewis Pierce, Jack Sinclair, Eli Templeton and Seb Ross have all been named in St Kilda’s extended squad to face West Coast. That squad will be trimmed to a final 22 at 5pm on Friday.

Notable opposition players:

Ben Newton, Sam Weideman, Chris Dawes, Jake Spencer, Jack Trengove, Dean Terlich, Lynden Dunn.