A top-four berth is up for grabs on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium as the fifth-placed Saints host the fourth-placed Demons.
Catch all the latest from Ross Lyon as the Saints prepare to do battle under the roof.
Will Seb and Bradley play?
Experienced midfield duo Seb Ross and Bradley Hill each suffered slight knee tweaks in the hard-fought win over West Coast and are a test to face the Demons.
Ross says a call will be made on their availability after Thursday’s training.
Ross on Seb Ross and Bradley Hill...: “We think they’re probably going to play – scans basically cleared them of structural damage. We’re quite optimistic but we won’t know until the back end of today and tomorrow morning.”
Ross on Hunter Clark…: “We’re pretty optimistic he’ll train today then we’ll make a selection call once we get the information.”
Who comes in?
With Josh Battle set to miss under concussion protocols and Ross and Hill under injury clouds, a number of Saints are putting their hands up for selection.
At the top of the pile is Zak Jones, who amassed 35 disposals and 10 clearances in his second game back from injury in the VFL.
Ross says...: “We took Jack Peris over (to Perth) last week and clearly Zak Jones was our best player in a disappointing VFL performance. Jack Billings has also really worked hard and carried himself really well. Those guys are in the mix because we’ve got a couple in doubt.”
“Josh Battle (concussion protocols) won’t play so does Cooper Sharman stay down back? Do you put a Tom Highmore in or someone like a Zaine Cordy? They’re the things we’re trying to work through.”
Getting back to Saints Footy
Despite sitting fifth on the AFL ladder, Ross believes there’s plenty of scope for improvement in the team over the back end of the campaign.
Lyon couldn’t question his troops’ commitment, saying inconsistencies since the team’s 4-0 start have been within games rather than week-to-week.
Ross says…: “We’ve got to fix our team defence and our ball use, and the consistency of it. I think our effort is fine - sometimes it looks like when you’re not getting it right, it’s effort – but I wouldn’t question our group on that.”
