Overview

St Kilda could well have 45 fit players available to play after the bye against the Western Bulldogs. It is a position that is a far cry from this time last year, when an injury curse swept through Linen House Centre and forced more than 10 players into surgery before the end of the season.

The health of the list bodes well, but it also creates a number of tricky selection dilemmas for Alan Richardson and his match committee. When is the right time to re-introduce Paddy McCartin? Does Billy Longer need ruck help from Tom Hickey, or is Josh Bruce’s back up work enough? What’s the best midfield setup? How can Hugh Goddard fit into a team containing Sean Dempster, Sam Fisher, Sam Gilbert and Luke Delaney?

These are just a few of the many questions that will be pondered ahead of the Bulldogs game.

The Saints face a testing last six weeks of the season, against teams that are all likely feature in September. In addition, St Kilda will travel to Adelaide, Perth and Hobart in this timeframe.

Whatever transpires the back of 2015 promises to be captivating viewing. Like teaching puppies new tricks, Richardson and his coaching staff are developing the Saints youth at a rapid rate of knots. As Adelaide coach Phil Walsh said recently, “This is formula one footy, if you want to drive safe, you’re going to finish last.”

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The fixture

Round 13 – Western Bulldogs (H)

Round 14 – Essendon (A)

Round 15 – GWS (A)

Round 16 – Richmond (H)

Round 17 – Melbourne (A)

Round 18 – Port Adelaide (A)

Round 19 – Fremantle (H)

Round 20 – North Melbourne (A)

Round 21 – Geelong (H)

Round 22 – Sydney (H)

Round 23 – West Coast (A)

You cannot miss…

Round 16 vs Richmond:

Occasionally a game of football is about more than the football itself. In this case, the Saints mid-July clash against the Tigers will pay tribute to Maddie Riewoldt, who lost her life on the eve of the season.

Fans will be urged to wear a splash of purple and Etihad Stadium will be full of activities aimed at raising awareness and money for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision.

 Round 19 vs Fremantle:

It seems like only yesterday that St Kilda achieved arguably the biggest upset of the decade following the news that Lenny Hayes was going to retire,

385 days on from that famous afternoon, the Saints will meet the Dockers again at Etihad Stadium in round 19. While anything close to a repeat performance seems a stretch, simply challenging the top-of-the-table Dockers would be a decent effort.

KEEP AN EYE ON:

Daniel Markworth:

The luckless winger has endured a horrid run with injury since December 2012. An elusive, skilful and athletic player, he returned from shoulder surgery before the bye and will be intent on building his form over the next month as he pushes for a senior debut.

Assuming his form warrants it, don’t be surprised to see the 21-year-old vying for selection in the latter stages of the season.

Jason Holmes:

While still a rookie and therefore unavailable for selection, Holmes’ around-the-ground work has improved significantly this year. Before the bye, he amassed 60 hit outs against Port Melbourne, further illustrating his rapid development.

If one of Tom Hickey or Billy Longer fall down, Holmes will be waiting in the wings for a rookie elevation.

Jimmy Webster:

Webster’s career-high 27 disposals against Hawthorn in round 10 was a considerable step in the right direction.

A classy running half-back, the left-footer is keeping Nathan Wright out of the team and provides terrific offensive run to complement his defensive prowess.

RICHO'S EXPECTATIONS:

We need to get better at clearance, contested possession and make sure we can defend the opposition’s fast rebound.

Our focus is about growth. That will happen to some extent organically, because we have a lot of young players that are playing in the team and we will expose more young players in the back half.

The wins and losses for us are outcomes. We will get what we deserve. We want to improve our program and everything we do from a coaching point of view will be about improving. We are certainly not setting numbers… it’s all about how we continue to grow.

We’re committed to the plan and the journey. Every decision we make is about where we are heading, being incredibly competitive, and about challenging a flag from 2018 onwards. We won’t hide from that.

Hugh Goddard hasn’t been able to get an opportunity either because of match-up or because guys in his position are going well, but that’s fine. He’s at our footy club and he’s developing at a really good rate. We want him to be a big, strong, aggressive defender for us. At times he may play forward too. He might play as early as the next time we play or it might be that he has to bide his time in the VFL, but what I can say with real assurance is that he’s developing irrespective of the competition that he’s playing in.