With so many storylines to choose from heading into Round 10, there’s one that stands out above all: Thursday night is going to be a cracker.
As the Saints gear towards a fourth straight win ahead of Paddy Ryder’s 250th game and Max and Ben King meet for the first time in opposite colours, the excitement surrounding tomorrow's match can't be overstated.
Round 10
Gold Coast v St Kilda
Thursday 6 August
Metricon Stadium, 8:10pm
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Last time we met…
Gold Coast 11.10 (76) def. by St Kilda 11.14 (80)
After registering its lowest opening half score for Season 2019, a Jack Billings-inspired second stanza willed the Saints to a four-point triumph at Townsville’s Riverway Stadium.
The visitors slotted nine goals after the main change, warding off a persistent Gold Coast outfit after they mounted a spirited charge in the final minutes of play.
The standouts...
The day well and truly belong to Jack Billings, who polled a perfect three Brownlow votes a few weeks out from his 100th game.
After a quiet week in Shanghai the fortnight before, the 23-year-old turned it on in Townsville with a match-winning performance complete with 33 disposals, 11 tackles, eight marks and two majors.
Even more remarkable were his efforts in the final term, where he had 10 disposals, six tackles and kicked a pair of goals to will the Saints to victory.
Billings was joined in the midfield by stand-in skipper Seb Ross (31 disposals, 10 clearances) and Rowan Marshall (40 hit-outs, 18 disposals), who backed up his No. 1 Champion Data player ranking at the midpoint of the season.
Tim Membrey also bagged three goals to kickstart the Saints’ 31-point turnaround, but it was his elite marking (10 marks, five inside-50) which defined his performance.
Co-captains Jarrod Witts and David Swallow (two Brownlow votes) almost did enough to wrestle their embattled side over the line as Ben King fired up forward with two goals.
Youngster Will Brodie was also incredibly influential with 25 touches (14 contested) and eight clearances to bolster Swallow’s heroics.
Moment of the match...
After flying over to Shanghai as a last-minute emergency the round before, Nicholas Hind’s AFL dream came true the following week in Townsville.
The mature-age recruit booted his first goal in the second term, with his father, John, wiping away tears as his son made his first mark in red, white and black.
From the archives...
Jade Gresham's brilliant snap around the corner to gift the Saints a miracle come-from-behind victory over the Suns in 2018 remains one of the sizzling forward's best highlights, and one of the most enduring memories from that season.
Round 9 recap…
St Kilda made it three straight wins for the first time since 2017 after toppling Sydney by 53 points at the Gabba in the fifth annual Pride Game.
Brett Ratten’s men were tested by a tenacious Swans outfit in the third term, before storming home with six goals in the final quarter to move themselves into third position on the ladder.
Nicholas Hind was best on ground with a scintillating three-goal bag – all of which were kicked on his non-preferred – and was joined by Max King (three goals), Josh Battle (two) and Dan Butler (two) on the scoreboard.
Jack Steele (23 disposals), Jade Gresham (23 disposals, two goals) and Zak Jones (21 disposals, one goal) headed the engine room, while young defender Ben Paton kept Coleman Medal frontrunner Tom Papley to just one goal and nine touches.
On the flipside, Gold Coast slumped to four losses from its past five games after being by cast aside by Greater Western Sydney last Sunday.
The Suns were outplayed in all facets – particularly through the midfield – after a sprightly beginning, but were unable to contend with the Giants from that point on.
Key defender Sam Collins battled hard in defence, while Jarrod Witts upheld his fine run of form, albeit without any midfield support to back up his efforts.
The ins and outs...
St Kilda will welcome back Ben Long (suspension) and Dean Kent (injury) tomorrow night, with Matty Parker and Shane Savage coming out of the line-up for the returning pair.
The Suns have brought in forward Sean Lemmens and debutant Jeremy Sharp in favour of Pearce Hanley and Darcy MacPherson.
The stat...
Max and Ben King will write themselves into an incredibly quirky niche of V/AFL history when they go head-to-head at Metricon Stadium tomorrow night.
The King brothers will become just the sixth set of twins to play against each other at the highest level, with Max also shaping as the first player in St Kilda’s 147-year history to face off against his twin.
History repeating...?
Close shaves and elevated heart rates have been a regular occurrence during the past three matches against the Suns, with the Saints narrowly edging out their opposition by less than a goal from 2018-2019.
| Round 13, 2018 | GC 11.12 (78) def. by STK 11.14 (80) | STK by 2 |
| Round 1, 2019 | STK 13.7 (85) def. GC 13.6 (84) | STK by 1 |
| Round 13, 2019 | GC 11.10 (76) def. by STK 11.14 (80) | STK by 4 |
The milestone men...
Paddy Ryder will play his 250th match against Gold Coast under the Thursday night lights.
The All Australian ruckman debuted as an 18-year-old for Essendon (170 games) in 2006, before moving to Port Adelaide (73) and St Kilda (seven) in the subsequent years.
The Gold Coast’s gems…
After an inspiring start to the season – buoyed by the brilliance of Matthew Rowell – Gold Coast have lost four of its past matches.
But the talent in the line-up can’t be underestimated, especially with the Suns hungry to get back on the winners list after Sunday’s loss to GWS.
Co-captains Jarrod Witts and David Swallow have proven time and time again their importance to the side, while Lachie Weller will hope to reignite with Swallow after quieter outings last week.
Witts, along with key defender Sam Collins, were shining lights in an otherwise dreary day for the Suns last weekend, and will be intent on inspiring their team to recapture their lightning ball movement and strength in the contested ball – a stat the Suns have won convincingly in all of their 2020 victories.
Newcomers Hugh Greenwood and Noah Anderson have performed strongly throughout the season, with the former leading the League for total tackles (71) – 16 more than the second-placed Jack Steele.
Top-three draft picks Jack Lukosius (leading rebound-50s and metres gained) and Izak Rankine have slotted seamlessly into the talent-packed line-up, while Connor Budarick has been remarkably composed across the back half.
Add Ben King (13 goals) as the spearhead of the young offensive, and the Suns’ young talent is as good as anyone’s in the competition.
Stalwarts Touk Miller and Jarrod Harbrow have delivered reliability across the rollercoaster season, while Jack Bowes has taken the next step towards being a core part of the Suns’ future.
On the injury front…
The Saints have erred on the side of caution for dual-best-and-fairest Seb Ross (calf), who was a late out for last Saturday’s match against the Swans.
Gold Coast had no injuries to report from Round 9, but will welcome back Rory Thompson at reserves level this weekend.
