TonyK
CibbuanoRound three preview: St Kilda v West Coast
April 10th 2009 10:52
VENUE and TIME: Etihad Stadium, Saturday 11 April, 2.10pm (AEDT)
HEAD TO HEAD: Played: 34, St Kilda 13, West Coast 20, Drawn 1
LAST TIME: West Coast 15.13 (103) def St Kilda 12.14 (86), Round 14 2008 at Subiaco Oval
RECENT HISTORY: The Eagles have won five of their past six against St Kilda with two of those wins coming at Etihad Stadium.
FORM: St Kilda is one of only four unbeaten teams after impressive wins over Sydney and Adelaide. West Coast bounced back from a competitive loss to Brisbane in round one with a 50-point demolition of Port Adelaide at Subiaco Oval last Sunday.
MEDICAL ROOM: Raphael Clarke (hamstring) and Max Hudghton (calf) are two weeks away from earning a recall while Jack Steven (ankle) is unavailable. For the Eagles, veteran David Wirrpanda, a late withdrawal from the clash against Port, will miss at least one more game with a hamstring strain while defender Beau Wilkes (finger), exciting youngster Nick Naitanui (knee) and Tony Notte (knee) are unavailable. Midfielder Luke Shuey (knee) is sidelined indefinitely while rugged utility Beau Waters (elbow) will miss the remainder of the season.
KEY MATCH-UPS: Steven Baker vs. Daniel Kerr
Kerr was at his damaging best in the win over Port Adelaide with 28 possessions and four goals.
He was particularly influential in the third term, racking up 16 disposals and booting two classy goals to help put the contest beyond the Power.
The Saints will be keen to limit Kerr’s effectiveness at the stoppages and shut down his creative run.
Expect Kerr to be heavily tagged by Baker in what shapes as being a pivotal contest.
Baker won’t give the star West Coast midfielder any time or space - Kerr will need his teammates to provide support and block for him at the stoppages.
Adam Selwood vs. Nick Dal Santo
Dal Santo has made a scintillating start to the 2009 season, averaging 31 possessions, five marks and four tackles in two games.
The 25-year-old is damaging with his ability to use the football cleanly and set up scoring opportunities for his teammates.
If West Coast is going to be any hope of containing St Kilda’s talented forward line they will need to apply immense pressure and prevent the likes of Dal Santo from spotting up targets inside 50.
Selwood played arguably his best game in Eagles colours against the Power last weekend, racking up a game-high 33 possessions - 20 of which came in the first half.
West Coast coach John Worsfold will most likely use Selwood in a run-with role on Dal Santo.
Like he did against the Power, Selwood will need to win his fair share of the football and try and expose Dal Santo’s lack of defensive skills.
Darren Glass vs. Justin Koschitzke
Koschitzke has made an impressive start to the season and was particularly influential in the win over the Crows with 12 possessions, seven marks and four goals.
St Kilda’s last win over the Eagles was in round 12, 2007 - Koschitzke played a key role in that victory, booting four goals.
When Koschitzke fires the Saints invariably win, so stopping him will be a key for West Coast.
Glass appears to be back to his best after struggling with injury in 2008 and will most likely be given first crack at Koschitzke.
St Kilda’s key talls were able to have an impact against their Crows because their teammates were prepared to move the football quickly and kick it long to the square.
They will need to do the same on Saturday and not over possess the football when going forward otherwise they will be punished on the rebound by a West Coast side that has shown in its two games this season that they are prepared to use the corridor.
Michael Gardiner/Steven King vs. Dean Cox
King and Gardiner have formed an impressive ruck combination this season - the Saints are ranked third in the AFL for hit-outs per game with an average of 39.
Cox was forced to do most of the ruck work against Port and naturally showed signs of fatigue as the match wore on.
Last year’s All-Australian ruckman will once again be expected to do most of the rucking duties against the Saints given the non-inclusion of fellow ruckman Mark Seaby.
Quinten Lynch will pinch hit in the ruck and how well he performs in the middle will play a key role in determining the outcome of this match.
If Lynch can at least provide a contest and nullify the effectiveness of Gardiner and King’s taps it will allow Cox to get some rest and be more influential later in the match.
Luke Ball vs. Matt Priddis
When these two sides last met at Etihad Stadium in round 21, 2007, Priddis was influential with a game-high 36 possessions.
Priddis is a clearance machine and the Eagles will need him to have a big game to take the pressure off Kerr.
Like Priddis, Ball is highly effective at winning the contested football and you would expect the pair to go head-to-head in the middle.
Etihad Stadium is relatively small ground which makes winning the clearances even more important.
Whichever of these two players is able to win more of the football at the stoppages and help set up their runners with clean disposal by hand will be on the winning side of the ledger.
VERDICT: West Coast played an attacking brand of football against Port last weekend and they will fancy their chances of recording back-to-back victories given their dominance over the Saints in recent times. But they won’t be given the same amount of time and space that they were last Sunday by a St Kilda side that laid a staggering 88 tackles in the win over Adelaide. If Ross Lyon’s men play with the same level of intensity they showed against the Crows they should get over the line with their key marking targets set to be too much for a developing West Coast backline to contain. Saints by 19 points.
ST KILDA v WEST COAST
ST KILDA
B: Farren Ray, Jason Blake, Zac Dawson
HB: Jarryn Geary, Sam Fisher, Brendon Goddard
C: Jason Gram, Luke Ball, Nick Dal Santo
HF: Stephen Milne, Nick Riewoldt, Adam Schneider
F: Lenny Hayes, Justin Koschitzke, Sam Gilbert
Foll: Michael Gardiner, Clint Jones, Leigh Montagna
I/C: Steven Baker, Andrew McQualter, James Gwilt, Steven King
Emg: Colm Begley, Ben McEvoy, Robert Eddy
No changes
WEST COAST
B: Mark Nicoski, Darren Glass, Eric Mackenzie
HB: Shannon Hurn, Mitch Brown, Tyson Stenglein
C: Andrew Embley, Matt Priddis, Matt Rosa
HF: Adam Selwood , Ashley Hansen, Chad Fletcher
F: Adam Hunter, Quinten Lynch, Mark LeCras
Foll: Dean Cox, Daniel Kerr, Chris Masten
I/C: Ryan Davis, Brad Ebert, Brett Jones, Ben McKinley
Emg: Will Schofield, Mark Seaby, Brent Staker
No changes
HEAD TO HEAD: Played: 34, St Kilda 13, West Coast 20, Drawn 1
LAST TIME: West Coast 15.13 (103) def St Kilda 12.14 (86), Round 14 2008 at Subiaco Oval
RECENT HISTORY: The Eagles have won five of their past six against St Kilda with two of those wins coming at Etihad Stadium.
FORM: St Kilda is one of only four unbeaten teams after impressive wins over Sydney and Adelaide. West Coast bounced back from a competitive loss to Brisbane in round one with a 50-point demolition of Port Adelaide at Subiaco Oval last Sunday.
MEDICAL ROOM: Raphael Clarke (hamstring) and Max Hudghton (calf) are two weeks away from earning a recall while Jack Steven (ankle) is unavailable. For the Eagles, veteran David Wirrpanda, a late withdrawal from the clash against Port, will miss at least one more game with a hamstring strain while defender Beau Wilkes (finger), exciting youngster Nick Naitanui (knee) and Tony Notte (knee) are unavailable. Midfielder Luke Shuey (knee) is sidelined indefinitely while rugged utility Beau Waters (elbow) will miss the remainder of the season.
KEY MATCH-UPS: Steven Baker vs. Daniel Kerr
Kerr was at his damaging best in the win over Port Adelaide with 28 possessions and four goals.
He was particularly influential in the third term, racking up 16 disposals and booting two classy goals to help put the contest beyond the Power.
The Saints will be keen to limit Kerr’s effectiveness at the stoppages and shut down his creative run.
Expect Kerr to be heavily tagged by Baker in what shapes as being a pivotal contest.
Baker won’t give the star West Coast midfielder any time or space - Kerr will need his teammates to provide support and block for him at the stoppages.
Adam Selwood vs. Nick Dal Santo
Dal Santo has made a scintillating start to the 2009 season, averaging 31 possessions, five marks and four tackles in two games.
The 25-year-old is damaging with his ability to use the football cleanly and set up scoring opportunities for his teammates.
If West Coast is going to be any hope of containing St Kilda’s talented forward line they will need to apply immense pressure and prevent the likes of Dal Santo from spotting up targets inside 50.
Selwood played arguably his best game in Eagles colours against the Power last weekend, racking up a game-high 33 possessions - 20 of which came in the first half.
West Coast coach John Worsfold will most likely use Selwood in a run-with role on Dal Santo.
Like he did against the Power, Selwood will need to win his fair share of the football and try and expose Dal Santo’s lack of defensive skills.
Darren Glass vs. Justin Koschitzke
Koschitzke has made an impressive start to the season and was particularly influential in the win over the Crows with 12 possessions, seven marks and four goals.
St Kilda’s last win over the Eagles was in round 12, 2007 - Koschitzke played a key role in that victory, booting four goals.
When Koschitzke fires the Saints invariably win, so stopping him will be a key for West Coast.
Glass appears to be back to his best after struggling with injury in 2008 and will most likely be given first crack at Koschitzke.
St Kilda’s key talls were able to have an impact against their Crows because their teammates were prepared to move the football quickly and kick it long to the square.
They will need to do the same on Saturday and not over possess the football when going forward otherwise they will be punished on the rebound by a West Coast side that has shown in its two games this season that they are prepared to use the corridor.
Michael Gardiner/Steven King vs. Dean Cox
King and Gardiner have formed an impressive ruck combination this season - the Saints are ranked third in the AFL for hit-outs per game with an average of 39.
Cox was forced to do most of the ruck work against Port and naturally showed signs of fatigue as the match wore on.
Last year’s All-Australian ruckman will once again be expected to do most of the rucking duties against the Saints given the non-inclusion of fellow ruckman Mark Seaby.
Quinten Lynch will pinch hit in the ruck and how well he performs in the middle will play a key role in determining the outcome of this match.
If Lynch can at least provide a contest and nullify the effectiveness of Gardiner and King’s taps it will allow Cox to get some rest and be more influential later in the match.
Luke Ball vs. Matt Priddis
When these two sides last met at Etihad Stadium in round 21, 2007, Priddis was influential with a game-high 36 possessions.
Priddis is a clearance machine and the Eagles will need him to have a big game to take the pressure off Kerr.
Like Priddis, Ball is highly effective at winning the contested football and you would expect the pair to go head-to-head in the middle.
Etihad Stadium is relatively small ground which makes winning the clearances even more important.
Whichever of these two players is able to win more of the football at the stoppages and help set up their runners with clean disposal by hand will be on the winning side of the ledger.
VERDICT: West Coast played an attacking brand of football against Port last weekend and they will fancy their chances of recording back-to-back victories given their dominance over the Saints in recent times. But they won’t be given the same amount of time and space that they were last Sunday by a St Kilda side that laid a staggering 88 tackles in the win over Adelaide. If Ross Lyon’s men play with the same level of intensity they showed against the Crows they should get over the line with their key marking targets set to be too much for a developing West Coast backline to contain. Saints by 19 points.
ST KILDA v WEST COAST
ST KILDA
B: Farren Ray, Jason Blake, Zac Dawson
HB: Jarryn Geary, Sam Fisher, Brendon Goddard
C: Jason Gram, Luke Ball, Nick Dal Santo
HF: Stephen Milne, Nick Riewoldt, Adam Schneider
F: Lenny Hayes, Justin Koschitzke, Sam Gilbert
Foll: Michael Gardiner, Clint Jones, Leigh Montagna
I/C: Steven Baker, Andrew McQualter, James Gwilt, Steven King
Emg: Colm Begley, Ben McEvoy, Robert Eddy
No changes
WEST COAST
B: Mark Nicoski, Darren Glass, Eric Mackenzie
HB: Shannon Hurn, Mitch Brown, Tyson Stenglein
C: Andrew Embley, Matt Priddis, Matt Rosa
HF: Adam Selwood , Ashley Hansen, Chad Fletcher
F: Adam Hunter, Quinten Lynch, Mark LeCras
Foll: Dean Cox, Daniel Kerr, Chris Masten
I/C: Ryan Davis, Brad Ebert, Brett Jones, Ben McKinley
Emg: Will Schofield, Mark Seaby, Brent Staker
No changes
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