When and Where:
7.40pm at Etihad Stadium
Overall Head-To-Head:
St Kilda – 82
Geelong – 123
Draws – 0
Last Time They Met:
Geelong 6.12 (48) d St Kilda 6.11 (47), round 1, 2011 at the MCG
Recent Form:
St Kilda – LWWLW
Geelong – WWWWW
Current Ladder Positions:
St Kilda – 9th (4-1-6)
Geelong – 1st (11-0)
Key Players:
Jack Steven is an exciting young player who is starting to find his feet in the midfield. The 21-year-old showed small glimpses of his potential in 2010, but wasn’t given much opportunity due to the side being so settled. But with the Saints struggling this season, Steven has been elevated into the midfield and has been playing some excellent footy. He’s really stepped it up in recent weeks, averaging 26 disposals over the past three games against Melbourne, Fremantle and Collingwood. A performing young player like Steven should give the older Saints players a real confidence boost. If he can play well against a quality side like the Cats, even better.
While most of the Geelong players continue to go along their merry way, Travis Varcoe is one player who is a little down on form at the moment. The 23-year-old has been extremely quiet over the past three weeks, accumulating 12 touches against Gold Coast, six against Western Bulldogs and six against Hawthorn. Add just two goals over those three weeks as well and you’ve got a player who’s either severely out-of-form, unfit or being played out of position. Whatever the case may be, Varoce needs to lift his work rate against the Saints on Saturday night. There’s no doubt when he’s firing, he gives the Cats some extra spark. At the moment, he’s the one that needs the spark.
St Kilda Team Changes:
IN – Leigh Montagna and Jason Blake
OUT – Tom Simpkin and Tom Ledger
Geelong Team Changes:
IN – David Wojcinski
OUT – Joel Selwood (suspended)
Who Wins?
These two teams have provided AFL fans with some enthralling contests over the past three seasons. Will this Saturday night’s clash be another thrilling instalment?
St Kilda’s important 24-point victory over the Bulldogs last weekend was as ugly as Brynne Edelsten. However the way the Saints have performed this season, they need to take any win they get. There’s no doubt they’ve shown improvement in the past few months though. Brendon Goddard is starting to find the footy, Sam Fisher continues to be a rock in defence plus Steven’s improvement. The Saints’ finals hopes hang by a thread and they can’t afford to drop too many more games.
What does Michael Buble and Geelong have in common? Both parties enjoy ‘Feeling Good’ – especially the latter as it sits undefeated on top of the ladder. The Cats’ five-point win over Hawthorn last weekend was an important moment in their season. After failing to score a goal in the third quarter, they turned it on in the final quarter to boot 3.4 and keep the Hawks scoreless in the process. James Podsiadly was the star of the show, kicking six first-half goals and breaking his MCG hoodoo in the process.
The only way St Kilda can win this match is if it turns it into a slog, much like the game these two played in Round 1 this season. On that occasion, the Cats only won due to a Darren Milburn goal with 19 seconds left in the game. However expect Geelong to start the match much more cleanly this time round and put the game beyond doubt early.
Best Head-To-Head Bet:
Geelong by 1-39 points ($2.25 – Sportingbet)
Also Sportingbet Australia is doing a first goal scorer special on the AFL, on top of the usual first goal scorer payout. If your first goal scorer bet scores the second goal, the guys at Sportingbet will pay you out as well! If he kicks the first two, they will pay you double! Get on!
Other Suggested Bets:
First Goal Scorer – Stephen Milne or Mathew Stokes on Sportingbet