Game Day Round 3, 2019: Fremantle v St.Kilda

[George]

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Preview (Thanks to lewdogs)
Fremantle v St.Kilda

The Saints recorded their best win for a long time against the Bombers in Round 2. Despite dominating most of the first half, the Saints let the Bombers back into the match through poor finishing. But when the Bombers were coming hard in the final term, St Kilda were able to hold on, frustrating the Bombers’ run and scoring enough to record an inspiring victory.

The Dockers headed out to the Gold Coast on the back of a big win against North Melbourne. They would have been confident of going 2-0, but a plucky (if inaccurate) Gold Coast side spoilt their party with a 3-point win.


Let’s have a look at possible best 22s:

St.Kilda Best 22
B: Jarryn Geary, Nathan Brown, Shane Savage
HB: Callum Wilkie, Josh Battle, Jimmy Webster
C: Jack Billings, Jack Steven, Jade Gresham
HF: Matthew Parker, Tim Membrey, Jack Sinclair
F: Dean Kent, Josh Bruce, Jack Lonie
Foll: Rowan Marshall, Jack Steven, Sebastian Ross
I/C: Daniel McKenzie, Luke Dunstan, Blake Acres, Jack Newnes

Fremantle Best 22
B: Luke Ryan, Joel Hamling, Griffin Logue
HB: Nathan Wilson, Alex Pearce, Taylin Duman
C: Bradley Hill, David Mundy, Ed Langdon
HF: Cam McCarthy, Jesse Hogan, Michael Walters
F: Lachie Schultz, Matt Taberner, Sam Switkowski
Foll: Rory Lobb, Nat Fyfe, Adam Cerra
I/C: Andrew Brayshaw, Reece Conca, Travis Colyer, Darcy Tucker



Medical Room

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For the Saints, the main concern seemed to be an ankle injury to Rowan Marshall. He went to the bench for a small period in the final term, before returning to the field, but appeared to be limping in the rooms after the game.

For the Dockers, Luke Ryan seemed to cop a possible injury.





Preview

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St Kilda’s season has gotten off to a dream start and we now sit at 2-0. We have ridden our luck a bit in the first fortnight of the season – the Suns match could easily have ended in a loss, and the Bombers game seemed to be slipping from our grasp before we rescued the win with a brave and desperate final quarter.

Few Saints fans would have thought we’d be in this position in Round 2 (nor did some pundits… in fact ‘Peter the Scribe from The Roar predicted we’d have one win for the season… oops). Round 3 presents a bit of a “where to now?” moment for the Saints faithful. A win this week and the season really starts to form into something special.



The Dockers were a side that got massively pumped up after Round 1. Their victory over the Kangaroos was a bit of a surprise, given a plethora of off-field dramas and sporting a pretty weak side going into 2019, but they played good football and had the media jumping on. Many of those pundits may have gotten off at the next stop following their loss to the Suns. Not to brag, but I tipped the Suns to beat the Dockers, having thought they were very impressive against the Saints, and feeling that the Dockers might struggle to back up such a strong performance.

A trip out West is always a challenging task. We haven’t had a lot of joy in Perth recently, although we did record a gutsy win over Fremantle in 2017 (I think they were sans Fyfe that day though). Last year’s game against the Dockers was a pretty typical 2018 match for us – we were woeful in front of goal, Carlisle got knocked out, we frustrated and frustrated and eventually caved. We had a decent run against the Eagles last year at Optus Stadium, mounting a big final quarter comeback which never really looked like gaining a win. Still, based on these recent performances, a trip to the West shouldn’t be seen as insurmountable.

The Dockers are an interesting side this year and appear very beatable, mainly because their midfield is very thin. They do have one of the best in the business in Nat Fyfe, but after that it’s a mixture of youth (Cerra, Brayshaw) and possibly past-it (Mundy). They just lost their best and fairest winner in Neale. I think this will be an area of huge concern for them this year and if we are going to win this game our young midfield needs to step up and really dominate the game.

The Dockers do sport a pretty decent forward line, with new signings Jesse Hogan and Rory Lobb, and Cam McCarthy has looked in better nick this year. Alongside those players the likes of Walters and Ballantyne will present a headache for our new-look defence. Thus far, our defence has been able to hold up quite well with Josh Battle learning his new role and Callum Wilkie looking comfortable as an intercept player at AFL level. This match will provide our first big test in that area.

Our own forward line has been very exciting this year. Josh Bruce has been reminding us how much we missed him in 2018. Jack Lonie is playing with new-found enthusiasm, Matthew Parker seems to scare the s**t out of anyone he goes near, and Dean Kent, while yet to have a perfect performance, is providing another avenue to goal and more pressure inside the 50 arc. Tim Membrey still hasn’t quite hit form yet this year, which could be a good thing for us. He had a huge game last year in Perth against the Eagles.




Potential Changes

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Hunter Clark had another good run in the 2's and picked up 27 possessions. He will be thereabouts. If Rowan Marshall doesn’t get up from his ankle injury then Pierce will have to come back. That would be a tragedy given the game that Marshall just played.

Darragh Joyce was unlucky to be dropped, but it seems that the coaches are happy with the balance and he may need to wait for a backman to get injured. I suspect we will name an unchanged side.



Key Match-Ups

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Steele v Fyfe
I expect we will send Steele to Fyfe this week to see if he can beat him, or at least curb his influence. Fyfe is superb at coping with a tag, but Steele has had good games against good players and if he can influence the game in an attacking sense and make Fyfe accountable, it could go a long way to winning the game for the Saints.

Darcy v Marshall
Rowan Marshall was pretty great against the Dons. He was able to influence the game around the ground, clunking marks, laying tackles, getting clearances. This week he comes up against Sean Darcy, a player that is still learning the rucking craft. I think this presents a great opportunity for Marshall to really stamp his authority on a game.

McKenzie v Walters
Walters has had a habit of destroying us in the past. If D-Mac is the man to run with him this time, he needs to curb his influence and stop him from getting too many possessions and getting his run going.

Anyone & Everyone v Gresham
Jade Gresham is emerging as a special player this year. After his destruction of the Bombers, I expect he may get a hard tag this week. I hope our boys are prepared for it and are ready to support Gresh as he learns what it’s like to be a top player in this competition.


Tip

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A win this week would send Saints fans into overdrive, wondering at the new-found potential for this seemingly doomed season. Personally, I am salivating at the potential of this side, particularly if we can get Hannebery back into the midfield.

Going into the year, I felt that we were a great chance to win the first two, but this match always presented a worry. To win interstate you generally need to play very good football, and you MUST take your chances (I remember the WC game away early in 2017, where we fluffed our lines and lost).

I believe this side is on the right track, and we will come well-prepared for this match. Our coaching team really worked out the Bombers, and I have faith that they can do something similar with the Dockers. It will be a wonderful home-coming for Matthew Parker, who has had such an exciting start to his AFL career.

In some ways, I’m not sure that we are ready to cross this hurdle and win an interstate match. However, I also think the Dockers have a weak side and a particularly weak midfield, and we appear to be playing to our strengths at the moment and are very well-coached.

Both sides have a strong forward line, so the game will come down to midfield clearances and who can the get the ball going inside 50 the most, and most effectively.

With all that in mind, I’m going to go against my better judgement and predict this Saints train to keep on rolling.


Saints by 10 points.

Thoughts?​

 

[Sir Skid]

Great writeup lewdogs

Saints by 2 point in a thriller

 

[Brains Trust66]

got Kayo sports on trial for 2 weeks so i can watch the freo game .
Seems pretty good so far but not going to pay so i will have to cancel it in less than 2 weeks.

 

[Brains Trust66]

Saints to win by 27 points , reality never my strong point lol.
Bruce to kick 7 , Marshall best on ground , our defence stands proud again.

 

[sainterryan]

Such a long wait for this game still over 12hrs...

 

[AFLOnline]

got Kayo sports on trial for 2 weeks so i can watch the freo game .
Seems pretty good so far but not going to pay so i will have to cancel it in less than 2 weeks.

Just get it mate

Worth every cent

 

[bird_man]

Think we'll put up a good fight but predicting Freo to be too strong for us over there.

 

[St Muir]

There’s been some brilliant passages of play in the first two games and less reverting to mindless long bombs as our game plan has developed. If we can maintain that development, we can take this.
It’s been a very long time since we’ve gone into a game expecting to win the ruck.

 

[tomjoad]

Be great if we get over the line. Not expecting to win, but it'll be sweet if we do. Think we'll give a good account of ourselves nonetheless, & will make Freo earn every score, as well as hand out a few bruises along the way. Give 'em hell Sainters.

 

[WhiskySaint]

Huge game today. A win in the west with no Carslile, Steven or Robo would be massive for our young group.

Looking forward to seeing how our mobile forward line functions on a bigger ground. If we can minimise their quality of ball out of the clearance then I think we have a chance.

 

[SaintSteele9]

Interested to see what RTB brings to this one, I’m sure he’ll be looking at shutting out a Billings or Gresh who could be dangerous with the space over there!

Expectations are tempered for this but if we’re in the game late, I think we have some confidence and belief in our ability to close it out now. Must kick straight!!

 

[Brains Trust66]

Just get it mate

Worth every cent

are you able to record stuff on Kayo ?

 

[Cornish]

Saints by 22points

 

[Sir Skid]

A win here could set up our whole year.

SAINTS FOOTY!
4 QUARTERS!

 

[Barchos]

are you able to record stuff on Kayo ?

No need to, has instant replays of everything. Go halves with someone for $12.50 p/m


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Saintos The ITK]

Is there any afl add ons for Kodi Box?
I have Foxtel now just curious.

 

[gringo2011]

Just get it mate

Worth every cent

Mine lags and freezes all the time and sometimes just goes pixelated, obviously a s**t wifi signal but Netflix and Stan don't do it. When it freezes you have to go back to the menu and click back on the game. It is driving me crazy.

 

[Sab22]

Laid back on expectations, its 50/50. I think we can win, I also think we can get smashed. I just want a 4 quarter competitive effort from the boys, keep it close because we need that percentage above 100.

 

[PoppedCorn]

Bring it on
Saints by 9

 

[MUFKilda]

I'll be heading to be bed soon so I can rise early on the Sabbath. Head still says Feralmantle; heart still says Saints. A win would be absolutely huge in Perth. I think the key is keeping it tight first half and not allowing Freo to build a big lead. If we can do that, we could pull this off. Make them know they're in a game.

You can do this Saints

 

[Smoke_Me_AKipper]

I worry about this game, (as I did last week - call it a throwback to too many losses in the 1980's and 1990's). We lost by 30 points last year over there. Granted we're playing better football but they have improved their list. I think last week was an aberration against the Suns and they are a different proposition at home.

Fyfe in particular can be a damaging player as can Mundy and Walters. Brown will have to go with Hogan who likes to kick goals against us. I worry about Cerra, Brayshaw and Langdon - these kind of young onballers who are pretty handy players.

On the plus side Billings, Gresh and Steele are playing well. Ross needs to step up and Clark needs to show us the fruits of a solid pre season. Timmy Membrey has been good without being outstanding and this is the week he needs to stand up and kick a bag of 4 or 5 goals. Parker to run riot in front of his extended family. Ruck will be interesting as Lobb doesn't like the ruck and prefers playing forward.

Umpires going to do my head in with soft free kicks as we've seen in the other games this weekend. Just swallow your whistle and let the game flow. Great games which are umpired well is when you almost don't notice them!

Just can't see us winning this one, (I said that last week yes I know but I am bullish against the Hawks next week). The purple haze by 17 points

 

[Sir Skid]

Mine lags and freezes all the time and sometimes just goes pixelated, obviously a s**t wifi signal but Netflix and Stan don't do it. When it freezes you have to go back to the menu and click back on the game. It is driving me crazy.

Well that explains a bit doesn't it ;-)

 

[Grav]

Reckon we will give this a big shake, we usually go ok against Freo over there & us being a full of confidence young side & our enjoying footy will make all the difference. I nailed the winning margin last week when I said Saints by 23pts..... huh! ....... what? .... we only won by 11?
Ok, maybe this week it’s gunna be Saints by 23pt Yeah, definitely us by 23pts then.

 

[Sheeza69]

Both sides we've beaten this year have won the following week..

We reduce the influence of Fyfe, Walters & Hill, we'll grind out another win..

 

[gringo2011]

Both sides we've beaten this year have won the following week..

We reduce the influence of Fyfe, Walters & Hill, we'll grind out another win..

You realise the system improvements in our game plan under Lade and Ratts. GC nearly jumped us when they used pace to break the system down and Essendon nearly got on top of us as we tired. No reason we can't win this, just need to keep really organised.