WHERE AND WHEN: Etihad Stadium, Saturday 27 August, 7.10pm
HEAD TO HEAD: St Kilda 75 wins, North Melbourne 71 wins, two draws
LAST TIME: St Kilda 12.7 (79) d North Melbourne 10.10 (70), round 15, 2011 at Etihad Stadium
TV, RADIO AND BETTING: Click here for broadcast guide and odds
A full replay will be available on afl.com.au 12 hours after the completion of the match
FORM: St Kilda: WWWLL North Melbourne: WWLLW
SUMMARY
This game shapes as the most significant of the round as well as the biggest for either team this year.
Both the Saints and the Kangaroos are looking to snaffle one of the remaining top eight spots.
The Saints need to win just one of their last two matches, while the Kangaroos need to win everything and will still rely on circumstances beyond their control.
But North Melbourne is the form team of this one, coming off a 98-point thumping of Fremantle, while the Saints have dropped their past two matches.
Nick Riewoldt is under a cloud after injuring his knee against the Sydney Swans last week but has been struggling to find form in recent weeks anyway. If he is fit and available he won't have an easy ride as North Melbourne has an array of tall defenders capable of taking him on.
The Kangaroos have one of the more potent ruck-midfield combinations in Todd Goldstein and Andrew Swallow while Brent Harvey is, as always, a danger.
QUESTION MARKS
How can the Saints win out of the middle? Ross Lyon was quick to identify the main area of concern last week, St Kilda's inability to match the Swans' midfield. Shane Mumford had an amazing 54 hit-outs last weekend and gave plenty of supply to the Swans' midfield. Todd Goldstein is capable of doing similar damage this week, particularly with Swallow and Harvey at his feet.
Who will stop Brent Harvey? The Saints traditionally hold Harvey well. Sean Dempster shut him down in round 15, while Clint Jones has done the job in the past. Dempster was one of his team's best last week, but a late knock to the head casts some doubt on him with a six-day break. Jones might be the man, but he is also one of St Kilda's best at winning the contested ball, so he might not be used in a stopping role.
PREDICTION
St Kilda by eight points
TOYOTA AFL DREAM TEAM WATCH
Clinton Jones has reached triple figures for the past three weeks and is steadily rising to his opening price. At $350,400 he doesn't come cheap but is worth a punt.
Todd Goldstein is one of the boom Dream Team performers of the year but his price dropped after a recent patch where he failed to reach the ton. He scored 130 last time against the Saints and should clock up a similar score.
Follow the game live in the AFL Match Centre on afl.com.au and join the conversation on Twitter using #aflsaintsnorth
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
