CARLTON v St Kilda at Telstra Dome, Friday, 7.40pm (AEST)
This week’s team:
B: Bryce Gibbs, Setanta O’hAilpin, Bret Thornton
HB: Ryan Houlihan, Jarrad Waite, Heath Scotland
C:, Matthew Lappin, Ross Young, Kade Simpson
HF: Andrew Carrazzo, Lance Whitnall, Marc Murphy,
F: Eddie Betts, Brendan Fevola, Josh Kennedy
R: Cain Ackland, Adam Bentick, Andrew Walker,
I: Joe Anderson, Luke Blackwell, Cameron Cloke, Jordan Russell
Emerg:, Paul Bower, Adam Hartlett, Jason Saddington
In: Luke Blackwell (first game for 2007), Ross Young (AFL debut, elevated from the rookie list)
Out: Ryan Jackson (broken hand), Simon Wiggins (hamstring soreness)
When last we met: MCG, round eight, 2006: St Kilda 18.18 (126) d Carlton 4.10 (34).
Comments: St Kilda forwards Nick Riewoldt and Fraser Gehrig returned to form and booted nine and three goals respectively. Brendan Fevola was the only Blues forward to shine, kicking all four of the side’s goals.
Fevola, Heath Scotland and Simon Wiggins were best for Carlton while Riewoldt, Brendan Goddard and Jason Gram were best for the Saints.
Carlton win percentage: against St Kilda 78.50 per cent; at Telstra Dome, 25.64 per cent
Comments: Carlton is sitting on a seven-game losing streak against the Saints, its last victory coming at the Telstra Dome in August 2001.
Top three - average disposals: Carlton: Heath Scotland (26), Ryan Houlihan (25), Marc Murphy (19). St Kilda: Robert Harvey (23), Nick Dal Santo (22), Brendon Goddard (21)
Leading goalkickers: Carlton: Brendan Fevola (15), Eddie Betts (8), Brad Fisher (7). St Kilda: Stephen Milne (9), Nick Riewoldt (8), Justin Koschitzke (6),
Top two - average hitouts: Carlton: Cain Ackland(12), Cameron Cloke (10). St Kilda: Matthew Clarke (26), Michael Rix (12)
From the coaches: assistant coach Gavin Crosisca: “We have got to play exactly like we did against Brisbane last week and really attack them hard and be aggressive at the footy. We’ll be trying to make it one on one even if they try to set up some loose men so it will be interesting to see how the various tactics work.”
From the players: Bryce Gibbs: “It’s going to be on for young and old this week. After losing on the weekend all the boys are pretty fired up to make it three and three. I think if we can win this weekend it can really set up our season.”
Last five games: Carlton: W-(Rich), L-(Geel), W-(Ess), L-(WC), L-(Bris). St Kilda: W-(Melb), L-(Bris), W-(WB), L-(Ess), L-(Port).
Comments: Carlton won many fans with its exciting brand of football last week against Brisbane. However, while they were exciting, the Blues still went down by 12 points and lacked on-field discipline at crucial stages of the game. On the positive side, there’s no doubt the team is firing on all cylinders and should be mentally stronger than they were last week.
St Kilda are also on a two-game losing streak. However, this is where the similarities end. The Saints have lost key players such as Lenny Hayes and Matt Maguire and lack height in defence. From a psychological point of view, the fact that St Kilda lost to Essendon by 31 points in round four and Carlton won its game against the Bombers in round three may be significant.
The big question: How will St Kilda make up for its lack of key position players?
