ST KILDA star Lenny Hayes was upbeat about teammate Nick Dal Santo’s chances of being fit for Saturday’s grand final when quizzed at the Saints’ recovery session on Sunday.
Hayes said his fellow midfield gun had “pulled up really well” having been clearly restricted with his movement in the win over the Bulldogs, and that Dal Santo was “just a little bit tight in his lower back”.
The Saints’ army of premiership-starved fans will be hoping Hayes’ prognosis is right and that Dal Santo can take his place on Saturday in full health, because the midfield weapon is key to St Kilda’s flag hopes.
In the Saints’ round 16 clash with Collingwood, Dal Santo was a late withdrawal - that day also with an injury described as “back tightness”. The Magpies’ midfield ran amok, and they flogged St Kilda by 48 points, moving to the top of the AFL ladder.
But in the previous four encounters between Saturday’s grand final opponents, St Kilda won by 34, 88, 28 and 28 points. And Dal Santo starred in every one of them, averaging almost 33 possessions at 77 per cent efficiency across the four matches.
Clearly, the silky onballer doesn’t mind taking on the Pies.
Nick Dal Santo v Collingwood
| Match | K | H | D | DE% | CP | UP | C | I50 | R50 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 SF v C'wood (W) | 22 | 10 | 32 | 71.9 | 7 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| 2009 R7 v C'wood (W) | 21 | 17 | 38 | 81.6 | 6 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 2009 QF v C'wood (W) | 21 | 13 | 34 | 73.5 | 5 | 29 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| 2010 R3 v C'wood (W) | 14 | 13 | 27 | 81.5 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Avg. | 19.5 | 13.3 | 32.8 | 77.1 | 6 | 25.3 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4 |
K = Kicks, H = Handballs, D = Disposals, DE% =Disposal Efficiency, CP = Contested Possessions, UP = Uncontested Possessions, C = Clearances, I50 = Inside 50s, R50 = Rebound 50s, T = Tackles
Also significant that Saturday afternoon back in July was the contribution (or lack of) from Saints skipper Nick Riewoldt.
The star forward was playing just his second game back from a serious hamstring injury and gathered only 10 touches and one goal.
Riewoldt has since worked his way into devastating touch, and the Bulldogs had no answer for him on Saturday night during his three-goal, best on ground performance.
Collingwood fans will no doubt feel confident given their side’s impressive form and most recent result against the Saints.
But if last year’s beaten grand finalists have key men Dal Santo and Riewoldt up and firing this time, the contest shapes as a much closer one than that round 16 thrashing.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
