Head to head: Collingwood 149 wins, St Kilda 56 wins, one draw
Last time: St Kilda 12.8 (80) d Collingwood 7.10 (52), 1st qualifying final, 2009 at the MCG
On the back of five goals from Nick Riewoldt, the Saints advanced to the preliminary final in what was a dour struggle early. Collingwood lost Scott Pendlebury with a broken leg in the opening minutes and his absence hurt as the Saints won the possession count by a staggering 164. Riewoldt cut loose in the second term with three goals to give his side an ascendancy it would not relinquish.
MISSING IN ACTION
St Kilda
Raphael Clarke (hamstring) - TBC
Robert Eddy (ankle) - TBC
Sam Fisher (ankle) - TBC
Luke Miles (leg) - TBC
Jesse Smith (ankle) - TBC
Jack Steven (foot) - TBC
LAST WEEK
St Kilda 23.5 (143) def North Melbourne 6.3 (39) at Etihad Stadium
The Saints went whack in a scintillating first term last week, slamming home eight first-quarter goals to nil as they wrapped up the match by the first break. Ross Lyon’s team was in ominous touch with all its big-name players joining the party.
Riewoldt didn’t kick his first until the second term but finished with seven - which included 23 possessions and 15 marks - while the Saints’ midfield ran riot.
Leigh Montagna led all comers with 35 possessions, while Nick Dal Santo (33 disposals), Brendon Goddard (29) and Jason Gram (27) were also prolific.
Leading goalkicker: Nick Riewoldt (11)
Leading ballwinner: Leigh Montagna (61)
DANGER MAN
Coming off 33 disposals against North Melbourne last week Nick Dal Santo, like his skipper Nick Riewoldt, loves playing the Pies.
In his past five matches the stylish left-footer, who adds some silk to the Saints’ midfield, is averaging 30 touches against Collingwood. He was also instrumental in last year’s first qualifying final victory, gathering 34 possessions.
TALKING POINT
Luke Ball may have already come up against his former team but that hasn’t stopped the media honing in on the one-time Saint this week. Both sides have played down the hype surrounding his first premiership game against his former teammates, although it will be interesting to see how some of his old mates treat him; especially Riewoldt who, when crossing paths with Ball in the pre-season clash, showed the pair had now well and truly gone separate ways by giving him a shove for good measure.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Maintaining a winning record and a place in the top four. The Saints, given their high percentage, would be stiff to slide outside the top four regardless of the result on Friday night but Collingwood’s position inside the eight is not as certain. With matches to come against Hawthorn, Essendon and Carlton in coming weeks, the Pies need a good performance against the team that has set the pace in the opening two rounds.
WHAT THE OPPOSITION SAYS
“It's not unusual that players change clubs. No one enjoys players leaving but that's water under the bridge. We played against Luke in the NAB Cup. He’s enjoyed two victories at Collingwood and players have got opportunities in our midfield. There's certainly no ill feeling.” - Ross Lyon on Luke Ball’s departure to the Pies
WHAT THE PIES SAY
“They made North look pretty ordinary, so you’ve got to take a lot out of how Sydney played them as well. We’ve looked at both games and they’ve (St Kilda) tried a couple of things differently that we’ve noticed. We’ve got to prepare for both.
“You can prepare as much as you want, but if the players aren’t switched on it’s all out the window so to speak. But I think the guys are pretty keen to redeem themselves after last week’s performance.
“St Kilda are pretty strong all over the ground … I’ve gone back and had a look at what they did against us last time (in the NAB Cup), but in saying that they’re likely to come out and do something a bit different. We’ve just got to be ready for whatever they throw at us.” - Collingwood opposition coach Paul Hudson on the Saints
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
