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MAGPIE RADIO > Rnd8 Pie Night with guest Scott PendleburyMATCH DETAILS
Collingwood v St Kilda
Telstra Dome, 7.40pm, Friday
(St Kilda home match – fully-ticketed game)
FORECAST
There’s a good chance of some showers Friday night, but the roof will be closed regardless so it doesn’t really matter that much now, does it?
BETTING
Head to head (TAB Sportsbet)
Collingwood $1.60, St Kilda $2.25
LAST TIME THEY MET
Round 14, 2007 – Collingwood 12.17 (89) def St Kilda 12.8 (80) at the MCG
The Saints had their chance to cause an upset when they led by 21 points early in the final term. The Magpies, as the sheer weight of scoring shots suggested, had looked the better side for much of the opening half. However the Saints worked their way into the contest and looked headed for victory before Shane O’Bree, Dane Swan and Dale Thomas – who had what would have been a freakish goal controversially disallowed after he was ruled to have been over the boundary – stepped up to inspire the ‘Pies to one of their best wins of the season.
FORM GUIDE
Neither side has been setting the world on fire this season but one suspects the winner from this match could really kick on in 2008.
Collingwood has been up and down like a yo-yo. Just when the Maggies looked like they were getting back to their best after an ANZAC Day hammering of Essendon, they were pumped by Hawthorn. While they ran into a pretty good side that day, the margin was a concern given how competitive Mick Malthouse’s team has been against any opposition in recent seasons.
St Kilda, the side everyone believed to be one of the great challengers this season, isn’t playing great footy but is still in the positive for wins and is fifth on the ladder. The Saints do seem to be having trouble sorting their much-vaunted tall forwards into working order. Nick Riewoldt is now missing, however, so they’ll have to come up with a way to kick enough goals against the usually-stingy Magpie defence.
MEDICAL ROOM
Collingwood ruckman Josh Fraser looks almost certain to miss after injuring his knee but in better news for the Pies Anthony Rocca (ankle) should be fit to tackle the Saints after training strongly on Thursday morning.
His inclusion could be a decisive factor with St Kilda set to be down two big-bodied defenders. Max Hudghton (hamstring) looks likely to miss at least another week while Matt Maguire’s foot injury will see him miss the rest of 2008. Steven Baker (knee), Xavier Clarke (hamstring), Nick Riewoldt (knee) and Sam Gilbert (shoulder) will all miss, with only Steven King (hamstring) a chance to return for the Saints.
RANDOM FACTS
* These two teams have met at Telstra Dome five times, with St Kilda holding a 3-2 record over the Pies
* While Nick Riewoldt – who’ll be missing on Friday night – hasn’t been as effective against Collingwood as he has other teams, Magpie Anthony Rocca doesn’t thrive against the Saints either. In 13 career matches against St Kilda he’s booted just 14 goals
* Dane Swan, despite playing at a soggy MCG, took 11 marks in the Pies’ come-from-behind win over the Saints in round 14 last year as he racked up 29 touches to earn two Brownlow medal votes
KEY MATCH UPS
Cameron Wood v Justin Koschitzke
With Fraser likely to miss, big Woody is going to have to stand taller than ever to help the Pies win around the stoppages. The Maggies’ backline was under enormous pressure against the Hawks, and they won’t want to be bombarded by a wealth of ball against the Saints. If Wood can get on top of Kossy and get the Pies rolling, Collingwood will be a step closer to its fourth win.
Scott Burns v Lenny Hayes
Neither man is blessed with blistering speed, but both have bucket loads of courage and will be on the bottom of most packs all night. Hayes is back to the Lenny of old after overcoming his knee injury, while the ever-reliable Burns is an inspiration to all at Magpieland. Fresh from a week’s break after playing his his 250th against Hawthorn, he’ll be leading his men from the trenches with vigour.
Travis Cloke v Sam Fisher
Cloke had a rare quiet day against the Hawks which could be bad news for the Saints. Last year’s Copeland Trophy winner rarely puts two bad ones together. Whether or not Sam Fisher goes to him or Rocca is up to Ross Lyon, but whoever takes the giant youngster will need to be on his game.
WHAT THE CLUBS SAY
Collingwood
"We've put ourselves in this position. We've probably been a bit disappointing in recent weeks; certainly the Hawthorn game wasn't great for us.
"St Kilda presents a pretty good challenge, they're in a similar position and they've played some pretty good footy, so it's a great test for us and Friday night footy is always a big stage.
"The boys are looking forward to it." -- Collingwood ruckman Josh Fraser
St Kilda
“Friday night football [is] a really big stage against a powerhouse Melbourne club, a team that finished top four last year.
“Everyone talks about an eight-point game, but if we were to win we could put a distance between us and Collingwood.” -- St Kilda coach Ross Lyon
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
