Match details
Saturday, April 28, 7.40 pm (local time), MCG
Teams
Melbourne
B: James Frawley, Jared Rivers, Clint Bartram
HB: Cale Morton, Colin Garland, Jack Grimes
C: Jordie McKenzie, Brent Moloney, Tom McDonald
HF: Nathan Jones, James Sellar, Jeremy Howe
F: Colin Sylvia, Lynden Dunn, Aaron Davey
Foll: Mark Jamar, James Magner, Jack Trengove
I/C: Matthew Bate, Jack Watts, Rohan Bail, Joel Macdonald
Emg: Ricky Petterd, Luke Tapscott, Jack Fitzpatrick
In: Colin Sylvia, Jack Grimes
Out: Luke Tapscott, Mitchell Clark (Neck)
Milestones: Clint Bartram - 100 games
St Kilda
B: Jarryn Geary, Sam Gilbert, Jason Blake
HB: Tom Simpkin, Sam Fisher, Sean Dempster
C: Nick Dal Santo, Lenny Hayes, Brendon Goddard
HF: Jack Steven, Nick Riewoldt, Leigh Montagna
F: Stephen Milne, Rhys Stanley, Terry Milera
Foll: Ben McEvoy, Dean Polo, Clinton Jones
I/C: Jason Gram, David Armitage, Jamie Cripps, Jack Newnes
Emg: Tom Ledger, Arryn Siposs, Beau Wilkes
In: Jason Gram
Out: Justin Koschitzke (Suspension)
Broadcast guide
Click here
Form
Melbourne: L, L, L, L
St Kilda: L, W, W, L
Ladder position
Melbourne: 16th
St Kilda: 8th
Head-to-head
Played: 202
Melbourne: 118
St Kilda: 83
Drawn: 1
At this ground
Played: 89
Melbourne: 58
St Kilda: 31
Drawn: 0
Last time they met
Round 9, 2011: St Kilda 16.10 (100) d Melbourne 13.8 (86), Etihad Stadium
Recent streak
Melbourne has lost its past six games against St Kilda
Memorable match
Second elimination final, 2006: Melbourne 13.12 (90) d St Kilda 10.12 (72), MCG
Melbourne’s most recent finals victory was this clash against St Kilda. It was also the side’s first finals win since 2002. St Kilda led from midway through the first quarter until well into the final term, but when Melbourne booted five goals to one in the last quarter, the Demons advanced to end St Kilda’s season. Skipper David Neitz booted four goals and Brock McLean shone with 25 disposals.
Milestones
Melbourne: Clint Bartram - 100 AFL matches
St Kilda: Stephen Milne - 500 goals and second-most matches by a rookie list player. Milne needs two goals to reach a career tally of 500 goals. He is also due to play his 241st senior game this week, representing the second-most games by a player originally taken with a rookie list selection.
Coaching record
Mark Neeld: 4 matches, 0 wins, 0 draws, 4 losses
Scott Watters: 4 matches, 2 wins, 0 draws, 2 losses
Injury list
Melbourne: Mitch Clark (neck) - test, Michael Evans (back) -indefinite, Max Gawn (knee) - season, Brad Green (finger) - 3 weeks, Jordan Gysberts (ankle) - 2 weeks, Neville Jetta (ankle) - indefinite, Liam Jurrah (wrist) - test, Stef Martin (hip) - test, James Strauss (leg) - 1 week, Josh Tynan (foot) - 2-4 weeks
St Kilda: Raphael Clarke (hamstring) - 2-3 weeks, Adam Schneider (hamstring) - 1 week
Players to watch
Melbourne: Jared Rivers
Rivers, who finished second in Melbourne’s best and fairest last year, was in outstanding form against the Bulldogs last round. The defender’s ability to intercept, spoil and rebound were particularly impressive. It was his best match for the season, and provided a timely reminder of his capabilities.
St Kilda: Lenny Hayes
The brilliant midfielder has been in fine form since returning from a knee injury this season. Hayes has amassed 87 disposals in his past three matches, including 30 in his previous two outings. The 32 year-old has lost none of his shine and remains critical to St Kilda’s set-up.
Match-up to watch
Colin Garland/James Frawley v Nick Riewoldt
Riewoldt looms as a major priority for the Demons and it will be fascinating to see which way they go. Garland and Frawley loom as the most logical options, but Jared Rivers and youngster Tom McDonald can’t be discounted either. Regardless, Melbourne will be desperate to keep the star forward in check.
Most disposals
Melbourne: Nathan Jones (86)
St Kilda: Brendon Goddard (112)
Most marks
Melbourne: Jeremy Howe (25)
St Kilda: Sean Dempster (31)
Most tackles
Melbourne: Jordie McKenzie (22)
St Kilda: David Armitage, Lenny Hayes (30)
Most goals
Melbourne: Mitch Clark (10)
St Kilda: Justin Koschitzke, Nick Riewoldt (9)
How’s stat?
St Kilda has won one of its past eight matches at the MCG and drawn twice in that period.
Foot in both camps
Jamie Shanahan, Luke Beveridge, Sean Charles, Alastair Clarkson, Peter Russo, Rod Keogh, Paul Callery, Derek Feldmann, Ivan Baumgartner, Alf Copsey, Beres Reilly, Don Hooper, Ron Wilson, Geoff McInnes, Eric Peck, Jack Lord, Harry Tampling, Jack Watt, Aubrey McKenzie, Steven Clark, Steve Turner, Glenn Boland, Mark Jackson, Carl Ditterich, Col Deane, Carlyle Jones, Hugh Dunbar, Percy Tulloh, George Haines, Clarrie Wyatt, Mick Anthony, Carl Kenley, Algy Millhouse, William Angwin, Bill Flintoff, George McCart, Herb Friend, Charles Suhr, Frank Brown, Tom Ryan, Stewart Geddes, Arthur Britt, Vic Cumberland, Dick Robertson, Stephen Powell, David Grant, Greg Hutchison, Brian Royal.
What Mark Neeld says …
“We’re making decisions with the big picture in mind. You can't jump in this game. You've got to have solid foundations. You have to be able to prepare at an elite level, and we have to be able to be able to train at a consistently elite level, and I think both those things are coming along quite well. And we've got to make sure that the endeavor we showed today becomes a permanent part of our game.”
Key Melbourne question
The Demons remain winless and haven’t defeated the Saints since their most recent finals win in 2006. Can Melbourne end a six-year drought against St Kilda and win its first match for 2012?
Key St Kilda question
The Saints went down narrowly to Fremantle last round, but enter as red-hot favourites against the Dees. Will St Kilda easily overcome Melbourne as the bookies expect, or will it be a danger game for the red, white and black considering its poor recent record at the ‘G?
Summary
Last round, Mark Neeld came up against another four-time Ocean Grove premiership coach and first-year senior AFL coach: Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney. This round, Neeld encounters Scott Watters - his former Collingwood assistant coaching colleague. The two served under Mick Malthouse, adding another sub-plot to an interesting match. Most importantly for Neeld, his coaching staff and his charges will be achieving their first win of the season, which won’t be an easy feat. In fact, overcoming St Kilda will be a serious challenge. Although the Saints have dropped two matches this year, they have had the wood over the Demons for a long time, and remain a quality side. With all the external expectation on St Kilda and little on Melbourne, it’s a great opportunity for the Demons to produce one of the round’s upsets. The Dees will take some confidence in the match, given its improved effort against the Dogs last round, but must rise significantly against the Saints, which defeated the Dogs by 63 points in round three.
