Time: 19:40 AEST
Date: 10-06-2011
Venue: MCG, Melbourne

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This game is pretty vital for all involved. The Saints need to bounce back after a blowout loss to the Pies which wasn’t overly unexpected, but the Dogs were pretty bad again down at Geelong. It is getting to danger time for Rocket Eade and I am not sure how long he can last.

St. Kilda Saints

The Saints need a win here and are expected to, even though it will be closer than many expect. I think this will run deep into the fourth quarter and only 2 goals will separate the sides.

In defence the Saints are still well drilled and with Dawson, Baker and Gilbert they have a few players who have been involved for a while now and are more than capable of halting a weak Doggies forward line that last week relied on Giansiracusa to kick 5 and Lake to go forward and kick 3 last term goals.

Through the middle the Saints are heavily reliant on dal Santo, Jones and Goddard, I give them a narrow edge through the middle and I think their hardness at the ball will outweigh some of the speed the Dogs have through the centre.

In the forward line Milne will be vital. With plenty of attention likely to be given to Riewoldt you can expect to see Milne find the crumbs a few times and perhaps pop up with 2-3 goals on the night. Riewoldt is a freak at his best, and while he isn’t having his best season it is a matter of time before he explodes and this game could see him come out and boot 6 in a best afield display.

Western Bulldogs

The Dogs are in disarray after another year where they were expected to feature well in the top 8. Their coach is running out of chances and with another loss it could get to boiling point.

In defence Lake and Williams will try their best on Riewoldt, but that’s if Lake doesn’t push forward. That’s the problem at the moment, consistency and reliability from the key Dogs players. The coach has made so many changes, both tactically and in a personnel sense but nothing seems to be working. They could give up a decent score against the Saints.

The midfield has been perhaps the biggest let down for the Dogs this year. With Eagleton gone they haven’t really found a consistent member in the middle to do what he did quite well. Griffen has been the standout and will continue to work hard for his club and subsequent pay check but too little really is left to too few. Sherman is trying but doesn’t have the class to make a consistent impact every week.

In the forward line Hall is struggling with injury and when he does play he is no guarantee to do much because his body is becoming quite unreliable. Higgins and Giansiracusa will be the two most relied on forwards in this clash and with the Saints defence pretty tight I can see the Dogs struggling yet again to post a score likely to win.

The Verdict

The Saints really should triumph on this one.

The Pick :

St. Kilda Saints 91-80 Western Bulldogs

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

80 %

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take St. Kilda to win at 1.53 at Centrebet.