Sunday’s third and last AFL Round 8 match is between Adelaide Crows and St Kilda Saints with the game to be played at AAMI Stadium in Adelaide. The opening bounce is set to commence at 4:10pm local time and 4:40pm AEST with home team Adelaide Crows currently holding favouritism. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Adelaide Crows and St Kilda Saints.
WHERE AND WHEN: AAMI Stadium, Sunday May 19, 4:10pm
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Preview:
The last match of the round is between Adelaide and St Kilda, kicking off at AAMI Stadium at 4.40pm on Sunday. While Adelaide have had three wins in 2013, they have not exactly been against the best teams in the comp. The Crows will go into the game as favourites against a struggling Saints line-up, however, despite the fact St Kilda looked promising last week against Carlton. This looks like a good match to finish off Round 8, with both teams needing to win as the season progresses.
Teams:
Adelaide Crows:
B: Andy Otten, Ben Rutten, Luke Brown
HB: David Mackay, Daniel Talia, Brent Reilly
C: Brodie Smith, Scott Thompson, Nathan van Berlo
HF: Patrick Dangerfield, Shaun McKernan, Brodie Smith
F: Sam Kerridge, Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch
Foll: Sam Jacobs, Richard Douglas, Rory Sloane
Int: Ian Callinan, Ricky Henderson, Matthew Jaensch, Rory Laird, Jarryd Lyons, Jason Porplyzia, Matthew Wright
In: Jaensch, Callinan, Henderson
Out: Nil
St Kilda Saints:
B: Jarryn Geary, Sam Fisher, James Gwilt
HB: Sean Dempster, Dylan Roberton, Jack Newnes
C: Farren Ray, Nick Dal Santo, Arryn Siposs
HF: Terry Milera, Rhys Stanley, Leigh Montagna
F: Tom Hickey, Nick Riewoldt, Stephen Milne
Foll: Ben McEvoy, David Armitage, Jack Steven
Int: Clint Jones, Seb Ross, Ahmed Saad, Sam Dunell, Jason Blake, Jimmy Webster, Beau Maister
In: Blake, Maister, Jones, Dunell.
Out: Wright
Saints’ Steven steps up in AFL: Watters
St Kilda coach Scott Watters says young midfielder Jack Steven’s match-winning AFL performance against Carlton signals he’s stepping up from B-grade status.
The 23-year-old picked up 39 disposals, including nine clearances, in Monday night’s 11.11 (77) to 9.14 (68) win at Etihad Stadium.
It was only the second time in his career the 58-gamer had topped 30 touches, after his 32-disposal effort in the round three win over Greater Western Sydney.
Watters said Steven’s ability to finish the game strongly, as the Blues threatened to overtake the Saints with the first five goals of the last term to almost reel in a 35-point deficit, was an important development in his career.
“We challenged him during the week,” Watters said.
“He’s probably had a number of games this year where he’s had 19, 20 possessions in a half and then tapered off.
“That was a focus for him this week to really get the job done.
“Ultimately that’s the difference between being a B-grade midfielder and really elevating yourself.
“So 39 possessions, 20 contested possessions, that’s a hell of a game.”
Watters also praised the contributions of ruckman Ben McEvoy and defender Sam Fisher in helping the Saints hold firm late in the game.
And he welcomed veteran midfielder Nick Dal Santo’s return to form, with 26 touches while spending much of the night opposed to Blues star Chris Judd.
“When you’re a name player and your form isn’t quite where it needs to be you’re under a lot of pressure,” Watters said.
“He’s worked really hard at training. He put some time into Judd, he created a lot of two-on-ones with the work he was doing, which freed up Jack Steven and Leigh Montagna.
“It was quite a selfless role.”
Watters said the Saints would take a lot from holding on to beat Carlton, after pushing Sydney and Collingwood hard in the previous two rounds without clinching victory.
“You take a lot out of that as a group that you went through the fire and still got the result,” he said.
Young defender Nathan Wright was to have scans on Tuesday, after a high bump from Eddie Betts left him bleeding from the mouth.
