The first game on Saturday for AFL Round 7 is between Hawthorn Hawks and St Kilda Saints. The match is to be played at MCG with the opening bounce set to commence at 1.45pm (AEST) with home team Hawthorn Hawks currently holding favouritism in the market. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Hawthorn Hawks and St Kilda Saints.
Round: Round 7, Saturday May 3, 1.45pm (AEST)
Stadium: MCG
Weather: 14° A few showers.
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Preview:
The Hawks play the Saints on Saturday, 1.45PM at the MCG. I think it’s fair to say no-one is expecting St Kilda to win this one, with Hawthorn in great form, including an 11 goal thumping of Richmond last round. The Hawthorn midfield are in great shape, with Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis, and Shaun Burgoyne all showing their experience with great games last week. Cyril Rioli was also outstanding, and the Saints will have a very hard time stopping him this weekend.
St Kilda have had an OK start to the 2014 season, currently sitting 11th on the ladder with three wins and three losses. While this is certainly nothing to write home about, many people expected even less of them going into the 2014 season. While the Saints will regain key defenders Sam Fisher and Adam Schneider, even they are unlikely to stop what is an outstanding Hawks attack.
Teams:
Hawthorn Hawks:
B: Brian Lake, Josh Gibson, Taylor Duryea
HB: Luke Hodge, Ben Stratton, Grant Birchall
C: Isaac Smith, Sam Mitchell, Bradley Hill
HF: Luke Breust, Ryan Schoenmakers, Jack Gunston
F: David Hale, Jarryd Roughead, Shaun Burgoyne
Fol: Ben McEvoy, Jordan Lewis, Cyril Rioli
I/C: Mitch Hallahan, Paul Puopolo, Matthew Suckling, Billy Hartung
Emg: Alex Woodward, Jonathon Ceglar, Angus Litherland
In: Ryan Schoenmakers, Billy Hartung
Out: Will Langford (back), Jonathan Simpkin (omitted)
St Kilda Saints:
B: Tom Simpkin, James Gwilt, Jarryn Geary
HB: Sean Dempster, Luke Delaney, Jimmy Webster
C: Blake Acres, Jack Steven, Farren Ray
HF: Leigh Montagna, Nick Riewoldt, Maverick Weller
F: Jack Billings, Rhys Stanley, Clinton Jones
Fol: Billy Longer, Jack Newnes, Tom Curren
I/C: Josh Saunders, Lenny Hayes, Adam Schneider, Shane Savage
Emg: Trent Dennis-Lane, Josh Bruce, Sebastian Ross,
In: Tom Simpkin, Maverick Weller, Billy Longer, Adam Schneider, Blake Acres,
Out: Josh Bruce (omitted), Eli Templeton (broken arm), Tom Hickey (foot), Sebastian Ross (omitted), Luke Dunstan (concussion)
News:
Veteran St Kilda defender Sam Fisher won’t be considered for the daunting AFL clash with reigning champions Hawthorn, instead playing in the VFL on Sunday.
Ahead of his team’s MCG clash on Saturday, Saints coach Alan Richardson said Fisher missed his chance for a recall and needed another game with their affiliate Sandringham as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
“He travelled with us to New Zealand and we were really hopeful he would be able to play but he didn’t quite come up in the training sessions,” said Richardson.
“He’s a really important player but he has missed too much footy now, so he’ll play VFL (with) fairly significant minutes and he might be a chance for the following week.”
The Saints will need to make a change to the team that lost to the Brisbane Lions, with rookie half-forward Eli Templeton suffering a broken arm that could rule him out for the rest of the season.
St Kilda suffered a three-point loss in Wellington, left ruing another poor start.
Richardson is looking for his team to rebound in the way they did after their 89-point loss to Adelaide in round four.
“We had a really disappointing game against the Crows and responded really well against the Bombers the week after,” he said.
“I would be surprised if we didn’t respond strongly in terms of our energy and effort, particularly early in the game against the Hawks.’
Skipper Nick Riewoldt was held to one goal against the Lions and will need to lead by example under the attention of Josh Gibson.
“He didn’t have a great game but he, like the team, responded in terms of him wanting to get the team over the line late,” said Richardson.
“He seems to be in pretty good shape and I’m expecting him to be strong again this one.”
Richardson said the young Saints’ priority against Hawthorn was defence.
“Their rebound is as good, if not better, than any team in the competition,” he said.
“If we don’t get our team defence strong, we’ll struggle to keep them to a losing score.”
