St Kilda coach Scott Watters says Saturday night’s clash with the Western Bulldogs is just what his AFL side needs after a big win in round two over Gold Coast.
The Saints recovered from a shock four-point loss against an improved Port Adelaide in round one to thump the struggling Suns by 92 points last week.
Watters and Bulldogs mentor Brendan McCartney are both just starting out as senior coaches and Watters says he admires what McCartney is trying to achieve, after the ‘Dogs showed plenty of fight in an 18-point loss to Adelaide last week.
“They’ve put on the table that they want to be a contested possession-winning side,” Watters told reporters on Friday ahead of the Etihad Stadium clash.
“They’ve still got four or five outstanding players. Matthew Boyd’s a terrific leader, Ryan Griffen’s a really good player that I really respect and admire, Daniel Giansiracusa continues to play good footy.
“Robert Murphy is outstanding as a release player down back. There’s an enormous amount of talent within the side.
“They’re a club that we really respect.
“We know it’s going to take absolutely everything that we’ve got from a contested point of view to get a result. It’s exactly what our playing group needs.”
Watters saw positives in his side’s opening-round loss to the Power.
“Last week we built on that with a really strong performance,” he said.
While question marks remain over the Bulldogs’ tall forwards in the post-Barry Hall era, Watters described Liam Jones and ruck/forward Ayce Cordy as immense talents.
He also nominated small forward Shaun Higgins and onballer Adam Cooney as goalkicking threats alongside Giansiracusa.
“You need an even spread of goalkickers and they’ve got enough talent to do that,” he said.
The Saints have re-signed key defender Sam Fisher (two years) and ruckman Ben McEvoy (three years) this week, although star utility Brendon Goddard is yet to commit and remains a target for Greater Western Sydney.
“It’s terrific that some of our key players are starting to sign up,” Watters said.
Skipper Nick Riewoldt, with four goals last week against Gold Coast, poses a huge threat to the Bulldogs.
