The first match of Round 6 of the AFL 2013 season will be played tonight between Collingwood Magpies and St Kilds Saints with the game to be played at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. The opening bounce will commence at 7:50pm AEST. Collingwood will start as the overwhelming favourites in the match against the lacklustre St Kilda team who have only won the one game this year. View our AFL live scores, results and odds for the game between Collingwood Magpies and St Kilds Saints.
WHERE AND WHEN: Etihad Stadium, Friday May 3, 7:50pm
Opening Odds:
Collingwood Magpies $1.15 vs St Kilds Saints $5.50 at Sportsbet Australia
Collingwood Magpies $1.17 vs St Kilds Saints $5.30 at Luxbet Australia
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Preview:
Round 6 of the AFL is almost here, with a number of interesting encounters to look forward to. The first match of the round is between Collingwood and St Kilda, with both teams keen to shake off their ANZAC day defeats last round. Collingwood will go into this match as favourites, even though they suffered a 46 point loss to the Bombers last week. While the Magpies have had lacklustre defence so far this season, the Saints have won only one match in 2013 against GWS and look unlikely to test them out. Collingwood vs St Kilda is being held on Friday at 7.50pm at Etihad Stadium.
Teams:
Collingwood Magpies:
B: Nathan Brown. Ben Reid, Brent Macaffer
HB: Marty Clarke, Heath Shaw, Harry O’Brien
C: Steele Sidebottom, Dane Swan, Dale Thomas
HF: Jamie Elliott, Travis Cloke, Quinten Lynch
F: Ben Kennedy, Tyson Goldsack, Sam Dwyer
Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Jarryd Blair
Int: Andrew Krakouer, Jarrod Witts, Josh Thomas, Paul Seedsman
Emg: Alex Fasolo, Jordan Russell, Marley Williams
IN: Darren Jolly, Ben Kennedy, Andrew Krakouer, Josh Thomas, Jarrod Witts
OUT: Ben Hudson (leg soreness), Alan Toovey (knee), Alex Fasolo, Jordan Russell, Ben Sinclair (omitted)
NEW: Ben Kennedy (19, Brighton District/Glenelg), Jarrod Witts (20, St Ives/Sydney University)
St Kilds Saints:
FB: Nathan Wright, Sam Fisher, Sam Gilbert
HB: Sean Dempster, Dylan Roberton, Jarryn Geary
C: Nick Dal Santo, Lenny Hayes, Brodie Murdoch
HF: David Armitage, Rhys Stanley, Leigh Montagna
F: Josh Saunders, Nick Riewoldt, Justin Koschitzke
Foll: Ben McEvoy, Clinton Jones, Jack Steven
Int: Arryn Siposs, Sebastian Ross, Ahmed Saad, Stephen Milne
Emerg: Jimmy Webster, Jack Newnes, Tom Hickey
IN: Stephen Milne, Arryn Siposs
OUT: Trent Dennis-Lane, Tom Lee (Achilles)
In The News:
Magpies meet to plug AFL defensive leaks
An unusually long, match eve team meeting might be the key for Collingwood to plug their recent defensive leaks in the AFL clash with St Kilda on Friday night.
Magpies defender Ben Reid confirmed coach Nathan Buckley had addressed the issue at length on Thursday, hoping to stop teams scoring at will on Collingwood late in matches.
“Just about the stuff we need to improve on,” Reid said when asked about a meeting which stretched nearly 45 minutes past the Magpies’ scheduled training start time.
“It’s been pretty well documented that our defence has been a bit shaky. The whole team’s got to work on it and hopefully this week we can turn it around.”
While Collingwood are 3-2 and – at their best – look certain finalists, late fadeouts against Hawthorn and in their most-recent clash with Essendon have caused Buckley concern.
The Magpies are leaking more than 106 points per match on average this season.
Statistically, it makes them among the easiest teams to score against in the competition, though a tough draw hasn’t helped.
Reid said fixing the problem was a “whole team issue”.
“These days, it’s not just the back-six,” Reid said.
“Defence wins games. It’s about the team working together as one.”
St Kilda have won just once in their five matches, but provide a fearsome offence with spearhead forward Nick Riewoldt looking back to his best in a promising start to the year, as well as sundry small, dangerous crumbers.
The Etihad Stadium clash is crucial for both teams, with the Saints especially keen to build some momentum in a season in which their only victory has come against the winless GWS Giants.
Reid is almost certain to line up on Riewoldt at some stage, and is well aware of the dangers the Saints skipper presents.
“They’ve got a lot of good players in their team – Riewoldt, (Lenny) Hayes, (Leigh) Montagna, (Nick) Dal Santo,” Reid said.
“They’ve got some quick forwards, nippy types … I thought they were pretty good (in their loss) against Sydney last week.
“(Riewoldt’s) been a great player for a long time. He’s well and truly back to his best and he is running around like the thoroughbred that he is.”
“It’s going to be a long, running night tomorrow night.”