Friday first AFL Round 20 match is between St Kilda Saints and Hawthorn Hawks with the game to be played at Etihad Stadium. The opening bounce is set to commence at 7:50pm local time with away team Hawthorn Hawks currently holding favouritism. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between St Kilda Saints and Hawthorn Hawks.
WHERE AND WHEN: Etihad Stadium, 7:50pm AEST, Friday 9 August
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Opening odds comparison:
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| St Kilda Saints | 10.00 | 11.50 | 12.00 | 11.50 | 10.00 | 10.00 |
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Hawthorn Hawks
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1.03 | 1.03 | 1.03 | 1.03 | 1.03 | 1.05 |
Preview:
After an eventful round last week, round 20 of the AFL kicks into action this weekend. The first match is between St Kilda and Hawthorn on Friday, 7.50pm at Etihad Stadium. The Hawks should be able to win this one easily, even after their defeat at the hands of the Tigers last week. Hawthorn will want to make amends, and the Saints could end up on the wrong end of an ugly scoreline if they’re not careful. St Kilda have managed only three wins so far this season, and could end up with their first bottom four season in 13 years if they’re not careful.
Teams:
St Kilda Saints:
B: D.Roberton, J.Blake, S.Dempster
HB: J.Geary, J.Gwilt, B.Murdoch
C: F.Ray, L.Hayes, L.Montagna
HF: D.Armitage, N.Riewoldt, C.Jones
F: S.Milne, T.Lee, J.Newnes
FOLL: B.McEvoy, N.Dal Santo, J.Steven
I/C: J.Webster, J.Saunders, D.Minchington, T.Curren
EMG: T.Hickey, S.Ross, A.Schneider
IN: Jack Newnes, James Gwilt, Darren Minchington, Brodie Murdoch, Jason Blake
OUT: Arryn Siposs (shoulder), Tom Simpkin (leg), Sam Dunell (omitted), Rhys Stanley (shoulder), Ahmed Saad (leg)
Hawthorn Hawks:
B: B.Stratton, B.Lake, B.Guerra
HB: B.Sewell, J.Gibson, T.Duryea
C: I.Smith, S.Mitchell, B.Hill
HF: B.Whitecross, J.Gunston, S.Savage
F: S.Burgoyne, J.Roughead, C.Rioli
R: D.Hale, J.Lewis, P.Puopolo
I/C: L.Breust, M.Spangher, S.Grimley, J.Simpkin
EMG: J.Ceglar, K.Cheney, J.Anderson
IN: Sam Grimley, Matt Spangher, Jonathan Simpkin
OUT: Luke Hodge (thumb), Lance Franklin (hamstring soreness), Jonathon Ceglar (omitted)
AFL’s Hawks lose Franklin to injury
Hawthorn have lost star forward Lance Franklin to a hamstring injury for Friday night’s AFL clash with St Kilda.
Franklin will join captain Luke Hodge, who has a thumb injury, on the sidelines for Etihad Stadium match.
Coach Alastair Clarkson said on Thursday Franklin’s complaint was believed to be minor, with scans not revealing the damage.
But he noted they also thought the same thing last year, when Franklin played the round 15 game against Greater Western Sydney despite hamstring soreness, and he ended up missing six matches.
“That’s probably why we’re being a bit more cautious with it this time around,” Clarkson told reporters on Thursday.
“Last year he had a very slight incident in the game before the GWS game.
“He thought he was okay and we thought he was okay too but then he aggravated the hamstring in that GWS game and then missed a fair period of the season.
“He’s obviously an important player for us and we want to make sure he’s there for us at the right time of year.”
Clarkson said Franklin had a run on Thursday morning to test the hamstring but didn’t cope well enough.
“He and Hodgey will both miss this week unfortunately,” he said.
“But hopefully they’ll both be back for next week’s game against Collingwood.”
Clarkson expected a big improvement on last weekend’s 41-point loss to Richmond, by far the biggest of the Hawks’ three losses this season.
The coach said his side failed to hunt the ball with their normal endeavour against the Tigers, but he believed it was a one-off and wasn’t reading too much into that performance.
“We know it’s certainly not a pattern in terms of the way that we play because we’re 15-3 for a reason, we’ve been a good side for a long period of time,” he said.
“We’ll take some learnings out of the game but by and large our effort and endeavour needs to be at the level we require it to be and if it is, we’re a really good football side.”
Clarkson said critics saying the Hawks’ midfield wasn’t quick enough had short memories, given the way they thumped Essendon a week earlier.
He said Hawthorn had players with pace, such as Cyril Rioli, Isaac Smith, Bradley Hill, Luke Breust and Paul Puopolo, but the more important factor against the Tigers was mental approach.