Saint Kilda play Collingwood in the Grand Final
Saint Kilda and Collingwood will line out for the 2010 AFL Grand Final Final this Saturday at the MCG in Melbourne.
Collingwood will go into the game as favourites having beaten last year’s champions Geelong by 41 points in the preliminary final. They have also been given a huge lift this week as Luke Ball took part in training. Tom Hunter has an injured neck and Brad
d**k has a shoulder injury so neither man will feature.
Ball could be the star man for Collingwood who are the form team this season. Their defence has been superb and St Kilda may find it difficult to find their forwards. Collingwood have been magnificent at pinning teams back in their own half all season and
this is something that Saint Kilda will have to counteract.
Saint Kilda will be without long term absentees Raphael Clarke (hamstring tendon) and Jesse Smith (ankle). They have no further injury worries and with the week off, a number of players have recovered from the niggling injuries picked up in the game against
the Western Bulldogs. The Saints beat the Bulldogs by 24 points, but they found it difficult to break the Bulldogs down. It was only in the third quarter that Saint Kilda overpowered the opposition and opened up a lead.
Once again, Nick Riewoldt is likely to be the most influential player for Saint Kilda. If Saint Kilda can get Riewoldt into the game, the Saints Captain is likely to create chances for the forward line or score himself. However, Collingwood will have watched
how quiet the Western Bulldogs kept Riewoldt up until half time. It was only once Riewoldt found space that Saint Kilda took control of the match.
Collingwood’s assistant coach Scott Watters believes that there is more to Saint Kilda than just Riewoldt and said, “He’s one player, he’s a terrific player and we don’t doubt that, but we’d probably be negligent if we didn’t pay attention to some other
fantastic players that they’ve got”.
Simon Prestigiacomo may return for Collingwood, although the likes of Ben Reid and Nathan Browne have been fantastic since the veteran injured himself in round 20. Watters refused to answer whether Prestigiacomo would come into the side stating, “I think
when you’re looking at selection you weigh up a whole lot of things and experience is one of those factors. Form, fitness, history on that player; there are so many different factors.”
Collingwood will play close attention to Riewoldt and the management team has admitted that they have a few players who could mark the Saint Kilda player. Watters suggested that the Collingwood team may rotate their defenders during the match to give them
further options.
Saint Kilda lost in the final last year to Geelong and they will hope that the experience will give them the advantage in what is expected to be a fierce derby match. The odds suggest that Collingwood will win by 10 to 15 points.
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