It’s not often you see Collingwood and Essendon play in front of close to 80,000 at the MCG – with both sides hitting form – and it’s not the biggest game of the week. You could say it’s as rare as, well, two sides going into round 14 undefeated.

But as anticipated as last night’s game was, the Sunday clash between St Kilda and Geelong has been marked in the diaries for weeks now, and the hype has failed to dissipate.

It’s easy to understand why. No two teams have gone this deep into the season undefeated. No two teams have been four games ahead of the rest of the comp at this time of year, either.

As Cats captain Tom Harley said during the week, “if you can’t get up for this game, you’ll never get up for one.”

There are many talking points and persistent questions. Most of these questions won’t find an answer until the ball is bounced tomorrow. It all makes for a cracking game, full of intrigue, that couldn’t start soon enough.

Will under-the-pump Cats stand up?

Last year’s grand final raised a few question marks about certain players and their ability to react when the pressure is on. With some of those questions still lingering – and almost exacerbating in recent weeks – tomorrow is the perfect occasion for these players to put them to bed.

Cameron Mooney, for instance, has picked up where his errant kicking at the grand final last year left off – he’s kicked more behinds this year than goals. Mark Blake also needs to show he’s at home on the big stage, especially now Shane Mumford is pressing for that No. 2 ruck spot.

Will the Saints as a whole stand up?

Don’t kid yourself, 13-0 is an impressive start no matter what the team. It’s just that tomorrow’s game will have far more of a September feel to it than any of their previous thirteen. It will be the biggest test for the “new St Kilda” yet.

Quality opposition, big crowd, massive TV audience. Tomorrow is the perfect occasion for the team to declare to the footy world that they can indeed go mano a mano with the benchmark-setting club of the past couple of seasons.

Can the Cats contain Riewoldt and Kosi?

As has been noted elsewhere, Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke are the Buddy Franklin and Jarryd Roughead of 2009. Matthew Scarlett’s track record at containing opposition forwards is better than anyone’s, but it is games like this where he is tested.

Surprisingly, the Cats’ other big man down back Harry Taylor has played on Riewoldt twice and has come out on top twice. The stakes are higher for round three, and both players have improved on last year. But it may be that Taylor’s youth will finally catch up with him.

What will happen at the other end of the ground?

St Kilda has conceded the least amount of points in the competition, averaging 59 a game. Last week’s win over Richmond was evidence of how solid they’ve been. The Tigers didn’t score at all in the second and third quarters – a feat not managed since the 50s – with seven inside 50s.

Geelong, in contrast, has scored the most points in the competition, averaging 116 a game. And it’s impossible to predict where they’re going to come from. Shannon Byrnes, of all players, has bagged nine goals in the past two weeks, proving their forward line runs deeper than the usual suspects.

Which midfield will come up trumps?

On one hand you’ve got Lenny Hayes, Nick Dal Santo, Luke Ball and Leigh Montagna, with Clinton Jones tagging. That’s not half bad. But how does it stack up with the other side – Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey and Joel Selwood, with Cameron Ling tagging?

On the whole, there isn’t much between the two. You write off Geelong’s midfield at your peril, but St Kilda’s have been proving themselves worthy week in, week out. Perhaps on the day it will boil down to mere individual brilliance.

Who will win?

Anyone who professes to know categorically the answer to this question is kidding themselves. It could fall either way.

I’d be leaning towards Geelong. But seriously, either way I wouldn’t be shocked.

Follow Michael on twitter @mdifabrizio

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