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Against what was expected to be their biggest obstacle to finals this season Melbourne have sent an emphatic message to the rest of the competition.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
St Kilda Saints 13.12.90
Melbourne Demons 18.12.120
The St Kilda Saints and Melbourne Demons will both be looking to send a strong message in their first game of the 2017 AFL Season. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 4:35pm AEDT.
The AFL fixture committee don’t always get it right but they’ve knocked it out of the park with this Round 1 matchup.
The two up and coming hype teams predicted by most to crack the top eight facing off for their first game of the season, what more could you want?
If there was ever an 8-point game in Round 1, this is it!
The Saints certainly have the mental upper hand having won the last 14 times these two clubs met and having a much stronger record at Etihad Stadium.
With steady improvement over the last few seasons and a ninth-place finish on percentage only in 2016 really anything but the top eight would be a disappointment for their fans.
While we know superstar Jack Steven and the ageless Nick Riewoldt will be up for the challenge the question remains over some of the younger Saints.
Jack Billings finally looks ready to live up to his potential after a disappointing 2016 season and Jack Steele will be hoping his impressive JLT form carries over into the start of the regular season.
Two key areas for the Saints:
1) How will new(ish) recruits Jake Carlisle and Nathan Brown contribute to the defence led by new captain Jarryn Geary?
2) How will the Saints balance their abundance of tall forward stocks inside 50?
For the Demons it’s an entirely different journey leading to the same destination. Melbourne’s last finals win, fittingly, came against St Kilda in 2006 and they’ll be looking to get off on the right foot under new coach Simon Goodwin.
Internally, the bar must be set at a top eight finish and the Saints look like their biggest obstacle to achieving that goal.
On field there is plenty of excitement around the young Demons group. Co-Captains Nathan Jones and Jack Viney are now joined by Jordan Lewis who will add some welcome experience to the midfield.
Long gone are the days of Morton, Wonaeamirri and Gysberts as Melbourne finally have some quality depth in their lineup.
Unfortunately, Dees fans will have to wait another few weeks to see the unveiling of Michael Hibberd who is out with an Achilles injury but exciting speedster Jayden Hunt running off half back should ease some of that pain.
With a plethora of youthful talent like Clayton Oliver, Angus Brayshaw, Sam Weideman and Christian Petracca now with decent experience under their belts, could this be the year the Dees take it to the next level?
Two key areas for the Demons:
1) Will we see Jesse Hogan in full flight now that he’s free of contract talks?
2) Can they break their Etihad hoodoo having won only once in their last 25 attempts?
Prediction
In terms of list quality, it’s a 50/50 split, but the Saints clearly have the wood on the Demons and the home ground advantage so they have to be the favourites… only just.
St Kilda by 4 points
Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 4:35pm AEDT.
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