The Gold Coast Suns host the St Kilda Saints at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night. Join The Roar for live scores from 7:40pm (AEST).
A couple of weeks back, this matchup had the appearance of a simple equation. The Saints were on an extensive losing streak, while the Suns (despite the loss of their leader Gary Ablett) were in with a chance to play September football for the first time.
Any level-headed tipster would have been considered very bold to tip against the Suns; needless to say, the results of Round 19 has thrown those certainties into doubt.
The Suns suffered a deflating loss against their state-based rivals the Lions. It was a match they desperately needed to secure to keep their finals aspirations on track; instead they dropped to 10th, and now look unlikely to scrape through to the business end of the season.
St Kilda entered their match against Fremantle sitting dead last and off the back of 11 losses on the trot. To the shock of the competition, instead of extending that streak to 12, they came out and smacked the 2013 grand finalists by 58-points.
This all should make for an intriguing clash.
The Suns are down in the dumps, and the Saints are energised.
The questions then become: can the Suns revive some of the form that has seen them sit inside the top eight for most of 2014? Or will the Saints be able to produce another upset?
The Suns hold the advantage over the Saints in their recent meetings, winning two of the last three.
The last time these sides met came in Round 9 at Etihad Stadium, a match the Suns won convincingly, 87-125.
In that match the Little Master picked up 37 touches and kicked 4 goals. Unfortunately for the Suns, in their two most recent wins against the Saints, Ablett has racked up a combined 71 touches and kicked 8 goals.
His presence looks destined to be sorely missed once again.
The Saints should view an Ablett-less Suns as a perfect opportunity to strike. Gold Coast’s ability to fill that void will be the telling factor in this match.
The loss of a couple of key talls in Charlie Dixon and Zac Smith will also not help the Suns’ cause.
All in all, this match looks poised to be a hotly contested battle.
The Suns finals chances are truly on the line, but the Saints will be keen to consolidate their shock win against Fremantle, and prove to the competition that they are a growing force.
Join The Roar for live scores from 7:40pm (AEST). If you are following the action live, be sure to share your thoughts on the match in the comments bellow.