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A strangely tantalising Indigenous Round contest looms at the GABBA on Sunday as the 16th placed Brisbane Lions host the 15th placed St Kilda Saints in a scrap to get out of the bottom four. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1pm (AEST).
Both teams sit at 2-6 and will have marked this down as a winnable game before a much tougher fixture next week (Greater Western Sydney for the Lions and Hawthorn for the Saints).
The Lions shook off a dismal start to the season to notch up wins over Carlton and Port Adelaide in recent weeks. They fell to Essendon last Sunday at Etihad Stadium but were strongly competitive for a half.
Meanwhile, the Saints have battled manfully all season and have earned a lot of respect with fighting performances. They were a kick away from beating Essendon in Round 5 before stunning the Dogs in Round 6 with a 12-goal second half to charge back from a 49-point deficit and grab the win.
Recent performances against Adelaide and West Coast have been less notable but still encouraging, with young players standing up and some steel in the playing group being evident even when outclassed.
Brisbane have made two changes for the clash, with tough nut half-back Ryan Harwood and mature aged midfielder (returning from a club-imposed senior game suspension after his off-field clash with coach Justin Leppitsch) Zac O’Brien coming in for the under performing Mitch Golby and injured key position player Dan McStay.
McStay’s forced omission increases the number of injured key position players at the Lions to nine, leading to an incredibly makeshift forward-line being named for the clash.
The news is slightly happier for St Kilda with captain Nick Riewoldt returning to the line-up along with Jarryn Geary to give some senior support. Miserly defender Luke Delaney and exciting 18-year-old Jack Lonie also come into the 22 at the expense of Eli Templeton, Tim Membrey and Shane Savage (all omitted), and the injured Sam Fisher (hamstring).
The home ground advantage is significant for the Lions against St Kilda with a 14-5 record against them at the GABBA. Their midfield is packed with quality and is looking on the verge of properly clicking. The midfield will be where they have to win the game going forward – they’ll need the bulk of their goals to come from there.
It’s hard to see their dysfunctional forward line matching up to the likes of Nick Riewoldt, Josh Bruce, Jack Billings and Adam Schneider without Leppitsch pulling a rabbit from the hat in the grander scheme though. It’s unlikely to be a highly skilled contest and it should be close, but given how the Saints have fought their superior structure should get them over the line.
Join us here on The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1:10pm AEDT.
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