Roar Guru
In an AFL season of lows, St Kilda have slumped to a new one, with the Western Bulldogs handing Alan Richardson’s side a 35-point defeat at Etihad Stadium.
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Final score
St Kilda Saints 9.14.68
Western Bulldogs 15.13.103
The St Kilda Saints take on the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium, as both teams look to add some respectability to the conclusion of their respective seasons. Join us on The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:25pm AEST.
Though both sides have struggled for consistency and results throughout the 2018 season, the Saints will enter the fixture with a slightly better run of form; after a dominant win over Carlton, and a positive, if inaccurate, showing against the Giants last week.
By contrast, the Bulldogs, ravaged by injuries as they are, have been poor over the past month, losing their last four matches by an average of 53 points.
Coming into the game in good form is St Kilda small, Jade Gresham. Having found his goal-kicking boots in recent times, he has been turning out more complete round the ground performances, earning some contested ball, and adding some weight to the Saints’ stoppage set up.
In other positive news for the Saints, Nathan Freeman is finally set to make his AFL debut, after being drafted in 2013.
The midfielder has had tremendous trouble with hamstring injuries, and it will be a fantastic story for St Kilda fans, and football fans more broadly to see him run out on Saturday evening.
The Bulldogs have been further hampered by injury in the past week, with Marcus Adams re-joining an already lengthy injury list at the Western Oval.
The Bulldogs will have their work cut out for them this week but have demonstrated the talent that lies within their young stock of players; with the likes of Ed Richards, Bill Gowers and Pat Lipinski showing their wears over recent weeks.
Prediction
St Kilda seem to be finding their touch and will be too strong for an undermanned Bulldogs side.
St Kilda by 17 points.
Join us on The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:25pm AEST.