St Kilda will consider sending a hard tag to Dustin Martin in a bid to quell the Richmond superstar’s influence and condemn the reigning AFL premiers to their third straight loss.
Martin has averaged 25.5 disposals, 6.5 inside-50s and a goal a game across the opening month, despite Richmond sitting at 2-2.
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten joked the best way to stop the three-time Norm Smith Medallist was to hope he “gets a cold” but emphasised the importance of limiting Martin’s influence at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
“He’s a great player and you’re not going to stop the great players getting the ball but you can stop their influence sometimes,” Ratten told reporters.
“I think it’ll be our team, how we go about it, the pressure we can apply.
“You can’t stop Dusty getting the ball, he’s going to get the ball – but he doesn’t have to get it 30 times, he can get it 20 instead.
“But he’s a superstar of the game and we respect what Dusty’s done and (Trent) Cotchin and that but we have to play our way as well.
“… there might be (a hard tag). (Seb Ross is) one that’s done it before.”
It will be the first time St Kilda have faced Richmond since last year’s 31-point semi-final loss and Ratten said the Saints had tried to emulate some of the premiers’ strengths.
“Just how dynamic they are around the ball. That’s something that we put into our pre-season, a real focus for us was to try to (have) faster feet around the contest and the stoppages,” he said.
“But when you’ve got Martin and co there, they get the ball and they explode from those contests and that’ll be something that we’ll have to deny but hopefully we get our opportunity as well.”
Ratten expected injury-prone midfielder Zak Jones and ruckman Rowan Marshall (plantar fascia) to play – bar any late hiccups – with the pair both named in St Kilda’s team and Luke Dunstan and Paul Hunter on standby.
The Saints named an unchanged line-up, with unused medical substitute Ben Long dropped.
Richmond recalled Daniel Rioli and named Kamdyn McIntosh to return from concussion, while Jack Ross and Will Martyn were dropped.
Ratten said Paddy Ryder was tracking well after returning to the club and would either be called upon against Port Adelaide next Sunday or Hawthorn the following week but he won’t line up in the VFL on Friday.
James Frawley (hamstring) is set to return via the VFL next week.
robertbrob13226
Roar Rookie
Not The only thing that is slowing the saints down , the younger players pushing the old hand me down recruits around in their wheelchairs is no help
sven
Roar Rookie
u need to put some fresher bait on woof woof, youre not getting any bites
sven
Roar Rookie
struggling to give a toss about the opinion of someone who comes out with constant cr*ap who blithely moves onto the next delusional statement rather than acknowledging that he has yet again been exposed as talking rubbish perhaps ? yeah, def struggling with that
2dogz
Roar Rookie
Tigers fans all upset and crying after a win
Brendon the 1st
Roar Rookie
Was the plan to let him run around on his own all night? Perfectly executed if it was.
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
Yet one is a match winner and the other isn't. You work it out. One can kick goals and the other can't hit the side of a barn. You work it out. One excels in finals and the other doesn't get to play finals. Worked it out yet?
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
Some plans just don't work.
Mark
Roar Rookie
Like Freo.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Struggling now, Sven.
sven
Roar Rookie
nearly as consistent as u don
Slane
Guest
The comment you were replying to talks about their 'career disposal efficiency'. An even larger sample size.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Another 50% effort tonight. There were 16, 17 possession players more effective. Each week! At least he's consistent.
sven
Roar Rookie
yeah for sure, imagine how the free kick differential would look if the umps werent so biased towards the tiges
sven
Roar Rookie
what - never tried kicking 0.6 ? for once is suspect u are right
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Who are they?
Blitz
Guest
Destroy is not over the top for the R9 2018 game. Dusty had very little impact with his possessions, he was rattled by the number that Yeo did on him. He tried the fend off two (maybe 3 times) and Yeo got him every single time. I don’t think anyone had ever done that to him before, or since. Again, if you want to see Martin dismantled, watch the replay, learn and enjoy!
Blitz
Guest
Yeo played a different role that day which disappointed me as he would have beat him again. Yeo has only run with Martin once unfortunately as Simmo wants to play his own game more often than not. Watch and compare the 2 games and you’ll notice. Yeo has also done it to the Bont, twice. He’s the best run with player in the game but he is rarely given the role as Hutchings was the dedicated WC tagger and Yeo is also a game changer/winner and the Tigers only just got over the line, at home, in the wet. Tigers came from behind that day at the MCG to win by 6 points when it rained after half-time which suited their game. It was dubbed the game of the season and that’s because it was a genuine arm-wrestle all day. Martin got 130 AFL Fantasy Point and 1 goal. Yeo got 121 points (9 point differential) and a massive 9 tackles. It doesn’t get much closer than that so Yeo did back it up!
Blitz
Guest
WC won by 47 points in Round 9 2018. Yeo got 151 AFL fantasy points, 1.1, 6 tackles. Martin kicked 0.1. Watch the replay and you’ll see Yeo disarm and monster Martin a few times. It truly was a masterclass and Yeo had clearly done his homework because every time Dusty tried the fend off Yeo grabbed the fending arm and won the ball. A run with role isn’t a hard tag but Yeo was accountable for him while free to take his opportunities and Yeo clearly beat him.
sven
Roar Rookie
yeah i mean we coulda gone 14th, 14th, 13th & 12th the last 4 years with a list like freos (hey its trending the right way, by 2025 u could make 8th going by the trend), but keep telling us about how great they are don. to answer your question ‘& co’ would be the rest of the no hopers that in your reckoning wouldnt get a gig at freo, i mean theyve only won 3 of the last 4 flags
sven
Roar Rookie
when it matters dusty doesnt miss, its been proven beyond dispute he delivers on the big stage as well as anyone in the history of the game