St Kilda Saints vs GWS Giants: AFL elimination final live scores, blog

St Kilda return to September with their first MCG final since 2010, as they take on an in-form GWS outfit in a do-or-die clash. Join The Roar for live scores from 3:20pm (AEST).

After a solid first season of the new Ross Lyon reign at St Kilda, the Saints finished a creditable sixth on the ladder. It was a season that began well, faltered somewhat during the middle of the year, before recapturing some of the grit that makes them one of the most difficult teams in the league to play against.

The Giants enter the finals off the back of a stunning run that saw them surge into contention after suffering a number of unlucky losses early in the season.

Potentially as hot as any team still alive despiter finishing seventh on the ladder, new coach Adam Kingsley has found his happy place and adjusted his intensity to get the best out of his players on a week-to-week basis over the last two months.

Team news sees Seb Ross and Max King return for the Saints, while the Giants have taken a risk on Sam Taylor, despite his fitness still being in question.

Prediction

In what looks a ripping encounter on paper, the Giant’s determined brand will once again be on show. They are a team that scraps hard at the contest, with the subsequent ability to shift the ball to the outside.

The Saints, given the likely wet conditions, will look to shut down those attacking weapons and use a similarly brutal brand around the contest to turn the match into a defensive dogfight that Lyon will savour.

Giants by 5 points.

Game Information

Venue: MCG
First bounce: 3:20pm (AEST)
TV: Channel 7, Fox Footy
Streaming: Kayo Sports
Betting: Saints $2.25, Giants $1.65 – odds via PlayUp

Teams

St Kilda

B: J. Battle, C. Wilkie, Z. Cordy

HB: J. Webster, J. Sinclair, N. Wanganeen-Milera

C: B. Hill, S. Ross, M. Wood

HF: J. Gresham, D. Butler, C. Sharman

F: M. Owens, T. Membrey, M. King

R: R. Marshall, J. Steele (c), B. Crouch

I/C: H. Clark, M. Windhager, J. Higgins, M. Phillipou

EMG: R. Byrnes, L. Stocker, D. Howard, T. Campbell

IN: King, Ross.

OUT: Hayes, Stocker.

GWS

B: J. Buckley, S. Taylor, C. Idun

HB: L. Whitfield, H. Himmelberg, L. Ash

C: F. Callaghan, T. Green, J. Kelly

HF: T. Bedford, J. Riccardi, B. Daniels

F: D. Lloyd, J. Hogan, T. Greene (c)

R: K. Briggs, C. Ward, S. Coniglio

I/C: I. Cumming, L. Keeffe, H. Perryman, C. Brown

EMG: R. Angwin, B. Preuss, N. Haynes, X. O’Halloran

IN: Callaghan, Taylor.

OUT: Angwin, McMullin.