Geelong vs St Kilda

Pos, Club, P, Pts, %. 1, Geelong Cats, 19, 60, 135.5. 2, Collingwood, 20, 60, 106.3. 3, Melbourne, 20, 56, 128.8. 4, Fremantle, 20, 54, 115.3.

Meanwhile, Owens was deployed as a defensive forward going one-on-one with arguably the best intercept player in the competition, Tom Stewart. In only his fifth game, Owens kept Stewart relatively quiet, holding him to only four intercepts and two marks. After a couple of impressive weeks as a tagger, Windhager was handed another assignment in the form of Cameron Guthrie - and while the midfielder still tallied 22 disposals, his impact was still somewhat quelled by the youngster. As a result of the late changes which saw Blicavs and Ceglar miss, Rhys Stanley was given the tall task of shouldering the lion's share of the Cats' ruck responsibilities and going head to head with in-form Rowan Marshall in his first game back from a knee injury. It was a tough night at the office for Saints fans, but they have plenty to look forward to in the form of Marcus Windhager and Mitch Owens who were among some of their best on Saturday evening. While the former Saint was beaten convincingly by Marshall in the hitout battle, Stanley was more than able to level the contest when the ball hit the deck, adding an impressive five clearances and seven tackles to his 16 disposals. Chris Scott hinted at late changes earlier in the week, and the late changes came through in the truckload, albeit with one extra that was not part of the proverbial plan.

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When play finally started, Stephen Coniglio rushed forward and snapped a goal after 47 seconds, and after Jake Stringer knocked Harry Himmelberg over before the ball had gone back to the middle the Giants had two goals in as many minutes. Giants co-captains Stephen Coniglio (20 disposals, one goal) and Josh Kelly (19, one) led from the front in the midfield, while Lachie Whitfield (30, one) was one of the best afield and did plenty of damage with his sharp foot skills. The result leaves the Suns in 11th position on the ladder, two wins outside the top eight with two rounds remaining and a host of teams above them still to play in round 21. The fired-up Giants were looking to bounce back after an insipid performance last week but were unable to shake off the Bombers until slamming on seven consecutive second-half goals to set up a 14.12 (96) to 10.9 (69) victory on Saturday. Trailing by 17 at three-quarter time, the Suns kicked the opening two goals of the fourth term and got within a goal with about five minutes left on the clock. McEvoy picked up a crucial mark in defence inside the final two minutes as the Hawks scrambled for their eighth win of the year despite scoring just one point in the last term.

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Finlayson gets the first goal of the second quarter and the Power trail by three points early in the term, 4.2.26 to 4.5.29. With 5:45 remaining in the first half, they only trail by 11 points, 6.0.36 to 7.5.47. Led by four goals from key forward Rory Lobb, the Dockers, smarting after two defeats and a draw heading into this clash, rubber-stamped their return to the finals for the first time since 2015, and ensured they remained in top-four calculations. With 1:01 left in the second quarter, the Saints trail by just four points, 7.1.43 to 7.5.47. The Saints’ pressure has been phenomenal in this period and they have kicked four goals to one. Nearing the halfway mark of the second term, the Power have hit the front thanks to a Gray goal, 5.2.32 to 4.6.30.

Geelong and St Kilda have finalised their lineups for the match at GMHBA Stadium.

I/C C I/C C J. Higgins, M. King, M. Owens

No Joel Selwood, no Patrick Dangerfield, no Mark Blicavs, no Gary Rohan — no worries for Geelong, which showed no mercy against St Kilda to claim its 11th ...

“It just got a bit tight — and then given the last time I reaggravated my calf, to be honest I just didn’t trust myself to make the right decision so close to game time,” Dangerfield told Channel 7. Dangerfield caught the eye of onlookers at GMHBA Stadium when he was seen undergoing a late fitness test and speaking with Cats officials. But then there’s the practicalities around making a good decision when it’s just not quite right.” It led to a late goal to Dan Butler to cut the margin to four points. It led to three of the first four goals of the term through Max King, Jack Steele and Membrey. The duo were replaced by experienced duo Zach Tuohy and Sam Menegola. After a dominant first quarter by Geelong, St Kilda got the game on its terms in the second quarter, dominating possession through uncontested marks and, subsequently, territory. But then a bit on deceleration tonight, it just didn’t feel right. There was an injury scare for the Saints too when luckless veteran Dan Hannebery was seen doing running tests and speaking with club physios on the interchange bench. Geelong would boot another four goals before the Saints finally got one midway through the third term. Geelong pulled two late changes, with Jonathon Ceglar and Mark Blicavs coming out of the 22, the former named medical sub. The Cats then made a conservative call alongside the medical team and withdrew Dangerfield from the game, with Luke Dahlhaus coming into the side.