St Kilda vs Richmond PreviewAndrew Slevison
SEN
10 August 2023St Kilda meets Richmond at Marvel Stadium on Sunday in a very intriguing affair.
The Saints were pretty good against Carlton last week, at least in the first half, but were run over late. Their form prior was ok, edging out North Melbourne before beating Hawthorn.
The Tigers were demolished by the Western Bulldogs last weekend, going down by 55 points. The week before they were extremely good against Melbourne before being overrun late, which came on the back of a three-game winning run.
There is plenty on the line in this one with the Saints sitting seventh and just two points inside the eight, while the Tigers remain in the finals hunt some six points out of the mix and with their hopes slipping away.
Richmond announced the retirement of Trent Cotchin on Thursday which is something that could stir the emotions. However, the veteran is not playing which has given Saints supporters a sigh of relief given the events of Cotchin’s 300th game.
On that occasion, the Tigers outmuscled the Saints in Round 14, getting up by 20 points in the wet in a great celebration of their three-time premiership captain at the MCG.
But the Tigers own a subpar record at Marvel, losing twice from two attempts at the venue this year, and have not won there in their last seven.
On the flip side, the Saints have won seven from 12 at their home ground this season, however, they have dropped four of their last six there.
Despite a few blips, Ross Lyon’s side is still playing a robust style of footy even if their scoring power has not been quite up to scratch. Andrew McQualter’s Tigers have conceded 351 points from 192 inside 50s across their last three games, so they’ll need to find some defensive strength to ward off the recent fragility.
With Richmond’s apparent inability to play well at Marvel coupled with their shocking display last week, it tips the scales ever so slightly in the favour of the Saints.
They have a little more to play for given they currently occupy a spot in the eight and they’ll be intent on keeping it that way.
Tip: St Kilda by 7 points.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/08/10/who-will-win-and-why-the-predictions-and-tips-for-round-22-1/
