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St Kilda vs. Brisbane Lions - Dome
Saturday 1st May 2004 - 7:10PM (AEST)
TV - Channel 10 Perth - 5.30pm
Last played 7th June, 2003
Saints 13.12 (90) def Lions 13.7 (85)
Archive Saints vs Lions 2003
More Round 6 Articles
Training Pics - HeraldSun

THE TEAMS
Hudghton, Penny return for Saints
The St Kilda backline, and the team's morale, has been bolstered with the return of Luke Penny and Max Hudghton for Saturday night's crucial clash at Telstra Dome against the Brisbane Lions. Hudghton has been named on the bench in his first match for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery during the pre-season while Penny is back at full-back after having missed one match with a fractured cheekbone. The Lions have brought in Richard Hadley and Jared Brennan to replace injured duo Dylan McLaren and Ashley McGrath. Jed Adcock, Joel Mcdonald and Matthew Moody are the Brisbane emergencies.
The Article - Sportal - saints.com.au - 29Apr03
Match-ups 1 - Saintsational Fan Forum Thread
Match-ups 2 - Saintsational Fan Forum Thread
The Teams & Interactive Match-ups - This site
Max in - Saintsational Fan Forum Thread
All Teams R6 - Sportal - afl.com.au - 29Apr03

THE EXCUSES
Saints right at home at Dome: Lions skipper
Brisbane Lions skipper Michael Voss has conceded that St Kilda's familiarity with the quick, laboratory-style conditions of Telstra Dome gives it a big home-ground advantage in Saturday night's heavyweight showdown. The Lions will make their first visit to the Dome since round 22 last year, while the Saints have played there six times since then. "There's no doubt the ball moves a lot quicker there - it pings up and down the ground really quickly," said Voss, admitting it would be an early challenge for the Lions to adjust to the game's increased tempo. St Kilda know the ground as well as anyone - it's a distinct home-ground advantage."

THE REASONS
Saints not so green
. . . But the question ahead of Saturday night's blockbuster is whether the Saints are really an inexperienced team. Well, on first glance it's easy to bill this Saturday's clash as the old champs against the young challengers. After all, the 22 players that represented Brisbane last week had played a total of 3126 AFL games at an average of 142 games per player. By contrast, the 22 players that represented St Kilda last week had played only 2013 AFL games at an average of 91.5 games. It means that on average the Brisbane players that will confront St Kilda in Melbourne on Saturday night will have played 50 more matches or have more than two years extra experience under their belts. But it is when you compare the Saints and the Lions man for man that you realise the common description of St Kilda being an inexperienced team, made of young early round draft picks who have become superstars, is a bit of a myth . . .
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 27Apr03

THE WORD
Leigh Fisher Chat Transcript (28 April 2004)
FootyTipperDotNet: Has the team re-adjusted its end of year expectations, as far as ladder position and number of wins, after the great start to the season?
Leigh Fisher: Not really, we're still just focused on making the finals' and taking it from there - but like most sides, we'd like to finish as high as possible.
FootyTipperDotNet: Leigh, give us two reasons why we are going to beat Brisbane.
Leigh Fisher: Because we have players in peak form, and the belief we can beat anyone!
The Transcript - Spelly - saints.com.au

THE FEATURE
Brett Voss moves out of brother's shadow
No one dares or even bothers to compare him with Michael. Not, at least, since the two teams locked horns at Telstra Dome last year when St Kilda defeated Brisbane by five points. That match has set up another highly anticipated sibling clash at Telstra Dome tomorrow night when the Saints take on the Lions in a genuine match of the round. The comparisons between Brett and Michael started to dry up when he left Brisbane at the end of the 2000 season much to the annoyance of coach Leigh Matthews, who called Voss a traitor.
The Article - Darren Cartwright - HeraldSun - 30Apr03

THE INTERVIEW
Saint Lenny's loving his life at the top
What about Saturday night?
Yeah, it will be a great contest. They are the benchmark, they have a great midfield, their defence is outstanding and so are their forwards.
It will be a physical game.
Every time you play them you know that will be the case. The fact that we beat them last year will be in the back of their minds, and it has come at a good time to come up against them and see how we are really going.
Garry Lyon interview - Garry Lyon - HeraldSun - 29Apr03

THE HISTORY

THE SCARE MONGERING
Hamill deal may hurt Saints
The greatest potential impediment to a St Kilda dynasty is not the club's so-called culture, or its history of internal combustion, but whether the club can retain its fleet of talented players. The Saints might be developing a Brisbane-like playing list, but they do not have Brisbane's enlarged salary cap. That's why the recent signing of Aaron Hamill on a five-year contract was received with such astonishment in football circles. Hamill turns 27 in August and will be well past the dreaded 30 when his contract winds up, at the end of 2007. Hamill's bash-and-crash style is not necessarily conducive to a long career. Dermott Brereton, who played with similar maniacal aggression, was more or less a spent force by his late 20s.
The Article - Jaker Niall - TheAge - 29Apr03

MORE OF THE SAME
Hamill, Zantuck no case to answer
The greatest potential impediment to a St Kilda dynasty is not the club's so-called culture, or its history of internal combustion, but whether the club can retain its fleet of talented players. The Saints might be developing a Brisbane-like playing list, but they do not have Brisbane's enlarged salary cap. That's why the recent signing of Aaron Hamill on a five-year contract was received with such astonishment in football circles. Hamill turns 27 in August and will be well past the dreaded 30 when his contract winds up, at the end of 2007. Hamill's bash-and-crash style is not necessarily conducive to a long career. Dermott Brereton, who played with similar maniacal aggression, was more or less a spent force by his late 20s.
The Article - AAP - HeraldSun - 29Apr03

THE ACCUSED
Sex slur hurts Saint
St Kilda's Justin Koschitzke last ight said he was traumatised at being incorrectly named at the centre of the AFL sex scandal last month. Channel 7 incorrectly reported Koschitzke was one of the Saints under investigation for rape after the club's pre-season premiership . . . "It was just unfortunate to be caught up in a piece of very irresponsible reporting, so we're just going to leave it at that and hopefully we can put our attention towards the boys and help them get along with what they're fighting."
The Article - AAP - saints.com.au - 30Apr03

THE COWBOY
St Kilda best ever: 'Cowboy'
St Kilda has never had a better side than the one that will tackle Brisbane Lions in Saturday night's blockbuster at Telstra Dome, according to Saints legend Kevin "Cowboy" Neale. As Grant Thomas's side was preparing yesterday for what looms as the match of the season so far, Neale was one of several St Kilda greats from the club's glory years to hail the present crop of Saints. Neale, who kicked five goals in the 1966 grand final-winning team, said the present side was as good as, if not better than, the one that claimed the club's only premiership. "I think it is as good as they have ever had," he said.
The Article - Peter Ker - TheAge - 29Apr03

THE TURNAROUND
Soft drinks a hard issue as AFL takes its eyes off ball
This should have been a good week for the AFL. The best match of the season is a day away. Brisbane await the young and fearless men coached by Grant Thomas. The Saints are undefeated. Brisbane undaunted. The league's chief executive Andrew Demetriou and finance chief Ian Anderson released encouraging financial figures which showed club spending had been curtailed in 2003 while revenue was up 4 per cent. Only five clubs lost money. Football department costs rose by just 1 per cent.
The Article - Patrick Smith - TheAustralian - 30Apr03

THE COLLUSION
No case to answer on 'collusion'
Boom Brisbane Lions youngster Jared Brennan is poised to be used as a pinch-hitting ruckman in Saturday's blockbuster against St Kilda. Brennan, a National Rising Star nominee in 2003, is one of two changes to the triple premiers line-up for the top-of-the-table clash at the Telstra Dome. Premiership midfielder Richard Hadley joins Brennan on the interchange bench after the Lions lost ruckman Dylan McLaren (knee) and Ash McGrath (hand) to injuries sustained in last week's thumping of Hawthorn. The spring-heeled Brennan has gained his return to the senior line-up after McLaren became the third ruckmen on the club's long injury list.
The Article - AAP - HeraldSun - 29Apr03