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The Nicky Winmar Cup
St Kilda vs West Coast Eagles
Sunday 23 May 2004, 2:10 PM AEST Dome
12noon Perth
W.A SAINTS . . . The Hyde Park this Sunday
Saintsational Fan Forum Thread

Hayes for Harvey the only change
The Saints, chasing a ninth consecutive victory, have made just one change to their side for Sunday;s game against West Coast at Telstra Dome. Skipper Lenny Hayes comes in after serving a two match suspension for striking. He replaces Robert Harvey who is sidelined by a calf complaint. The senior debut of Raphael Clarke has been postponed for another time after he was cut from St Kilda's extended interchange bench on Friday. He is an emergency for the game with Leigh Montagna and Allan Murray. West Coast Eagle Daniel Chick will play his first senior game in five weeks against the Saints.
The Teams - Final - Sportal - saints.com.au - 20May04
The Teams and INTERACTIVE MATCH-UPS - This site
Dr Dans Match Review - Saintsational Fan Forum

Eagles at long odds to upset St Kilda
West Coast seems certain to gamble on Daniel Chick's fitness after naming him in its side for tomorrow's clash with league leader St Kilda at Telstra Dome . . . Chick, Jeremy Humm, Brett Jones and Chad Morrison were selected in West Coast's 22, with Mark Seaby, Michael Collica and Beau Waters named as the emergencies . . . The Eagles will start at long odds to beat St Kilda, with the Saints at $1.12 and West Coast at $5.25. TAB Sportsbet manager Wade Annear said he doubted West Coast would have started at such lucrative odds against any other team in the league.
The Article - Russell Reid - WestAustralian - 22May04

Clarke junior in the mix
Exciting St Kilda forward/midfielder Raphael Clarke is in the mix to make his AFL debut against West Coast on Sunday at Telstra Dome after he was included in the 25-man squad. But the Saints have lost dual Brownlow Medallist Robert Harvey with a calf injury after he injured it last Saturday night against Collingwood at Telstra Dome - Skipper Lenny Hayes returns from a two-week suspension.
The Teams 1 - Sportal - saints.com.au - 20May04

Sizzling Saints refuse to risk Harvey
The Saints were not prepared to take any risks with Harvey, who sprained his calf in last Saturday night's win over Collingwood. St Kilda coach Grant Thomas said the club had to be cautious with its management of the 32-year-old. "I'm sure we could have waited, but he's got some history with his calf so we didn't want to tamper with it," Thomas said last night.
The Article - Rebecca Williams - HeraldSun - 21May04

Saints kept fresh
St Kilda has lightened the training load on its players considerably with the aim of keeping them fresh. Coach Grant Thomas said his players had not even touched footballs before Thursday, when they walked around Moorabbin Oval for approximately 30 minutes in a session where the players would not have come close to raising a sweat.
The Article - Samantha Lane - saints.com.au - 20May04

Week of light training helps Saints stay fresh
St Kilda's undefeated players have barely trained or touched a football this week, with coach Grant Thomas eager to maintain his players' ladder-leading momentum by keeping them physically fresh. Yesterday, at Moorabbin, the group handled footballs for the first time this week, for no more than a bit of handballing and no sign of anything more taxing than walking, and was then guided through a number of tactical plays by the coaching staff. With the Saints having won their first eight games - they face West Coast on Sunday at Telstra Dome - and with a series of Sunday matches ahead, Thomas said the time was right for a change in the training regime.
The Article - Melissa Ryan - TheAge - 21May04
Saints tune in with easy run - David reed - West Australian - 21May04

Goddard close to new deal
The good times keep rolling for St Kilda, with emerging star Brendon Goddard close to signing a new deal. Goddard's management has had several meetings with the Saints' hierarchy and it is clear the 2002 No. 1 draft pick is not going anywhere. It is understood it is just a matter of fine tuning some detail in a new two-year contract. "We expect to get something done fairly soon -- probably in the next couple of weeks," Goddard's manager Dan Richardson, of Elite Sports Properties, said last night.
The Article - Mark Stevens and Jon Pierik - HeraldSun - 20May04

Gehrig incited behaviour, says Magpie squad
The Collingwood cheer squad has blamed St Kilda's Fraser Gehrig for inciting bad behaviour late in the Saints' win over the Magpies at Telstra Dome on Saturday night, and has denied a member of the group had thrown a half-full plastic bottle at the full-forward. The cheer squad's chant leader, Peter Brajkovic, last night said it was Gehrig's behaviour, not theirs, that should be scrutinised. "What we're angry about is that nothing's been said about Fraser Gehrig. It's all been about us and the bottle being thrown. And everyone says, 'Oh, the Collingwood fans are ferals,' " Brajkovic said last night. "The bottle was not thrown by a cheer squad member; it came from a higher level, maybe from a Collingwood fan, but not a cheer squad member. A cheer squad member (Craig) was ejected, but that was because of what happened with Fraser Gehrig, when Gehrig came right up to the fence and he and Craig were right in each other's faces."
The Article - Nabila Ahmed - TheAge - 18May04
Fraser beef - Bruce Matthews - HeraldSun - 18May04

Pies dig in on alternate jumper
The wait for an alternate Collingwood jumper is into its third century and may well stretch into a fourth. Against the will of the AFL, the Magpies still stand, steadfastly refusing to consider a meaningful change to their famous black and white stripes - which will only come, it seems, when the league chooses to order one made. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said yesterday that Collingwood and the other clubs that were refusing to produce clash jumpers - among them Essendon and Richmond - could be compelled to do so. But that, he said, was not something the league particularly wanted to do even though it shared the view that at times it could be difficult to distinguish players from different teams in similar colours or designs. The match between Collingwood and St Kilda last Saturday night was a case in point, he said.
The Article - Stephen Rielly - TheAge - 18May04

Pies lacking in defence
Collingwood must improve defensively before tackling Adelaide and a resurgent Wayne Carey at Telstra Dome on Friday, according to Magpies defensive coach Guy McKenna. The Magpies were found lacking in defence against St Kilda last weekend, when the Saints' six forwards kicked all 21 of the side's goals. "We were beaten soundly defensively . . . I don't think I'm doing my job too well here at the moment," he said. Ryan Lonie, Richard Cole and James Clement were all beaten as Fraser Gehrig and Stephen Milne kicked five each, while Brent Guerra and Justin Koschitzke both kicked four for the match.
The Article - Peter Ker - TheAge - 18May04

Guerra in the clear
St Kilda forward Brent Guerra will not be required to face the AFL tribunal this week after league video reports officer Ian Robinson gave the all-clear to a clash involving Guerra and Collingwood's Matthew Lokan in the first minute of Saturday night's clash at Telstra Dome.
Robinson said that the contact was 'a solid hip and shoulder' but that Lokan was within five metres of the ball and therefore not a bystander
The Article - Ashley Browne/Sportal - saints.com.au - 17May04

Saint Nick delivers early this year
Since coming from the Bendigo U18s, Dal Santo has been a standout with his incredibly accurate kicking and uncanny skills. He displayed such efforts against Fremantle in Round 7 where he became a prime deliverer to the St Kilda forwards in the absence of skipper Lenny Hayes. He failed to disappoint as he helped towel up the Dockers with a blitzing game on the ball and outstanding delivery to Gehrig and co. Dal Santo is in the mould of another St Kilda great and current champion Robert Harvey, stating, 'No doubt Harvey is my influence at the Club with his amazing work ethic and he gives us a visual understanding of what it takes to play at AFL level. Also Lenny (Hayes) is another to look up to.'
The Article - Luca Giacobello - saints.com.au - 18May04
From Saints to dirty Demons - Jon Anderson - HeraldSun - 19May04
In the box with Grant Thomas - Mark Robinson - HeraldSun - 19May04
Knee injuries not increasing - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 18May04
WA SAINTS The Hyde Park this Sunday - Rogerwa - Saintsational Fan Forum

Rules okay, says doctor
AFL medical commissioner Harry Unglik yesterday warned against a "knee-jerk" reaction to a spate of ruck-related posterior cruciate ligament injuries. Unglik is reviewing every PCL injury recorded since 1992 and plans to present his findings to the rules committee for its June meeting. In the meantime, the experienced club doctor is not convinced that the modified ruck rules trialled in the Wizard Cup would substantially reduce the risk of injury or whether such a rule change would be welcomed by ruckmen themselves. "When you talk to the players, they say that initial jump in the air is one of the highlights of the game," Unglik said. "They also believe the 10-metre circle that was trialled in the Wizard Cup does not make any difference. Their gut feeling is they know there are risks of injury, that players who play in certain positions get different injuries and that maybe it is worth the risk for the spectacle of the game."
The Article - Chipe Le Grand - TheAustralian - 18May04

Saints nurse Harvey
The veteran star sprained his calf against Collingwood and sat out the second half of the match as a precaution. He is expected to be fit to face West Coast this weekend. Saints communications manager Georgie Fidge said Harvey was nursing soreness and not a more serious corked muscle. "He might have a lighter week (on the track)," Fidge said. "He's expected to play this week. They (coaching staff) decided halfway through (the game) that the team was travelling OK and they didn't need to bring him back on."
The Article - Emily Power - HeraldSun - 17May04

Thomas concern over drug testing
Saints coach Grant Thomas opposes the AFL's proposal to drug test players all year, and says the majority of his playing group agrees with him. Speaking at training on Wednesday while club chief executives were meeting with key AFL officials, Thomas backed the position of young star Nick Riewoldt, who publicly denounced the league's proposed changes to the Anti Doping Code. "They have eight weeks off a year and quite frankly I don't think that anyone should be having any interaction with them, us included. We're not allowed to, I don't think anyone should," Thomas said.
The Article - Samantha Lane - saints.com.au - 20May04

We're not to blame for Saint barney
Collingwood cheer squad member Sean Setter has defended the group's behaviour in last week's Telstra Dome clash against St Kilda. Setter, 33, denied any cheer squad member had thrown a bottle on the field and said Saints full-forward Fraser Gehrig had over-reacted to taunts from Magpies supporters about wearing tight shorts.
THE PULSE - Daryl Timms - HeraldSun - 21May04

Guerra makes huge impact
. . . "It does feel weird looking at the ladder in the paper and seeing we're eight-zip. But the boys just bond so well together and play so well together - we just take it week by week and go out and try to play our best footy," Guerra said. No sense of invincibility because the Saints have not lost since Round 22 last season? "It's great to win all those games, but at the end of the year it's the finals that count. We don't feel invincible, not one bit. I think we'll just worry about finding out at the end of the year when we play our first final," he said.
The Article - Michael Horan - HeraldSun - 20May04

Thomas concern over drug testing
Saints coach Grant Thomas opposes the AFL's proposal to drug test players all year, and says the majority of his playing group agrees with him. Speaking at training on Wednesday while club chief executives were meeting with key AFL officials, Thomas backed the position of young star Nick Riewoldt, who publicly denounced the league's proposed changes to the Anti Doping Code. "They have eight weeks off a year and quite frankly I don't think that anyone should be having any interaction with them, us included. We're not allowed to, I don't think anyone should," Thomas said.
The Article - Rebecca Williams - HeraldSun - 20May04
Thomas queries dope rules - Rebecca Williams - HeraldSun - 20May04