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Three changes for Tigers clash
St Kilda has made three changes to its side for Friday night's clash with Richmond at Telstra Dome with new recruit Fergus Watts among the players left out. Watts made his debut for the Saints last round against West Coast at Subiaco, after he was traded to St Kilda at the end of the 2004 season. He played five matches with Adelaide in 2004. The Saints have also dropped veteran Justin Peckett and forward Allan Murray. Returning for the red, white and black is leadership group member Xavier Clarke, who has battled hamstring problems in recent times, while Aaron Fiora and Leigh Montagna will also play their first match for St Kilda in 2006. Both Fiora and Montagna were emergencies for last round's clash against West Coast.
Article & Teams AFL/saints.com.au/06Apr06

Get out of Hamill's way
Can you imagine the bitter disappointment Craig Mottram felt after he fell in last month's 1500m final at the Commonwealth Games? Compounding his pain would have been the realisation he has to wait four years for a crack at redemption. Mottram had prepared meticulously, was in good form in the lead-up and had a legitimate chance of winning. But it wasn't to be. So how does an athlete begin to get his head around not having another chance to win Commonwealth Games gold until New Delhi in 2010? I don't think I would have the determination and dedication to put in the hard yards all over again. With that in mind I think it would be safe to say that Richmond's Mark Coughlan and St Kilda's Luke Ball, Aaron Hamill and Cain Ackland are happy they chose the Sherrin over an athletics track. All four would be the first to admit their Round 1 performances were below par.
The Article Wayne Schwass/HeraldSun/07Apr06

Bonded in loyalty
Fraser Gehrig barracked for Fitzroy when he was a kid, was proud of his uncle, Ross Thornton, and cried when the Lions lost. He says he probably loved football then more than he does now. He says this is necessarily what a professional career does to a sportsman. "I used to watch every game," he said. "I think I got a bit burnt out with it." Now, he watches only as much AFL football as is necessary to prepare for games for St Kilda. "To be honest, I still enjoy watching country footy and local footy more more than AFL footy. I do love watching other sports more than footy these days. I love the boxing. I love watching basketball and tennis. Cricket, too." He is a sports fan, but a football player. Football has shaped Gehrig's life. It put an end to notions of a career in the police force, perhaps in the tactical response team, whose life of fitness and action appealed. Football took him away from a close family as a teenager and deposited him on the other side of the country, unprecedented then for one so young. Football made him into a star.
The Article Greg Baum/TheAge/07Apr06

Koschitzke must ruck for Saints flag
Former coach Stan Alves has declared St Kilda can't win the flag unless Justin Koschitzke successfully returns from injury and muscles in on the No. 1 ruck job Alves says Saints' ruck pair Cain Ackland and Jason Blake lack the weaponry to "cut the mustard" in September. He said West Coast ruckman Dean Cox's domination of the Saints in Round 1 underlined Koschitzke's status as the most important player at Moorabbin. "If St Kilda's to win the flag this year, Koschitzke's got to be fit and healthy and he's got to play on the ball," Alves said. "Everything else they've got, to my way of thinking, is not going to cut the mustard. Within the make-up of St Kilda, I just see that as a massive weakness." The Saints continue to take a cautious approach with Koschitzke, who is recovering from off-season knee surgery.
The Article Mark Stevens/TheAustralian/07Apr06

Saints aim to thrive in hard contests
Amid all the hype about whether contested play is disappearing from the AFL, St Kilda will make improvement in that area a major focus in tonight's match against Richmond at Telstra Dome. Coach Grant Thomas was pleased with his side's "SAs", or selfless acts, last week in the loss to West Coast, but described its level of contested ball as "really poor . . . It's the worst it's been in the five years I've been here and that was a lot to do with the way the game ended up being played," he said. "Apart from (Lenny) Hayes and (Robert) Harvey, the rest of our midfield was pretty well non-existent . . . We only won about 41 per cent of the contested footy and we pride ourselves on that; we're the best in the competition in recent history with contested footy." While Thomas lamented the low percentage in contested play, he says the Saints' total of 140 selfless acts was a club record, well above the aim of 100 a match.
The Article Roger Vaughan/TheAge/07Apr06

Tigers need to lose with dignity
Every former Tiger player must have felt sick watching that rubbish served up last Friday night. I know last year started badly, but things are a lot worse when the opposition starts laughing at you. So how many of you have genuine ticker? And how many of you can kick the bloody pill at a required AFL level in a game that has never demanded more in terms of disposal? Another disappointment is the lack of progress from the draftees of 2005. Deledio is a star but what of Tambling, Coles Meyer, Polo Cross and Adam Pattison? You can leave me right out of tipping them against the Saints and I just hope the game doesn't become a total shutdown with the Tigers trying to minimise the scoreboard damage. From the Saints' perspective, I'm hoping for a round two between the Street (Ackland) and Joe Blake after they kicked off festivities in Perth.
The Article Rex Hunt/HeraldSun/07Apr06
Cousins a bystander Michael Stevens/HeraldSun/07Apr06
Thomas primes Saints Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/07Apr06
Teams: Tigers keep cool Michael Stevens/HeraldSun/07Apr06

'Kosi' a chance for R3
Injured St Kilda ruckman/forward Justin Koschitzke is a chance to resume in round three, but, more realistically, will line-up in the following match against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in round four. St Kilda coach Grant Thomas said on Thursday at Moorabbin that Koschitzke, who is sidelined with patella tendonitis, is progressing towards a return in the next couple of weeks. "'Kosi' is still at least one more week away and I think that next week, round three (he will be available). If he's not playing, it'll be round four. I think he's very, very close," Thomas said. "Once he's signed off (by the medical staff), he's able to play and he's able to play anywhere and I think he's one of the best ruckmen in the competition - if not the best - so that's where we'd like him to play. Obviously as a ruckman/forward, that's where he does his most damage, so timing is going to be the thing and how long we can play him in the ruck in each game. We'd probably be conservative initially, but we'd build that as time goes on."
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/06Apr06
Thomas wary of Tigers Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/06Apr06

AFL's $1.4b shot in arm
The AFL yesterday delighted its 16 clubs when it revealed it had $1.4 billion to spend during the next five years. While specifics of the planned expenditure remain open to debate and club lobbying, the massive figure, which includes $780 million reaped in TV rights, was the focus of an AFL conference involving club CEOs. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou also told clubs the annual special distribution fund, which currently helps the Western Bulldogs, Melbourne and the Kangaroos, would continue until at least 2011. "We have no plans whatsoever to abandon that fund and in fact got strong support to retain that fund," Demetriou said last night. "We outlined in the modelling today that it would go for the next five years, post 2007." The AFL confirmed its intentions of developing revenue streams through investments in projects outside football, including ticketing and the possibility of a property portfolio.
The Article Damian Barratt/HeraldSun/07Apr06
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