Live: Tigers face Saints before finals contenders try to avoid slip-ups

The Tigers have tried to tighten things up this quarter, and they are hitting hard – Maurice Rioli flattened Alix Tauru in a tackle a few minutes back.

The Saints are racking up turnovers themselves now, and the Tigers are going hard.

They forced the ball forward and Sam Banks took a mark deep in the right forward pocket – but his shot faded late and clattered into the post. It’s a five-point game here!

Suddenly it’s St Kilda who need to lift.

The Saints have opted against a tag today, and it’s fair to say Marcus Windhager is benefiting from this approach.

Playing off half-back, Windhager’s running capacity is getting a work out. He’s marking the ball and delivering it – so far with 13 minutes left in the first half, Windhager already has 17 disposals.

If he keeps going like this he could be on for 60!

The Tigers get going after a few minutes of the second term.

A Saints attack fell apart with a poor cross-field kick, and the home side went down the other end for some repeat entries.

Finally Maurice Rioli handballed out to Noah Balta in the left forward pocket, and his snap was true. A good goal that, and the margin is back to eight points!

Not really reflective of the play so far, but Adam Yze and Co will take that, no doubt. 

• Marcus Windhager (StK): 13

It’s a fairly stark sign of the Saints’ domination – they had 45 more disposals in the opening quarter.

There’s a bit of feeling out there. Late in that quarter, Rhyan Mansell slung Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera – who has been pretty quiet so far – to the ground.

Wanganeen-Milera was not impressed and got up grabbing Mansell’s guernsey. It might be a sign of some frustration for the Tigers, who haven’t been able to make inroads so far.

The Saints are in control early at the MCG, but there’s only 14 points gap, so maybe the Tigers can make a move in the upcoming term.

The ball was ping-ponging around there the last minute or two, with intercepts at both ends.

Finally the Tigers went down the far wing, and Noah Balta took a grab. He could have run and gone himself, but he steered it into the right forward pocket for Rhyan Mansell.

Mansell had been off earlier receiving treatment on a knock, but he’s back on – and his kick went through perfectly from a nasty angle.

We’re well in time on, but better late than never for the Tigers.

And just as I say that, the Tigers turn it over again, with an intercept mark from the Flying Viking, Alix Tauru.

The Saints go quick to the square where Cooper Sharman has the jump on Nathan Broad. He takes a pack mark, and kicks the goal.

The Saints lead by 20, and it’s fair to say the Tigers need to get moving in attack.

Inside 50s: 9-3 St Kilda

Uncontested Possessions: 51-26 St Kilda

Turnovers: 13-7 St Kilda

St Kilda is bringing the pressure here at the MCG, and they are forcing turnovers everywhere.

They haven’t made it count yet, with a couple of missed shots from Cooper Sharman and Rowan Marshall.

But finally the Saints put it together, with a kick to the left side of 50 and a nice mark from Jack Higgins.

He steers it home, and St Kilda have their second.

The first real attack of the game leads to a goal, as the Saints make repeat entries pay.

A kick to a contest, Max Heath handballs inbound, and the Tigers defenders stand off – Hugo Garcia bursts on to the ball and kicks the first of the day from close range.

Both sides are looking to tackle first, ask questions later.

Time on the ball is minimal, and neither team has broken free yet.

It’s a lovely looking day at headquarters – will we get a bit of open play and a few goals to kick off Saturday footy? How will Tom Lynch go back in the Richmond side – will the Saints test out his temper?

Rd 4, 2025: St Kilda by 82 (Docklands)

Rd 23, 2024: St Kilda by 42 (Docklands)

Rd 5, 2024: St Kilda by 7 (Norwood Oval)

Rd 22, 2023: St Kilda by 36 (Docklands)

Rd 14, 2023: Richmond by 20 (MCG)

Rd 3, 2022: St Kilda by 33 (Docklands)

As befits recent relative ladder positions, St Kilda have won five of the last six encounters between the sides. In fact, go a little further and the record becomes seven wins from the last 10.

Games at today’s venue are rare, with only five in the last decade. Of those, the Tigers have come out on top three times, with the Saints winning twice. Some hope, perhaps, for Adam Yze’s men.

One of the things that happens near the end of the season is that coaches start throwing the magnets around a bit if they have nothing to lose.

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has just said to Fox Footy that he is trying to spread the mix of players through the middle, with the likes of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Max Hall coming into the rotation recently.

Today Lyon says he is looking to bring Darcy Wilson into the mix today, perhaps towards the end of quarters.

If so, that will add some more pace for the Saints. Let’s see how whether the coach backs up his comments and what effect it has.

The Saints have two injury-enforced changes, with key forward Mitch Owens out with a hamstring concern and Ryan Byrnes having a foot injury. Angus Hastie is omitted for St Kilda.

Into the side are Mattaes Phillipou – playing his first game since round 13 – Darcy Wilson and Liam Henry.

For Richmond, the injury list doesn’t get any better, with Jonty Faull’s season over with a knee problem. Luke Trainor is managed and Thomas Sims is omitted.

In come defender Nathan Broad, full-forward Tom Lynch and midfielder Tim Taranto, who was a late withdrawal last week against the Suns.

The subs will be Steely Green for Richmond and Liam Henry for St Kilda.

The Saints are running out on the MCG through a banner tagged “Happy 200th to our man of steele”.

Will his team get him the win for his landmark game? We’ll see shortly.

Hello, good afternoon and welcome to ABC’s live online coverage of round 22.

This afternoon we have a mix of games, with three having some impact on finals. Last night’s game between Geelong and Essendon showed that while top nine versus bottom nine matchups are heavily favouring the finals challengers, you can’t take results for granted.

First up today we have Richmond hosting St Kilda at the MCG, with the Tigers eyeing a possible upset and Saints fans (in fact probably outside the yellow and black) hoping for more magic from Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera.

Then the twilight game comes from The Gabba, where last year’s grand finalists face each other in very different circumstances. The Swans will be hoping to rain on Brisbane’s parade with an upset victory, while the Lions have to win to get ahead of Geelong and Collingwood.

Tonight, we will see Carlton host Gold Coast at Docklands, with the Suns having to avoid a slip-up as they close in on a first-ever finals series and possible top four finish.

And finally, we head to Adelaide Oval, where Port Adelaide take on Fremantle, with the Power hoping to avoid another thumping loss and the Dockers desperate to win (and win big if they can) as they fight to keep a spot in the eight.

My name is Andrew McGarry, and I will be bringing you the early action today, before Marnie Vinall joins the festivities later on.