Saints lose big guns
The Age
Friday August 7, 2009
ST KILDA has firmly denied that it is flirting with its unbeaten form, after the Saints last night replaced five players €” including captain Nick Riewoldt and three other all-Australian contenders €” for the game against Hawthorn at Launceston tomorrow.St Kilda football operations manager Greg Hutchison said there was no subterfuge involved, nor were the players being rested for the run into September's finals. "It may appear like we're not valuing the game or not respecting Hawthorn but we respect the Hawthorn Football Club and we would love to have our best players available," Hutchison said last night. "We haven't got them available, but we've picked a competitive team."Riewoldt, who was concussed in Sydney last weekend, Lenny Hayes (back), Leigh Montagna (arm), Brendon Goddard (knee) and Steven Baker (knee) were all left out last night. In addition defender Sam Gilbert (back) could not be considered for a second week in a row, and defender Matt Maguire, a potential replacement, was unavailable because of a hamstring strain.It is the first time all season that the 18-0 Saints have needed to test the depth of their list. They have used just 27 players, the fewest of any team. Ruckman Michael Gardiner, Zac Dawson, Luke Ball, Jarryn Geary and debutant Jack Steven come in. The astonishing set of changes was no surprise to bookmakers, who pushed 10th-placed Hawthorn into favouritism for the match. Several agencies had suspended betting on the match earlier this week after a plunge on the Hawks.Hutchison said Riewoldt had suffered "some effects" from last week's collision and could not be considered, despite the fact he played out the game in Sydney. "He hasn't been as sharp as he would have liked and another flight (to Launceston) was not the best preparation for him. He just hasn't been able to do what we wanted him to do."Montagna had a scan on an injured arm after the Sydney game and was cleared of serious injury, but Hutchison said he was not 100 per cent right. "He hasn't had the range of movement this week. He's had a few problems. He's just not fit to play."Goddard is sore in the same knee he had reconstructed in 2007. Baker has been troubled by knee soreness for several weeks. Hayes was not listed as being injured after the Sydney game, but missed training yesterday. "He hasn't 'done' a back as such," said Hutchison. "But he has had lower-back soreness and he wasn't as good as we'd hoped."Dawson was serving a suspension and Gardiner missed three weeks with a calf strain, but both were automatic selections when they became available. Ball, an all-Australian in 2005, had spent the past fortnight playing in the VFL after indifferent form.Hutchison said the club was aware the changes would cause comment. "There's no doubt going to be speculation but we can only worry about what goes on inside the St Kilda Football Club and act in the best interest of the team and how we prepare. We can't be concerned about what's said outside the club."Coach Ross Lyon had earlier this week flagged that the Saints would be conservative in their management of players in the final rounds of the season. At 18-0, St Kilda cannot fall below second place and is two games clear of Geelong, with matches against bottom-eight teams in Essendon, North Melbourne and Melbourne to close the season.Bookmakers stand to lose plenty if Hawthorn wins. One punter had $25,000 on the Hawks at $3 odds on Wednesday, causing TAB Sportsbet to suspend betting on the game. When the books reopened last night, the teams were at $1.85 odds. Soon afterwards, Hawthorn was at $1.70 and St Kilda $2.05. "If the game was played now and Hawthorn won, we'd lose $83,000," said Glenn Munsie, TAB Sportsbet's spokesman. "I can tell you that there are bigger amounts than that won and lost on games every week. It's a round of drinks in this business."Munsie said St Kilda's big changes were simply a rumour that turned out to be fact. "The alarm bells started ringing when a punter wants $50,000 on Hawthorn at $3 (odds) and they're playing (an) unbeaten team. We took our standard (maximum) bet of $25,000 and then he wanted $10,000 at the line odds. People have got to realise that when money's involved, there's nothing that doesn't eventually get out."
© 2009 The Age
