THE TIME WARP

by JVM

Such are the vagaries of the AFL schedule that St. Kilda and Melbourne will finally meet up with each other first time since that balmy night in autumn when they opened the 2007 season as the two leading Victorian contenders in the quest to break the interstate stranglehold on the competition.

Those who can remember back that far might recall an injury-depleted St. Kilda team overcoming its underdog status and achieving a comfortable victory after a hard fought first half which also heralded the beginning of Melbourne's own injury wracked season and its decline to the very depths of the premiership table.

Of course, the Saints have had their problems too and, under the difficulties caused by a long injury list and the fact that they were coming to grips with a new game style under new coach Ross Lyon, they stumbled and missed out on making the finals last year. At present, they are languishing in tenth place.

So both clubs have endured their season and a half of hell although the Saints' woes have been nothing compared to the pain endured by the Demons. St. Kilda has won just 14½ games which gives it a 50% record since Ross Lyon took over as coach while Melbourne has tasted victory only six times for a 20% ratio which includes two wins against a club that was trying its hardest to lose.

The Dees also lost a coach, a stand-in coach, a CEO, a recruiting officer/list manager, most of their office staff, the tea lady and a long standing and much loved skipper in that time and now there is also talk of possible far reaching changes at the very top; that there might be a new President in place in the not too distant future.

The Saints have had their share of disruption with the advent of their new President and a new Board after a palace coup at the end of last season (although you might not have been aware of it until he finally came out of seclusion this week).

There's been so much change at both clubs since that last encounter that someone arriving at the Dome after being out of town in the interim, might be forgiven for thinking that these teams have been trapped in a time warp. From finalists in the spring of 2006, both of them face a long, cold and bleak winter in 2008.

THE GAME St. Kilda v Melbourne at Telstra Dome 1 June 2008 at 2.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall St. Kilda 78 wins Melbourne 118 wins 1 draw

At Telstra Dome St. Kilda 1 win Melbourne 3 wins.

Since 2000 St. Kilda 3 wins Melbourne 9 wins

The Coaches Lyon 0 Bailey 0

MEDIA

TV Channel 7 at 3.00pm (delayed)

RADIO 3AW MMM KRock

THE BETTING St. Kilda to win $1.28 Melbourne to win $3.50

LAST TIME THEY MET St. Kilda 13.15.93 defeated Melbourne 9.8.62 at the MCG - Round 1 2007

After a closely fought first half Melbourne capitulated meekly in the second but they were struggling with McLean and Whelan early casualties. David Neitz and Russell Robertson booted three each but this was to be one of the last times the Demon forward duo were both fit and firing together in a game of football.

THE TEAMS

ST KILDA

Backs Jason Blake Max Hudghton Sean Dempster

Half backs Jason Gram Sam Fisher Brendon Goddard

Centreline Nick Dal Santo Luke Ball Leigh Montagna

Half forwards Adam Schneider Nick Riewoldt Clint Jones

Forwards Shane Birss Justin Koschitzke Stephen Milne

Followers Steven King Lenny Hayes Robert Harvey

Interchange David Armitage Matthew Ferguson Michael Gardiner Jarryn Geary

Emergencies James Gwilt Ben McEvoy Andrew McQualter

In David Armitage Matthew Ferguson

Out Aaron Fiora Leigh Fisher (both omitted)

MELBOURNE

Backs Matthew Warnock Colin Garland Daniel Bell

Half backs Colin Sylvia, James Frawley, Cameron Bruce

Centreline Clint Bartram Brock McLean Matthew Bate

Half forwards Brad Green Russell Robertson Brent Moloney

Forwards Simon Buckley Brad Miller Austin Wonaeamirri

Followers Jeff White James McDonald Nathan Jones

Interchange Lynden Dunn Paul Johnson Paul Wheatley Adem Yze

Emergencies Jace Bode Ben Holland Chris Johnson

In Lynden Dunn Colin Sylvia Paul Wheatley Jeff White Adem Yze

Out Aaron Davey (hamstring) Ben Holland (shoulder) Mark Jamar (omitted) Cale Morton (flu) Shane Valenti (omitted)

UMPIRES Stevic Stewart Head

IS IT OVER?

While both clubs have faced a long period of flagging fortunes, last Sunday afternoon's events suggested they might be going in different directions. Against the Hawks, the Demons were competitive for all but a few brief moments, which were enough for Hawthorn to claim victory. The result followed on the team's great last half comeback against Fremantle and a disappointing effort against the Crows but one that saw at least a competitive opening stanza. Like all teams striving to make their way off the bottom, they tend towards inconsistency and are looking for a breakthrough to make way for a better future.

St. Kilda was virtually non-competitive for three quarters last week until the Brisbane Lions put up the shutters in the final quarter. The result led to its coach calling the team "soft" and the President to come out from that shell of obscurity claiming he would be happy to have Lyon coaching at the club for ten years. A meaningful statement on the eve of their game against a club whose last head coach lasted for … well … um … 9½ years before his President told him that his time was up.

The Demons may well be asking whether their season and a half from hell is over. The answer to that unfortunately is – not yet. As the great American baseballer/commentator Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over till its over" and the truth is that they will wait a while before the answer to the question is in the affirmative. I’ve already mentioned that developing teams rarely show consistency and five changes to this week's line up are not conducive to producing the sort of consistency necessary to overcome a team that is under the pump and will most certainly see its finals hopes slip away should it lose this game on its home turf.

I’m not a big believer in the strategy behind Ross Lyon’s stinging rebuke of his team by calling it "soft". That faceless President from down Moorabbin way didn't help the cause with his comments either; nor did Board member Andrew Thompson when he castigated Nick Dal Santo in his radio commentary for his selfish play during the second quarter (although some say he was just doing his job). These things tend to well up inside and they come back to bite on the nether regions at future times when they're least welcome. However, in the short term, they might just hit the mark – especially when the opposition is a young side full of inexperience and still learning the trade.

The Demons will once again be heavily reliant on a midfield that consistently lags behind in the competition’s statistics for clearances and upon an inexperienced back line with the three defensive talls James Frawley, Colin Garland and Matthew Warnock boasting a combined total of 29 games. Experienced defenders Jared Rivers and Matthew Whelan are still not ready. Last week, Garland and Warnock kept Franklin and Roughead of Hawthorn relatively quiet. They will need to produce the same dose again this week on Riewoldt and Koschitzke but remember what I said earlier about young players and consistency. Up forward, the Demons will miss Ben Holland who booted three goals in his comeback game and Aaron Davey who returned to form but pinged a hamstring at training during the week. Russell Robertson (bruised thigh) was injured in the latter part of the Hawthorn game and must be under a cloud for this week. With David Neitz gone and young key forward Michael Newton nursing a knee injury, the club's fire power up forward is virtually non-existent.

These all add up to one thing – the Demons' hell will continue for at least another week and probably right through the winter months. Fans be patient because it ain't over!

St. Kilda by 37 points.