Where and when: MCG, Saturday July 17, 2.10pm
Head to head: Collingwood 149 wins, St Kilda 57 wins, 1 draw
Last time: St Kilda 10.9 (69) def Collingwood 4.17 (41), round 3, 2010 at Etihad Stadium

It was a case of the Pies failing to convert their chances early and then, later in the match, the Saints using all their intestinal fortitude to claim a memorable win. Despite Nick Riewoldt going down with a serious hamstring injury, the Saints still found a way to boot 10 goals but, more significantly, stop the Pies being effective at the other end as their customary defensive pressure won the day. Ross Lyon’s men booted 4.3 to 0.3 in the last quarter to ease to victory.

MISSING IN ACTION
St Kilda
Raphael Clarke (hamstring) - test
Robert Eddy (knee) - test
Brendon Goddard (illness) - available
Justin Koschitzke (ankle) - test
Jesse Smith (ankle) - season

LAST WEEK
St Kilda 11.13 (79) def Brisbane Lions 10.5 (65) at the Gabba
The Lions played their best game in a couple of months, but still didn’t get the four points as St Kilda overcame a 16-point deficit at the main break to grind out another win. The Saints welcomed back Riewoldt, who slowly got better, but it was their midfield who took control after half time to give them the ascendancy. Leigh Montagna and Lenny Hayes were catalysts, while Farren Ray and James Gwilt were great down back. Stephen Milne and Adam Schneider each booted two goals.

Leading goalkicker - Stephen Milne (37)
Leading ballwinner - Leigh Montagna (442)

DANGER MAN
Dashing midfielder Leigh Montagna has been good against the Pies in recent times, and he’s arguably in career-best nick at the moment. Montagna is firming as the Saints’ best hope to take home the Brownlow in September after a string of high-possession games, often capped with goals. He’s had more than 30 touches eight times this season, and in each of the past three weeks.

WHAT’S AT STAKE
This match is likely to have massive repercussions come the end of the home and away season. In the clash of second versus third, locking away a top-four spot is vital. Warding off the possibility of having to travel to Perth to play Fremantle in the finals is also a significant carrot.

HOW’S STAT?
In its past 11 meetings against St Kilda, Collingwood has only kicked more than 100 points once. It won that match - in round 8, 2008 - by nine points.

WHAT THE OPPOSITION SAYS
“I'm sure he'll cop his fair share of attention. None of us are lily-white obviously. I think all very good players cop a lot of attention - that's just the nature of the beast. We're big enough and ugly enough to look after ourselves. In the end, you stand your ground.” - St Kilda coach Ross Lyon on champion skipper Nick Riewoldt

WHAT THE PIES SAY
“I think we've definitely had our chances in those games, so it’s not like we've been blown out of the water, and this week will be no different. We'll obviously look at what we did wrong last time but really attack the game like we did the last couple.” - Collingwood midfielder Scott Pendlebury on recent big games against the Saints

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.