Saints plotting to beat bogey side Port - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Saints plotting to beat bogey side Port

By Adam Cooper 30/07/2008 06:35:04 PM Comments (0)

St Kilda must snap a recent hoodoo against Port Adelaide to get their AFL finals aspirations back on track.

As one of eight sides vying for the five available spots in the eight, the Saints must regroup after last Saturday's defeat to West Coast and arrest a shocking record against the Power, at Telstra Dome on Sunday, to bolster their chances of playing in September.

The Power have won 11 of the past 12 games between the two sides and the Saints' only victory in that period - dating back to 2001 - was a four-point win in Launceston in 2006.

St Kilda vice-captain Lenny Hayes was unable to pinpoint where Port had dominated their clashes in recent years, and expected nothing short of the Power's best effort even though they were out of finals contention.

"They were excellent against Adelaide a few weeks ago and a few comments coming out of there is they want to have a bit of a say in shaping the top eight," Hayes said.

"No side will be doing that (calling quits on the campaign) and there might have been talk about West Coast ... doing that, but they proved that (wrong) last week."

St Kilda will regain forward Justin Koschitzke for the must-win clash after he served a one-game suspension, but fullback Max Hudghton remains in doubt after he strained a calf muscle against the Eagles.

Hudghton did not train on Wednesday, but the Saints are hopeful he will recover in time.

Sunday's game will be another milestone for St Kilda champ Robert Harvey, who will move to fourth on the table of the most games played in VFL/AFL history.

Harvey, who turns 37 next month and is in his 21st season, will play his 376th game against Port, which will move him ahead of former Carlton star Craig Bradley.

Hawthorn's Michael Tuck (426), Richmond's Kevin Bartlett (403) and Essendon's Simon Madden (378) are the only players ahead of the evergreen Saint now.

Hayes, himself a veteran of 184 games over 10 seasons, said he could not believe how Harvey had been able to play at such a high standard for so long.

"I hope he retires soon because he is making all of us look stupid," he joked.

"He is an absolute freak. To play 21 years in the game is just amazing and I still remember having the posters on my wall when I was growing up, of him, and then to become a teammate of his and come and see how he trains has been a great thrill to me."

"We are mid 20s and starting to slow down a bit and he is still flying, so it's just a great credit to him."

Harvey has indicated this season will be his last, but Hayes had no doubts he could continue on seamlessly into 2009.

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