There's something niggling away at the back of the mind over today's opening match of the round at Etihad Stadium between the top-placed St Kilda and the fourth-placed Carlton.
There's nothing logical about it. The Saints have won 11 on the trot; the Blues two as part of their 6-5 record for the season so far.
A third win would be a huge psychological breakthrough for the boys from Princes Park, who haven't strung that many together for five long, dark years. It would also be the first time Carlton have beaten the Saints since 2001.
The Saints have handed out some champion thrashings on their march through the first half of the season: 97 points over West Coast; 83 points over Fremantle; and 88 points over Collingwood.
Carlton has only really trounced lowly Richmond, by 83 points.
But for this writer, there is still this lingering feeling that the Blues could have some show of drawing first blood from the Moorabbin boys and living up to their pre-season promise.
The centre contests, involving the likes of Judd, Kreuzer and Gibbs for the Blues, and Dal Santo, Montagna and Ball for the Saints, should prove a highlight.
For St Kilda, the ruckman Steven King enters the naughty corner for four weeks, after an incident that had Sam Power seeing stars last week. Michael Gardiner, the club's other senior ruckman, is back from suspension and will be joined by forward Stephen Milne and defender Sam Gilbert. Carlton welcomes back Jordan Bannister after dropping Brad Fisher.
pstafford@thenational.ae
INDIA SQUAD
Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
- Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
- Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
