WHERE & WHEN: Etihad Stadium, Saturday 6 March, 7.10pm (AEDT)

MATCH ODDS: Luxbet: St Kilda $1.23, Fremantle $4.15

FORM: After comfortably accounting for Melbourne at Subiaco Oval first-up, it took a snap from Ryan Murphy with just seconds remaining on the clock to get Fremantle over the line by four points against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium last Sunday. The Saints couldn't have cut it finer in both of their wins, getting up by a single point against Collingwood then Sydney.

WALKING WOUNDED: The St Kilda selectors have opted to rest two key players, Brendon Goddard and skipper Nick Riewoldt, both among their better performers over the pre-season so far. Along with Sean Dempster, they've been replaced in the Saints squad by Tom Lynch, Leigh Fisher and Will Johnson. Otherwise the Saints injury list is fairly sparse with Jesse Smith (hamstring) the main concern. Club captain Matthew Pavlich returns to the Fremantle line-up after being a late withdrawal last Sunday. Adam McPhee, Byron Schammer, Kepler Bradley and Steven Dodd are among the inclusions for the Dockers, while Luke McPharlin, David Mundy and Chris Mayne have been rested. Freo's injury list is fairly extensive. Players unavailable this week include Antoni Grover (knee, 6-8 weeks), Des Headland (hamstring, 1-2 weeks), Brock O'Brien (quad, 4 weeks), Rhys Palmer (knee, 4-6 weeks) and Tim Ruffles (knee, 8-12 weeks).

WHO'S HOT: Ben McEvoy showed against the Swans that he's got what it takes to be the Saints' No.2 ruckman this season. The 20-year-old kicked a goal, won nine disposals, had 15 hitouts and laid seven crunching tackles. Chris Mayne, who managed just five senior appearances for Freo last season, did his selection prospects for Round 1 no harm at all with a bag of five goals last Sunday as the replacement up forward for skipper Matthew Pavlich. Impressive rookie Michael Barlow backed up his 29-possession performance against Melbourne with a game-high 27 against North.

WE THINK: Saturday's clash will be the Saints' third-in-a-row at Etihad Stadium while the Dockers will be on the road for the second week running - and coming off a short break. The Saints look less potent on paper without Riewoldt and Goddard, and the Dockers have Pavlich back. But the Saints have home advantage, the talent and firepower to qualify for next week's grand final. St Kilda by 1 point.