WHERE & WHEN
Telstra Dome, Saturday 14 April, 7.15pm
MEDIA COVERAGE
Channel 10 (Melbourne 7.30pm, Adelaide 6.30pm, Perth 5.30pm, New South Wales & ACT 10.30pm, Queensland 7.00pm), Fox Sports Plus on Main Event Channel (New South Wales & ACT 7.00pm), Triple M (Melbourne, Adelaide), 3AW, ABC Radio (Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin), 5AA (Adelaide), afl.com.au (live audio and scoring)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Played: 140, St Kilda: 70, Western Bulldogs: 68, Drawn: 2
LAST TIME
St Kilda 22.10 (142) d Western Bulldogs 13.14 (92), round 21, 2006, at Telstra Dome
TAB Sportsbet
St Kilda: $1.93, Western Bulldogs: $1.80

The Bulldogs are set to celebrate another milestone this week, with Lindsay Gilbee to play his 100th game. After making his debut in 2001 Gilbee has developed into one of the Bulldogs' best rebounders, and is renowned for his penetrating and deadly-accurate kick. He had a disappointing game last weekend against the Crows, and will be looking to atone for it in his milestone game.

The Saints will be without one of their co-captains in Luke Ball (concussion), but Nick Riewoldt returns. However they are light on for defenders with Max Hudghton (quad) and Matt Maguire (leg stress fracture) both set to miss at least a month. Raphael Clarke (back), Aaron Hamill (knee), and Fergus Watts (ankle) are all listed as indefinite absentees. Mitch Hahn (knee) will play his first game for Werribee seconds since his reconstruction. Jason Akermanis (hamstring) will be missing for at least a fortnight while Chris Grant (groin) and Damian McCormack (knee) are set to be sidelined for at least two months.

The Bulldogs don't have a great record against the Saints in recent times, and have lost five of their last six encounters. The last time the Dogs won was in round 12, 2004, when they triumphed by 23 points. At Telstra Dome, the Saints have come out on top twice in the past year, although both sides have impressive Docklands records - the Saints with 13 wins from their last 16 matches, and the Dogs 14 out of their past 17.

Both sides are coming off losses after getting their seasons off to strong starts, with the Saints falling to the Lions last Thursday night and the Bulldogs being toppled by the Crows on Sunday at the MCG.

The Saints were good in round one, as they managed to overcome a slow start – and the early loss of co-captain Luke Ball, who was almost knocked out in the opening stages – to defeat Melbourne at the MCG. Last week they were overrun by the Lions at the Gabba and eventually belted by 52 points – losing a defender in the process.

The Bulldogs were electric in round one and had Victorians placing hopes on them as the home-grown team most likely to succeed in 2007. The wheels fell off in dramatic circumstances last week when they were challenged – and overcome – by a determined Adelaide outfit that exploited their lack of key defenders and matched them blow-for-blow through the middle.

The Saints have been impressed with the form of midfielder Aaron Fiora in the opening fortnight. Fiora has worked hard over the pre-season and been rewarded with 22 and 23 possessions in the first two games, and he has chipped in with three goals. For a player who cites 2007 as a year to work on his consistency, he has started the season doing just that.

The Bulldogs had a range of stars in their round one win, but last week many of the opening week standouts went quiet as the Crows dismantled their game plan. Running hot last week were defender Jordan McMahon, who picked up 26 disposals, and youngster Shaun Higgins, who continues to impress in just his second season at AFL level.

The Saints have the potential for many, but for reliability purposes it's best to go with a key forward who isn't under an injury cloud. Fraser Gehrig, who will be ropeable after a goalless game last weekend, will tangle with Dogs defender Brian Harris, who returns from suspension. The "G-Train" has kicked 18 goals in the past three clashes between the two sides.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs also have many players capable of breaking the game apart, but considering the current unconvincing nature of the Saints' defensive structure, Brad Johnson might just hold the key to this game. The Dogs skipper managed just two goals last week – although he was wearing Crows defender Nathan Bassett all evening – but the week before set the football world on fire with a match-winning eight-goal performance. If the Dogs can get their hands on the ball first and exploit the holes in the Saints' defence, "Johnno" might just be due for another big bag.

The reason these two sides are facing off in the AFL's Rivalry Round must have something to do with their head-to-head statistics. Having played 140 games, the Saints rest on 70 wins, the Dogs on 68, and a third team called "Drawn" has two. All up, not much separates the two clubs – including the odds for this match – but the Doggies do hold the upper hand as far as finals appearances are concerned. They've won both finals the sides have faced off in – in 1961 and in 1992.

Although he hasn't been named in the squad, utility and current Saint Shane Birss has been a member of both clubs. Birss moved to Moorabbin at the end of last season after putting together five solid years on the Dogs' list. He played his first game in the red, white and black last week but has been relegated to emergency status for the match against his former side.

"St Kilda has got some good, quality talls, and we were hurt last week in that area, which obviously at some stage is going to catch us out. They get numbers back. It's going to be difficult to score for both teams. I think it will be a pretty tough and tight game." – Rodney Eade, senior coach.

"Don't worry about last week's result, that was an aberration. Harro's back to keep the G-Train intact. We've got Crossy, who is the league's disposal king, and he will clean up the Saints' midfield, and Johnno will bounce back to his best. The Bulldogs' bite will be back this week!" – Steve Barker, Bulldogs supporter.