Geelong faces an uphill battle as they now sit two games outside of the top six on the ladder, heading into a vital clash with St Kilda on Thursday night. 

After a slightly slow start to the season, the Saints have found some form in recent weeks and are coming into Round 19 with three wins from their past four games. 

They now sit just one game behind the Cats in a battle between ninth and tenth on the ladder, a crucial match that could shape both seasons.

St Kilda have certainly caused some headaches for Geelong, winning four of the last seven games between the two sides but in good news for the Cats, the Saints' last win at GMHBA Stadium came in 1999. 

There will be plenty of things to focus on this week in St Kilda's game plan, take a look through some of their strengths in the Cats' opposition analysis, proudly presented by Deakin University. 

2026 Ladder 

Geelong: 9th (9-8)
St Kilda: 10th (8-9)

Recent Games

2025, Round 19 - Geelong 17.11 (113) def. St Kilda 12.10 (82)
2025, Round 2 - St Kilda 15.8 (98) def. Geelong 13.13 (91)
2024, Round 23 - St Kilda 16.11 (107) def. Geelong 14.5 (89)

Deakin Performance Stat of the Week 

Applying Plenty of Pressure

St Kilda are a very high-possession team that likes to retain the football as much as possible, ranked first in the AFL for uncontested possessions this year with an average of 249.2 per game. 

They have the highest retention rate of any team in the competition and rarely make mistakes with ball in hand, sitting second in the AFL for disposals per turnover and fifth for disposal efficiency. 

What this does is force opposition teams to defend for long periods of the game, a formula that has worked against Geelong recently, recording a +122 disposal differential in their most recent two victories over the Cats. 

The most significant driver in that area is Brad Hill, who currently sits fourth for total uncontested possessions in 2026 and leads the Saints, while Marcus Windhager and Cal Wilkie also rank inside the AFL's top 30 players for that statistic. 

Geelong have conceded more uncontested possession to their opponents in each of their last four matches, posing it as an important battle for the Cats to try and win on Thursday night. 

St Kilda's Key Stats in 2026

Working Around Cal Wilkie

One of the best key defenders in the game for an extended period of time, Cal Wilkie is an outstanding player and a forward's worst nightmare with his intercepting prowess and ability to read the play. 

To this point of the season, Wilkie has picked off the most intercept possessions of any player in the AFL, averaging 8.9 per game. 

He also ranks third in the competition for intercept marks and first for total marks, while also averaging a remarkable 23.9 disposals per game which is the highest average of any key defender. 

Wilkie is St Kilda's co-captain and an All-Australian, appropriate recognition for his dominance in defensive 50 and something Geelong will need to be wary of on Thursday night. 

The Centre Clearance Battle

Two of the highest rated midfields in the competition will square off this week, with St Kilda and Geelong both ranked in the top four teams for centre clearances to this point of 2026. 

The Saints rank third in the AFL with an average of 13.7 centre clearances per game, significantly improving in that area after finishing 14th in the same statistic last year. 

Somewhat surprisingly, Hugo Garcia is the best ranked St Kilda player for centre clearances this year, sitting sixth in the AFL with an average of 3.2 per game. He is closely followed by Max Hall and Rowan Marshall, while Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera is also a threat around stoppages. 

Geelong have been pretty strong in centre clearances this year, but were well beaten (14-8) by the Giants last week, something they will need to improve on heading into Thursday night.