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GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints AFL Round 2 Tips - Saints to push Giants in tight one at ENGIE Stadium

Adam Cusworth

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Last updated: Fri 20 Mar 2026 09:10

Adam Cusworth 20 Mar 2026

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The game will be played at ENGIE Stadium on Saturday, 21st March, with the bounce at 4:15 PM (AEDT)
Can the Giants bounce back at home or will St Kilda cause an upset in Round 2?
Preview, expert analysis, stats, team news & best bet

GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints AFL Round 2 Tips

GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints, Round 2 2026 - Expert Prediction

GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints, Round 2 2026 - Expert Prediction
Head to Head Stats
GWS Giants Form Analysis & Team News
GWS Giants Team News
GWS Giants Team List
St Kilda Saints Form Analysis & Team News
St Kilda Saints Team News
St Kilda Saints Team List
GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints AFL 2026 Round 2 FAQ’s

St Kilda will push the Giants all the way in AFL Round 2 in what shapes as a tight one at ENGIE Stadium.

GWS remain dangerous at home and their 27-point win over Hawthorn is evidence of this but injuries to key midfield players have impacted their consistency. They will need to improve significantly after an 81-point loss to the Western Bulldogs last week.

St Kilda are 0-2, going down to both Collingwood and Melbourne but have shown positive signs through the early stages of the season with strong ball movement and improved midfield depth. Jack Sinclair and Marcus Windhager have been influential through the middle while Max Hall has provided scoring power inside 50.

If the Saints can control the stoppages and limit GWS’ transition game they are capable of staying right in the contest. Take them with the start with Hall amongst the goals. Lachie Whitfield will find plenty of the ball across half-back for the Giants, who will look to capitalise on their transition game from this part of the ground.

St Kilda have won two of their past three against the Giants at ENGIE Stadium.
The average winning margin from the past seven contests between the Saints and the Giants has been just 14 points.
Lachie Whitfield has recorded 30+ disposals in four of his past five matches against St Kilda
Max Hall kicked four goals last week and kicked two the last time the two sides met

Head to Head Stats

GWS claimed an 11-point victory at the venue the last time the two sides met, which was in Round 24 of 2025. That match was played at ENGIE Stadium and Toby Greene was a bit of a match winner with four goals, while Lachie Ash and Lachie Whitfield both had over 30 disposals for the winners. Jack Sinclair had 34 for St Kilda, while Darcy Wilson booted five goals.

The Giants also took out the Round 5 encounter during Gather Round over St Kilda and have won the past four between the two sides with those coming at an average margin of 16 points.

GWS Giants Form Analysis & Team News

GWS have produced mixed performances to open the season. The Giants were impressive in their 27-point win over Hawthorn in Opening Round, where their ball movement and transition game created consistent scoring opportunities. However, they were comprehensively exposed the following week, suffering an 81-point defeat to the Western Bulldogs where their midfield was overwhelmed at stoppages.

The Bulldogs dominated the clearance battle 45–26, including 20 centre clearances to 10, highlighting a key vulnerability for the Giants. That concern is amplified by the absence of Tom Green, with GWS having ranked 13th in the AFL for clearances in 2025, suggesting they may again struggle against strong stoppage sides.

Individually, Lachie Ash (31 disposals), Finn Callaghan (27) and Clayton Oliver (26) found plenty of the ball despite the heavy defeat, while Toby Greene worked hard across half forward with 26 disposals and a goal, but the side struggled to convert midfield possession into scoreboard pressure

The Giants’ strength has been their ability to generate offence from the back half — they ranked fourth in the competition for scores launched from defensive half in 2025 — but when opponents deny them that freedom and force contests around stoppages, their system can break down.

GWS Giants Team News

Tom Green remains sidelined along with several other key players including Josh Kelly and Sam Taylor which continues to impact the Giants’ midfield and defsnsive structure.

Toby Bedford, Aaron Cadman and Brent Daniels are edging closer towards a return but are likely to need another week.

St Kilda Saints Form Analysis

St Kilda have been competitive across the opening two rounds despite narrow defeats in both matches. The Saints went down to Melbourne by 13 points in Round 1, which followed a 12 point loss to Collingwood in the opener.

One watch point has been Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who has drawn opposition attention after his amazing back-half to the 2025 season and is averaging just 18.5 disposals. Jack Sinclair and Marcus Windhager are both going above 30 with Sinclair particularly influential across half-back, generating territory through his work rate and ball use.

Up forward, Max Hall has emerged as an important scoring option with five goals from the opening two games. Defensively the Saints have also been well organised with Callum Wilkie anchoring the backline and restricting Collingwood to 78 points in the Opening Round before Melbourne piles on 120 points in Round 1.

St Kilda Saints Team News

Rowan Marshall was unavailable against Melbourne with concussion and will be assessed during the week. He was sorely missed with Max Gawn taking a hold of St Kilda for the Demons in the ruck. Hunter Clark and Paddy Dow are also sidelined.

GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints Team List

GWS Giants	POS	St Kilda
J. Laverde, J. Buckley, C. Idun	B	J. Silvagni, C. Wilkie, A. Caminiti
L. Whitfield, H. Himmelberg, L. Ash	HB	J. Carroll, B. Hill, N. Wanganeen-Milera
R. Angwin, C. Oliver, H. Thomas	C	M. Windhager, M. Hall, D. Wilson
C. Brown, P. Gothard, X. O’Halloran	HF	H. Garcia, M. Wood, M. Owens
J. Stringer, J. Hogan, J. Riccardi	F	J. Higgins, C. Sharman, R. Marshall
K. Briggs, T. Greene, F. Callaghan	FOLL	T. De Koning, S. Flanders, J. Sinclair
J. Fonti, H. Rowston, M. Gruzewski, S. Coniglio, J. Delana	I/C	L. Stocker, M. Phillipou, A. Tauru, L. Ryan, H. Boxshall

GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints AFL 2026 Round 2 FAQ’s

How to watch GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints AFL 2026 Round 2?

You can watch the GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints AFL Round 2 game via Fox Sports or Kayo Sports. If you are watching from outside Australia the WatchAFL app is the best option.

How to buy tickets to GWS Giants vs St Kilda Saints AFL 2026 Round 2?

To buy tickets check the AFL website or the official GWS Giants site.

Verdict

Greater Western Sydney Giants v St Kilda Saints

St Kilda to push the Giants with Hall prominent up forward. Whitfield to find plenty of footy for GWS

St Kilda

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