Narkle’s chance to shine
LIVEWIRE Geelong midfielder Quinton Narkle has been given his opportunity to shine on the big stage after being named in the starting side to take on St Kilda on Friday night.
Narkle was the medical substitute in the Cats’ 63-point win over Richmond last Friday, a week after being recalled to the team to play Sydney, and finished the match with 13 disposals, two inside-50s and two tackles from just 33 per cent game time after replacing Sam Simpson.
His inclusion was the only change for Geelong, which named Charlie Constable, Jordan Clark, Max Holmes and Rhys Stanley as emergencies.
The medial sub will come from that quartet, but given Stanley did not play at any level last week, the vest is likely to go to one of the other three.
The Saints named former Hawk and Demons player James Frawley for his first game for St Kilda, but wielded the axe on three players.
Top-10 draftee Nick Coffield was the biggest name among the dumped crew. The other two were Irishman Darragh Joyce and former Kangaroo Mason Wood.
St Kilda has also lost speedster Zak Jones, who requires surgery and is set for two months on the sidelines after rupturing his right quad muscle at training on Wednesday.
Midfielder Seb Ross returns to the line-up a week after his wife gave birth to twins, while the Saints’ other inclusion is defender Tom Highmore, who returns for his first match since Round 2.
The clash with Geelong looms as a litmus test for the Saints as they try to resurrect their season after scoring consecutive wins for the first time this year, against Gold Coast and Hawthorn.
A third straight victory over the in-form Cats at Marvel Stadium would at least provisionally propel Brett Ratten’s side into the top eight.