There is no doubt in Matthew Knights' mind that his team can do what no other side has done in 2009 and defeat St Kilda when they clash at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Knights told the media this morning that his side has a huge respect for what the Saints have achieved this season but will exhaust every resource to secure a win this week.
“We are playing the top team on the ladder this Sunday and we have a lot of respect for them but we will do everything in our power to win the game and give our guys the belief that they can do it,” he said.
“St Kilda’s put in an enormous performance last week to go out and do what they did missing key players, but every week is a new week.
“Our players understand that St Kilda’s pressure skills are outstanding, we’d expect nothing less on Sunday then our players to come with the attitude to match that.
“We played a bit better last week playing a team that was on the edge of the top four, it would have been nice to get a winning result but we certainly played some better football which is promising.”
Last time the two sides met, the Bombers were unable to close the 19-point deficit after a slow start to the game with many wasted opportunities.
Knights says his side knows what to expect this time around.
“Last time they got off to a flying start, kicking the first five or six goals and slowly we reeled them in but their steadiness and their professionalism kept them that three or four goals in front,” he said.
“This group has that belief that we can match it this time around - our biggest challenge is doing it over four quarters. We can match good sides for periods but we haven’t nailed a good side over four quarters.
“St Kilda is so good at counter attacking from defence, when we do get the ball in our forward line we will have to make sure we score.
“We expect and will prepare for them to be full strength on Sunday. This afternoon in our planning meeting we will look at several areas of their game and try to work out how to stop them.
“We are not going into the match saying we are playing the top team, we are saying we are going to go out and win.”
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