St Kilda will unleash its eighth debutant of the season, with 204cm ruck Max Heath — the tallest player on his club’s list — to make his long-awaited debut against the Swans at Marvel Stadium, which will have its roof closed after an earlier scare.
The AFL was initially facing the prospect of having to leave the Marvel Stadium roof open for Sunday’s game, with venue staff just over 90 minutes before the bounce frantically working to fix a mechanical issue as one side of the roof was stopping short.
The roof, however, was eventually shut. If it hadn’t have been fixed, the roof would’ve had to have been left open, as it has to be either fully shut or fully open for a game.
FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
IMAGINE WHAT YOU COULD BE BUYING INSTEAD. Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
MATCH CENTRE: Saints v Swans scores, stats and more
The Saints (5-11) on Friday confirmed Heath would play his first AFL game, almost four years after he was taken with the seventh pick in the 2021 mid-season draft.
Heath joins Liam Stocker and Hugh Boxshall as inclusions for the Saints, who’ve lost Jimmy Webster through injury and omitted Darcy Wilson and Isaac Keeler.
The Swans (6-10) meantime lose Joel Amartey and Tom Papley to injury, with Aaron Francis and Riley Bice returning to the side.
Should Sydney lose, it’ll take its record to 6-11 and maintain its worst season since 2020. But the Swans have won seven of their past nine games at Marvel Stadium, where as the Saints have lost six of their past seven matches at the venue.
The match gets underway at 3:15pm AEST from Marvel Stadium, with the substitutes from each team to be confirmed an hour beforehand.
Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 503), and stream it on Kayo, from 3pm AEST.
Follow our coverage of St Kilda v Sydney in our live blog below! Can’t see the blog? Click here