Matthew Knights has tipped a hard fought battle against an in-form St Kilda line up this Friday night despite the Bombers having the wood over the Saints during recent encounters.

“It’s important for our club to play great sides like St Kilda. We’re ranked as underdogs this week so it’s a big challenge,"" he said.

""The last two games against the Saints have been Titanic struggles.  Both games went down to the wire so it would be good if it was that way again tomorrow night and if we could come off on the good side of the ledger that would be fantastic.

""I watched the Hawthorn and St Kilda game live last week and the Saints were pretty strong,
""Nick Reiwoldt is back in some great form and Koschitzke is back in the team so they’ve pretty much got all of their players ready to go.""
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Knights said the Bombers will need to produce their best football if they are to have any chance of knocking off the Saints but says the confidence gained from last week's win should put them in good stead for creating an upset.
“When we’ve played the Saints in the last few years there have been a lot of elements in our favour  that have given us an opportunity to win,"" Knights said.  
""On those occasions, we’ve been in decent form and have had a pretty settled 22. The guys have stepped up on a big stage and played to their maximum.""
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The coach said he has been impressed by the team's preparations this week and believes if the Bombers are able to replicate the intensity shown in last weekend's encounter, they are a strong chance to secure the four points.

“Last week was certainly an improvement. We got some run and dare back in our game and there was a lot more spirit in regards to tackling and chasing, irrelevant of the score line, the way that we played our footy last week was better,"" Knights said. 

""I think we’ve really tried to capitalise on the win last week and really have an enthusiastic week on the training track. It’s been a pretty normal week but it’s been upbeat.
""We’ve got a young team who played really good footy last week and I think they’re really looking forward to the challenge of playing a really experienced, solid football team in St Kilda.""
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The Bomber’s will be bolstered this week by the return of David Hille, who has missed the last seven rounds with a hamstring injury.

“He’s a big in and it’s great to have David back in the team because he is probably our most important player because he can play ruck and forward,"" Knights said.

""We’re expecting David to compete and play his role but it’s been seven weeks so we have to be realistic.

""I think he’s going to have to do his share of ruck work, we can’t expect Patrick (Ryder) to do 80 or 90 per cent of it, which he did last week. They’re going to share the ruck work and obviously they’ll go forward at different parts of the game.""

SUPPORTER NOTE: The Government have declared Friday as a day of free public transport to give you even more reasons not to miss this Friday night's Clash for Cancer at Etihad Stadium. Be there as Essendon fans unite!