St Kilda star Nick Dal Santo says he hasn’t given up on playing in an AFL premiership despite the Saints’ need to rebuild with young players.

The Saints fielded two debutants, Josh Saunders and Brodie Murdoch, in Thursday night’s 16-point loss to Sydney in Wellington, which left the Saints with a 1-4 record and their finals prospects already very slim.

Two other players who have debuted this season, Tom Lee and Nathan Wright, were also in the side, along with Sebastian Ross, who had played just one senior game before this year.

Dal Santo, 29, who played in losing grand final sides in 2009-10, said it was clearly the direction the club needed to go, but it wouldn’t alter his ambition.

“Whether it’s called rebuild or whether it’s called fresh blood, it’s needed, there’s no doubt about that,” he told reporters in Wellington on Friday.

“In the past we’ve had a pretty solid, set team for quite a while, and things have changed a little bit, that’s just the way footy goes.

“At some stage you do need new guys to come through and take some responsibility and that’s happening a little bit.

“We always strive for a premiership, so it doesn’t really change my day to day actions or my thoughts on where we’re at.”

Dal Santo, who confirmed he has a trigger clause in his contract which will keep him with the club next year provided he passes a medical test, said the Saints produced an improved performance against the Swans and that’s all they could keep aiming for.

“Even years ago when things were going pretty well, we never looked outside what we could do that next day. Whether we keep losing or win a few along the way, it’s just about getting better,” he said.

He said the NZ trip was a great experience, both given the healthy crowd of 22,546 at Westpac Stadium and the many fans of both clubs packing the city in the lead-up.

“It felt a little bit like grand final week,” he said.

“I can only see it getting bigger.”

AA