St Kilda coach Alan Richardson is having none of it.
Don’t give him the theory – no matter how plausible – that his young Saints are flagging towards the end of a gruelling AFL season.
“I reckon that is a bit of a cop out for our guys,” Richardson said after losing to Port Adelaide by 63 points on Sunday.
“We certainly won’t be going down that line.”
Richardson instead wants to focus his players on finishing the season strongly, despite a horror schedule.
The 13th-placed Saints, who have no prospect of making the playoffs, face games against Fremantle, North Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney and West Coast – all clubs bound for the finals.
“We play some really strong teams, which we like. Our players … embrace that,” Richardson said.
“We want to finish off well … if it means something to us as a team, we will bounce back.”