Port Adelaide’s AFL list is where Scott Watters wants St Kilda to be as quickly as possible.
While the Power’s resurgence has been one of the surprises of this season, the Saints coach says it is no accident the Port have played consistently well.
Port Adelaide are eighth and must beat the Saints on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium to consolidate their finals hopes.
“Obviously they’ve been building over three, four, five years,” Watters said on Thursday.
“You look at a lot of the quality and talent they’ve got through, they’re starting to mature.
“Kenny (coach Ken Hinkley) is doing a great job – they’re a good side on the up.
“It’s taken them time to build the Boaks and the Hartletts and the Wingards, etc – so they have quality.”
By contrast, the Saints are rebuilding and will be major players in trades and free agency recruiting later this year.
The Saints have pushed West Coast, Fremantle and most recently Carlton, giving Watters confidence they are closing on a win.
“We’ve been pretty close to getting a result in recent weeks and haven’t been able to sustain it,” he said.
“We’re going to keep chasing that pretty strongly.
“Last week, our ball use wasn’t great – particularly when we had opportunities early in the game.
“But our level of intensity from a defensive point of view has been pretty good.”
Watters is hopeful that veteran small forward Adam Schneider will resume this weekend in the VFL.
Schneider only managed eight games last year and just one so far this season because of injuries.
“He’s almost missed two years of footy,” Watters said.
“It’s just about getting some durability back into his body and into his preparation.
Watters wants Schneider to play on in 2014.
“He’s 28 and a terrific player – we’re a better club if Adam Schneider is fit and playing and we’ll give him every opportunity to do that,” he said.