St Kilda key forward Paddy McCartin must wait for his AFL recall, despite kicking seven goals last weekend in the VFL.
Coach Alan Richardson rewarded the side that belted Hawthorn in Launceston by making only one forced change for Friday night’s clash against Greater Western Sydney.
Maverick Weller rolled his ankle at training this week and Nathan Wright will take his place.
Richardson said he was pleased with how his forwards had performed against the Hawks.
That includes fellow key forward Josh Bruce, who missed the easiest of goals and has endured merciless ribbing this week from his teammates.
“Paddy obviously is a tall forward, a power forward – I’m pretty happy with the way the boys are going in that space,” Richardson said.
The Saints coach added that McCartin had every right to be disappointed with having to play another week in the VFL.
“I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t disappointed,” Richardson said.
“He’s a driven, ambitious young man who played the sort of game that would often get you in.
“He understands that … it doesn’t mean he’s not disappointed or even a little bit frustrated.”
The win over Hawthorn left the Saints 3-3 and now they come up against one of the league’s premiership contenders.
Apart from the quality of their opposition, this is also St Kilda’s first prime Friday night timeslot since round three, 2015, when Collingwood walloped them at the MCG by 74 points.
Richardson said teams had to earn the right for Friday night games with good form and aggressive, attacking play.
“Gil (McLachlan) has made that pretty clear – the AFL, and the way they structure the draw, have to be confident that anyone who plays Friday nights is going to be really competitive and probably play in a manner that the viewers like,” he said.
Richardson said this match would be a good test of their bona fides in a season where they hope to return to the top eight.
“We have really strong aspirations to play finals,” he said
“We haven’t talked about it a lot, we’ve identified (it) at the start of the year.
“We’re not going to play finals unless we bridge the gap between our best and our worst.
“We’re 3-3, which is a reasonable launch pad, but we need to win games against a team that’s in the top four and that’s the opportunity.”