Saints seek aggression to arrest AFL slump

Jun 15, 2017 - 8:43 AM St Kilda have dropped midfielder Jack Steele and could lose key defender Jake Carlisle as they urgently seek an AFL form turnaround against North Melbourne.

Three-straight losses have left the Saints teetering at 5-6 and Friday night's clash at Etihad Stadium will be a massive test.

Coach Alan Richardson acknowledges that North (4-7) are much stronger than their 15th place suggests.

Luke Dunstan will replace Steele as one of at least three changes, with Paddy McCartin (knee) and Nathan Wright (shoulder) injured.

Veteran Nick Riewoldt will return from a knee injury and Jack Lonie was also recalled.

Richardson is confident Carlisle will play after the tall defender suffered a knock against Adelaide.

"We'll pick him if he's 100 per cent - if not then we'll change that," the Saints coach said.

"We need our big guys (in defence) to be strong.

"That's a real strong part of their team, the power of their big forwards."

Hugh Goddard is unavailable to replace Carlisle if he is a late withdrawal, with the young defender troubled by a foot injury that will sideline him indefinitely.

The Saints' poor form has meant plenty of media attention, with commentator Dermott Brereton taking aim at veteran Leigh Montagna.

"You could go through a lot of players in our team and say they've been down a bit in recent weeks and Joey is in that group," Richardson said.

"It's not just about Joey, it's about us - we need to get our footy back on track.

"You can sort of understand it (Brereton's criticism), given the performance of our team but he (Montagna) is a proud guy, he'll bounce back strongly."

Richardson said before Thursday's light training session the Saints have become too reactive in their play.

"What the message is to the players and what we hope you would see when you watch us play, is that we're really aggressive and bold in the way we play, the way we defend, the way we attack," Richardson said.

"We reckon we've found some reasons (and) more importantly we've found some solutions.

"The proof will be in the pudding tomorrow night."

Richardson said the Kangaroos look strong in many areas.

"If you look at their pressure, some of their clearance work - I know Scotty (coach Brad Scott) was pretty disappointed with some of their clearance work last time - but their ability to score from centre bounces and clearances is pretty positive," Richardson said.

"They could quite easily be much higher on the ladder."

Source: AAP