Carlton has drawn upon a St Kilda old boy to help end their recent woes against the Saints.
Carlton assistant coach Dean Laidley's three years as the Saints midfield coach gives them an inside track into the Saints' game-plan.
Unfortunately for the Blues, the North Melbourne premiership player has nothing but praise and admiration for the leadership group of Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes and Leigh Montagna.
And after a 145-point belting from Hawthorn last week, he knows what to expect.
"They've got great pride ... they'll be stung by that performance," Laidley said.
"When they played Adelaide and got beat by maybe a hundred points, they came out and beat Essendon the following week."
"They'll be up and about on Monday night, there's no doubt about them."
St Kilda's 145-point loss in the rain to Hawthorn last Saturday was their worst to the Hawks in AFL/VFL history.
A win would rank amongst the biggest form reversals in history, but midfielder Farren Ray said after "a bit of soul-searching this week" anything was possible.
"We don't accept being beaten by 145 points. It's the worst loss I've been involved in," he said.
"But it's only four points lost."
Carlton sit 16th with just two wins, but hope their extended 10-day break leading into the match will help them recapture form.
"It's been really positive for us because we've come off two six-day breaks," Laidley said.
"We've used this week to regenerate, recover and have a couple of really good footy sessions."
The match is the sole Monday night fixture this season, the fifth time the two sides have met in the now Monday-after-Mother's Day clash.
St Kilda have won the last two Monday meetings, and have four wins from their last five games with the Blues.
But the fixture may not extend long into the future, with incoming AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan declaring himself not a fan of Monday night football.
On behalf of the players, Ray had a bet each way.
"I don't mind watching it, you can sit back on the couch and watch a good game on the telly," he said.
"For the players it's probably not ideal, you don't get to enjoy your weekend."
"But AFL is changing so much, there's games in every timeslot, the traditional Saturday afternoon game has almost disappeared."
"But any time, anywhere, the players are happy to play."
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