St Kilda are changing their routine on the road as they try to solve their travel woes and bank some crucial interstate AFL wins.
The Saints have only won five times on the road since 2011, Ross Lyon's last year as coach, when his mantra was "play anyone, anywhere, any time".
Last year they lost all five interstate games, with their 103-point hammering by West Coast in round eight and 88-point loss by Adelaide in round 11 their heaviest of the season.
Those losses came back to haunt the Saints given they only missed finals on percentage, with the club now focused on improving their away performances.
St Kilda midfielder Mav Weller said they had decided to take a less complicated approach to their match-day preparations for away games.
"We've had a real focus on it and we just tried to simplify things," Weller said.
"We allowed the boys to do what they do at home; if you do get up early and do your routine, then that's what you do.
"There's no pressure on, or there's no structure really on game day, this is what you've got to do."
The 25-year-old, who likes a sleep-in, felt it was working well and that seemed to be reflected in their three-point loss to grand finalists Sydney in Albury on Sunday night.
"Personally, it felt really good," said Weller, who is a member of the Saints' leadership group.
"It's a long day in your rooms but whatever it is, you've got to keep things to routine and the club's been really good allowing us to do that."
Weller left the field against the Swans early after suffering a cork but said his departure was just precautionary to ensure he was fit for round one against Melbourne on March 25.
Despite ending the pre-season with the loss, Weller believed the club had laid some strong foundations ahead of their opening match.
"We've started to build a consistent brand of footy and it was good to test ourselves against a grand final team," he said.
"We've started to build some depth and there's a lot of competition for spots so there's extra motivation to train hard and perform."
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