St Kilda will relish the chance to test themselves against heavyweights Greater Western Sydney after their 75-point thrashing of Hawthorn.
The Saints on Saturday finally delivered the consistent performance they had been teasing, putting the Hawks to the sword with a 19.16 (130) to 8.7 (55) victory in Launceston.
Champion forward Nick Riewoldt booted his 700th AFL goal as the Saints brought Hawthorn's five-year, 19-game winning streak at York Park to an emphatic end.
It was a dominant, high-pressure showing from St Kilda, who improved their record to 3-3 and will face the Giants at Etihad Stadium next week in their first Friday night game since 2015.
But Saints midfielder Seb Ross says it will take an even fiercer effort to get the better of the Giants.
"I remember last year, we played a good three quarters of footy against them and then they just blew us out of the water ... they were too strong and they just out-pressured us," he told AAP.
"(Today) was the way we want to play, but there's been times where we've dropped away from it. That's the minimum that we can bring for next week."
The Saints have come under pressure early in the season over their inability to close out winnable games.
Last week's fourth-quarter fadeout against Geelong prompted a rare public display of frustration from coach Alan Richardson, who accused his players of dropping their workrate.
"I'm not sure whether they were stung into action, but if they're made of the right stuff, they'd want to do something about it," Richardson said.
"We've got a lot of trust that we have the right people at our footy club. I'm really proud of the way that they played in terms of the contest."
Former Western Bulldogs midfielder Koby Stevens made an immediate impact in his Saints debut, booting two goals and gathering 28 disposals.
Ageless veteran Riewoldt reached the 700-goal milestone with a clever snap around his body, going on to finish with four majors
Share
