Saints must be bold against Eagles: coach

St Kilda will be looking for their first AFL win since round one when they take on West Coast in Perth.

St Kilda Saints player Rowan Marshall (L)

Rowan Marshall (L) comes into a St Kilda team who are looking for their first win since Round 1. (AAP)

Playing bold football against West Coast at their imposing new home is easier said than done.

But that's what St Kilda must do if they're to have any shot at a shock upset win over the ladder leaders.

The 16th-placed Saints are still searching for their second win of the season after squeaking past Brisbane in round one.

Coach Alan Richardson is under no illusions as to the size of the task that his embattled team faces, but he at least feels like the Saints have shown signs of life over the past month.

"We feel like big parts of our game are heading the way we want them to," Richardson told reporters at Melbourne Airport on Friday.

"We were much bolder with the ball (against Richmond) and we thought that the way that we attacked and how aggressive we were gave us some real opportunity.

"I reckon there were a few weeks there, on the back of form and perhaps our guys losing a bit of confidence in their play, we were quite conservative, but that has been pleasing the last few weeks, that we're bolder again with the ball."

The Saints made changes to the side that lost to the Tigers last week, Rowan Marshall and Maverick Weller coming in for Jake Carlisle (suspended) and Luke Dunstan (shoulder).

Including one game subbing for a sick Ken Hinkley at Port Adelaide, Richardson will coach his 100th AFL game on Saturday night.

The coach, who late last year received a two-year contract extension that takes him through to the end of the 2020 season, has managed just 34 wins in that time.

"We tend to look at, as coaches, the performance of the team, not necessarily the performance of yourself," Richardson replied when queried about his record.

"The reality is right now, we're not playing the sort of footy on a consistent basis that we'd like to.

"Up until this year, I think the build was heading the right way. All I do now is focus in on getting us back to our best game."


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Source: AAP


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