St Kilda are bracing for an Essendon backlash when the AFL teams meet at Marvel Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
While the Saints escaped with a one-point win in their season opener against Gold Coast, the Bombers were pilloried for their efforts in the 72-point loss to GWS.
Saints coach Alan Richardson says they're expecting a big response from the Bombers after their round one disappointment, with their midfield the main target for criticism.
"We've certainly planned for the Bombers' best," Richardson said on Friday.
"We know that they're a really strong attacking team and they've got talent all over the field.
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"We're focused on a really strong, aggressive Essendon team."
Richardson said they were mostly focused on improving their own game, which he described as "inconsistent" against the Suns.
He was happy with the way his defenders hung tough in the final quarter to help secure the tight win, but felt others areas needed improvement.
"We thought at times we were a bit slow and conservative so we will look to be more aggressive," he said.
"During the pre-season we've built some different components to the way we defend and attack and that was a bit inconsistent."
Meanwhile, Richardson said the decision to relieve star recruit Dan Hannebery of leadership duties was a joint one, with Nathan Brown taking his spot.
Hannebery's hamstrings and calves have proved troublesome when he hits top speed in training.
He said the club did the same thing last year when defender Dylan Roberton went down, with Tim Membrey elevated to the leadership group.
"That was a decision that we made in consultation with Dan, that was best for Dan," Richardson said.
"We just think Dan's got to that stage where he just needs to focus on Dan and get himself right.
"There's a lot in leadership and we wanted to take some of that away from him, just to make sure that he can get himself right."
