St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt has described as 'rubbish' suggestions that it would be in the Saints' best interests to lose a game prior to the start of this year's finals series.

The Saints have won their first 16 games of the season and are on track to become only the second club since Collingwood in 1929 to go through an AFL home-and-away season unbeaten.

The last team to be this close to an unbeaten regular season was Essendon in 2000, which won its first 20 matches before losing to the Western Bulldogs in Round 21. The Bombers recovered to win the grand final by 10 goals against Melbourne.

But Riewoldt certainly does not subscribe to the theory that it is better for any team to be going into the finals with at least one loss under its belt rather than have the pressure of trying to maintain an unbeaten season in high-pressure finals in September.

"I think that is rubbish to be honest," he said of suggestions the Saints would be best served by losing a game before the finals.

"It's a gambler's fallacy really."

"Every game we go in wanting to win just like every other team and if we go out and do happen to drop one - provided we have played the game the way we can and prepared well and given 100 percent effort - then we will take whatever the result gives us."

But while the Saints might have top spot all but sewn up with six rounds remaining, Riewoldt said there would be no slackening off in the effort of a team desperate to bring premiership success back to a club whose one and only flag was way back in 1966.

"We are still six weeks away from the finals so there is still a huge opportunity for improvement," he said.

"We want to continually improve - we don't want to waste a training session and we don't want to waste a game."

"I suppose when you become a bit older and more experienced and more mature as a player you realise you need to make the most of these chances (to win a premiership)."

"So we are hell bent on improving and trying to get the most out of ourselves as a playing group."