Saints' form can hold up

into the season while Maguire and Goddard are making solid progress in their returns from long-term injuries.

Two other factors also point to a major St Kilda resurgence in 2008 - their improved depth and increased familiarity with coach Ross Lyon's game-plan.

There is no doubt the Saints struggled in this area last year as Lyon sought a more defensive style of play from the free-flowing, attacking days under previous coach Grant Thomas - a style which got the Saints so near yet so far from that long-awaited second premiership.

That change led to the Saints' attack losing its potency last year, when it kicked 200 less points over the home and away season than the previous year - resulting in a fall from sixth to ninth.

But it was easy to forget that the Saints only conceded 32 more points last year than they did in 2004, when they came so close to winning the flag under Thomas.

So the defensive foundation is there, the Saints just need to kick more goals but with the firepower at their disposal and with another pre-season to adjust to Lyon's game-plan that should be a formality this year.

And while only the Saints' best side will be good enough to challenge the Cats in 2008, there is no doubt the addition in recent times of Steven King, Michael Gardiner, Charlie Gardiner, Shane Birss, Sean Dempster and Adam Schneider from other clubs plus the improvement in youngsters such as Clinton Jones, David Armitage, Jarryn Geary and Jarryd Allen means the Saints will have better quality replacements should injuries strike again.

So while the Saints, like every other club, will need their share of luck in 2008 expect their pre-season form to more than hold up once the real stuff starts in a fortnight's time.