St Kilda could be boosted by several returning troops for the home stretch, starting this week against an in-form Hawthorn.

Catch up on all the latest ahead of Round 20.

Big men boost

The Saints could look a whole lot bigger on Sunday with Zaine Cordy and Jack Hayes in the mix to feature against the Hawks.

Cordy, who can play either end of the ground, has exited concussion protocols and is a likely inclusion, while Hayes is a chance to play his first AFL game since rupturing his ACL in Round 6 last year.

It leaves Lyon and his coaching group with a few healthy headaches at selection.

Ross says… “We might have a little more experience back in this week. Zaine Cordy’s available, Jack Hayes is available and I thought Caminiti found some form. Do we play two rucks? They played two rucks against us last time. We like Marshall forward.”

Key spearheads on track for timely returns

Cordy and Hayes aren’t the only big men closing in on returns, with key duo Max King (shoulder) and Tim Membrey (knee) progressing well from injury.

Membrey is confirmed for a VFL return this week, while Lyon says King is an “outside chance” to face the Blues next week.

Ross says… “It’s been significant not having Tim or Max all year – we’ve been a really tender age in our front half. If we can get them back at the pointy end, that’d be nice, wouldn’t it?”

“Elite” form Hawks

St Kilda will need to be close to their best to overcome an in-form Hawks outfit, who enter Sunday off the back of a one-point loss to Richmond and 48-point win over North Melbourne.

Lyon conceded limiting the influence of star intercept defender James Sicily will be key to their prospects.

Ross says… “(Their form) is elite, isn’t it? I went to watch them against North Melbourne and they just dominated the game. Worpel’s in fine form, Wingard’s in fine form, their running backs are electric off half-back, Sicily put us to the sword last time so we’re going to have to put some work into him.

“We want to embrace the expectation and not be constrained by the expectation. We want to express ourselves like we did in the last quarter (against North).”

Opportunity ahead

Ross is glass half-full on the remainder of 2023, liking what he saw in the final quarter comeback against the Kangaroos.

A five-goal burst of free-flowing football completed the comeback and set the template for success moving forward.

Ross says… “We just finished our review, probably the best review all year. I really like it, our leaders stood up in that last quarter and our competitiveness and desire (was on show).

“We’ve got a great opportunity…we’re pretty positive about where we’re at and what we can do.”

Brave Hilly

Ross was full of praise for wingman Bradley Hill, who will miss this week with bruised lungs.

Ross says… “It was a big hit, wasn’t it? I said to him, ‘I prefer you jump out the way, mate’ but he didn’t and earned a lot of respect and set the standard for our team.

“We’re glad it wasn’t anything more serious but to avoid something serious, he can’t play this week. We’re really hopeful on next week but wouldn’t risk a player’s health.

“He’s electric. He’s almost the hardest runner in the game along with Isaac Smith – funny they had success (together), those guys. We’ll miss him but in saying that, we had some big run and work rate (from others) on the weekend.”

A typical Ross entrance

Ross was in good form entering this morning's presser.