St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson admits he is pleased with the inroads his side has made in the first stage of 2016, but concedes the Saints must become better defensively if they are going to continue their improvement.

Narrow losses to Hawthorn and North Melbourne haven’t helped boost the wins column, although St Kilda has increased their scoring bottom line from 77.0 points per game last year to 89.7, on the back of faster ball movement and more precise use.

Defensively, the Saints are still ranked in the bottom four for points against with 98.3 per game (ranked 15th), unable to stem the flow at times when sides get a run on and apply scoreboard pressure.

“There’s no doubt that there’s been a fair bit of improvement, but we’ve got some work to do. Defensively, we’re still leaking a bit too much,” Richardson told Fox Footy’s On the Couch on Monday night.

Weller: Tough losses hurt, but instill confidence 

The sustained emergence of youth across the first seven rounds of the season has been a major positive for Richardson, with the performances of the Saints third to fifth-year players reducing the reliance on senior players to produce strong performances.

“Probably the other big thing is our young guys are starting to have influence on a game,” Richardson said.

“Whilst [Nick] Riewoldt played really well (against North Melbourne), the fact that Jack Steven and [David] Armitage didn’t have strong performances, and yet we were able to be close to a team that hasn’t lost a game this year that’s positive for us.” 

Saints ruckman Tom Hickey has been one of the most improved performers at Linen House Centre this season, grasping the No. 1 ruck mantle from Billy Longer and establishing himself as one of the best up and coming ruckmen in the game.

Richardson credits a comprehensive pre-season for Hickey’s progress in his fourth year at the Saints since crossing from the Gold Coast Suns, but admits being somewhat surprised by how quickly he has shuffled others out of the way.

“If I had of sat down here pre-Round 1, I would have thought that he might have struggled to push Billy Longer out of the ruck,” Richardson said.

“He was really positive for us, Billy Longer, last year. ‘Holmesy’ in the last three games did some really strong stuff.

“It’s full credit to him. For the first time in a long time he’s been able to have a pre-season, he’s been able to put on some strength. He’s not a big looking guy, but he’s as strong as any of our bigs in the gym.”

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