AFL: St Kilda players asked to dig deeper for grand final replay

Leigh Montagna of the Saints. Photo / Getty Images

St Kilda's players are lucky they have a second chance after some failed to fire in last weekend's drawn Aussie Rules grand final, says wingman Leigh Montagna.

Saints coach Ross Lyon didn't mince words this week as last year's runners-up began trying to piece together a winning strategy to overcome Collingwood today.

"A few guys didn't have their best games," Montagna said. "A lot of players have to wait 12 months. Some players don't get the chance again to play in a grand final.

"We addressed that. The players who played poorly are very lucky to get a chance to redeem themselves this week. All those guys are going to do everything they can to make sure they play to the best of their ability."

Two under the microscope are defender Jason Gram and midfielder Nick Dal Santo.

Both went into the initial grand final under injury clouds, Gram a groin and Dal Santo a hamstring, Dal Santo later admitted he was "a bit hesitant" to stretch out during the match.

Lyon has said publicly this week that both players need to lift.

While Dal Santo has declared himself 100 per cent fit, the Saints also have to deal with some mental scars.

It is St Kilda's 15th finals series since the club's lone premiership in 1966.

Another near-miss today will bring them closer to Collingwood's VFL/AFL record of 21 finals series without a premiership (between 1959-89).

"Mentally it was probably hard straight after the game and maybe Sunday," Montagna said. "But we had lunch on Sunday and since then the boys have been really good.

"We've re-grouped, it's another week, we're going to play again and we're going to have a normal preparation ... we've moved on pretty quickly."

Montagna refused to concede a loss would hurt even more deeply, following a draw the previous week.

"The fall's pretty big anyway. It's a big prize at the end of the game," he said. "Whether we play one week or two weeks, there's a big prize at the end and both teams are striving to achieve that."

The Saints, who came from four goals down at half-time to almost pinch the flag last week, aren't pinning their hopes on riding that momentum.

"It's a brand new game, there's going to be a whole new set of circumstances," Montagna said. "Conditions might be different, all those sorts of things.

"No doubt we can't afford to give Collingwood a four-goal start again.

"They're a terrific team and we know they start really well. We are going to want to start a lot better."

One player the Saints don't need to worry about is midfielder Lenny Hayes, who produced a Norm Smith Medal-winning performance last week after being among the Saints' best in the 2009 decider against Geelong.

"Lenny's made for grand finals," Montagna said. "The way that he has been playing, there's no reason why he won't do it [win the Norm Smith] again. He's a super player."

- AAP