Emerging St Kilda youngster Jack Sinclair says it was important to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing loss to Greater Western Sydney in a manner that typified the Saints’ brand.

A week after being comprehensively beaten in a handful of key facets, including most glaringly contested and uncontested ball, St Kilda made a statement at Etihad Stadium, winning both the contested (+10) and uncontested ball (+33) counts and stopped Melbourne from opening the game up and exploiting the Saints on the spread.

Sinclair, who produced the strongest performance of his season to date, collected 19 possessions, seven score involvements, five tackles and two goals, as well as 16 pressure acts, revealed in the aftermath of St Kilda’s 39-point win the focus had been on turning up the pressure gauge, back to the level it had been against Collingwood and Hawthorn.

“Obviously it’s a bit of a relief to have a win. It was really impressive after last week. We were really disappointed with our pressure and the way we played (against GWS), we just couldn’t get going. We turned it all around today, we had the game on our terms and we got the rewards,” Sinclair told saints.com.au.

“It [contested ball] was a big focus for us to pick that up again. We won the contested ball so that’s a positive, really good for our midfielders.

“We also tried to restrict their uncontested ball because we know when they get the ball and their uncontested marks that’s when they look pretty good. We kept them to under 50 uncontested marks which went a long way to winning the game.”

With two unforced forward line changes at the selection table last week, and players in form at both levels, pressure for spots inside 50 is fierce at the minute. And it’s an element Sinclair believes is crucial if the Saints are going to maintain their form.

“It’s good to have competition for spots obviously. Guys who have been really good pressure players for a long time have gone out of the side because they didn’t bring it for a week pretty much,” Sinclair said.

“It’s only going to make us better, competition for spots, and it’s going to lift our pressure for sure.”

After missing a spot in Alan Richardson’s Round 1 side, Sinclair has gradually spun the wheels in motion this season, with his class and surety with ball in hand standing out against the Demons in a performance that should fuel his confidence.