St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson says the form of others have forced the match committee to bring emerging forward Paddy McCartin back through the VFL after the Saints elected to manage the 20-year-old’s workloads last weekend.

With McCartin not playing at any level last weekend, mobile key forward Tim Membrey produced a dominant performance in his first appearance at senior level this season, booting 5.1 from 16 possessions and eight marks to make a sizeable contribution in St Kilda’s highest score of the season – 20.15 (135).

After playing Rounds 2-5 in the senior side, McCartin was freshened up last weekend following an interrupted end to his pre-season. Richardson conceded that the 2014 No. 1 pick probably would have come back in if not for the forward groups form against Melbourne, but suggested the selection conundrum was simply life as a young player.

"Well it's not necessarily a form thing for Paddy, it's probably a form thing for the guys that replaced Paddy,” Richardson told the media at a press conference at Linen House Centre on Friday.

“His preparation wasn't ideal and his last game reflected that - he was really struggling to cover the ground the big fella, but he has shown enough to suggest he's going to be a ripper.

“We’ve just got to make sure that he's in good shape. It may have been that he comes in this week, but when Membrey does what he did and ‘Brucey’ kicks three and ‘Rooey’ who we all acknowledge is in reasonable form he just hasn't been able to get back in a team we were happy with on the whole.

“That's okay, that's the life of a young player. You’ve got to make sure you make the most of the opportunities, but he is a good young man, he's working really hard on his footy. He'll play against the Maggie’s Saturday night and we expect him to perform strongly.”

In the absence of McCartin, powerfully built key forward Membrey thrived in his first game since returning from a shoulder reconstruction during the off-season, constructing the strongest performance of his short career.

Alan Richardson chats to Tim Membrey after the Saints Round 6 win over Melbourne.

Richardson described the former Sydney Swans forward as one of the hardest working players at St Kilda, suggesting his breakout performance against the Demons was the by-product of his dedication.

“That was Tim's tenth (14th) game of footy too. He's only new to the caper. He's a terrific person, he works as hard as anyone at our footy club on his game,” Richardson said.

“It was a game we saw building; you’re never after goals, you're just after contests and effort and continually being in the game - that's what we want from every player.

“The goals were a bonus, but there is no doubt it was a terrific performance and his job is he doesn't need to score like that again, but he just needs to be consistent and strong with his performance - whether that be in his aerial contest or giving us tackle pressure on the ground."

Paddy McCartin celebrates a goal with Jack Lonie in Round 3.