St Kilda’s recent interstate record has been a talking point across the last 12 months, with blowout losses against Adelaide, Gold Coast and the Eagles taking the gloss off an impressive 2016 campaign.

After Saturday night’s disappointing 30-point loss to Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, Steven says St Kilda will implement an altered away game routine this weekend in an attempt to arrest their poor record on the road.

“I think we’ll just see it as a positive, we’ll get away as a group, try and bond together and get over to Perth. I’m looking forward to getting away with the boys and having a crack against the Eagles,” Steven told reporters at a press conference on Monday.

Monday Wash-Up: Round 1 v Melbourne

“We’re going to try and make them as similar as the day before in Melbourne, try and get the boys a bit more comfortable and make it a lighter day.

“We just spoke about making the day more compact. Because we’ve got to Perth it can just be a really long day if you spread it all out. We don’t cut any corners or anything, we just squeeze it all in a bit tighter.”

St Kilda’s underwhelming start to 2017 could have been compounded by a season-ending knee injury to champion forward Nick Riewoldt after he hyperextended his knee in the last quarter.

Fortunately, the six-time Trevor Barker Award winner has escaped serious injury and is likely to return in a fortnight, but Steven initially feared the worst.

“Yeah definitely (thought Riewoldt had done his knee). I think everyone in the stadium thought it wasn’t the greatest,” Steven said.

“It’s awesome news. Hopefully he can get back out there soon.

“I don’t think they want to put a timeline on it, I think the scans were positive but then its all how it pulls up with the swelling and stuff like that.”

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