New Saints onballer Jack Steele admits St Kilda was badly beaten in the midfield but must move on quickly if they are to respond in Western Australia this weekend.

After St Kilda burst out of the blocks at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne reeled in a four-goal deficit in the second quarter, booting ten unanswered goals across the middle two quarters on the back of a dominant display around the ball.

As Alan Richardson emphasised in his post-match press conference, St Kilda was ‘smashed’ in the midfield, but now Steele says the club must review strongly and refocus ahead of the clash with West Coast on Saturday.

In his first appearance for the Saints, Steele collected a career-high 23 possessions (12 contested), 47 pressure points, seven marks and four tackles to be one of St Kilda's shining lights on a bleak day.

“We basically lost it in the midfield, especially in the second and third quarters,” Steele told saints.com.au after his first game for his new club.

“The first quarter we got out to a flyer and then we couldn’t match them after that so it was disappointing.

Monday Wash-Up: Round 1 v Melbourne

“I think we all thought it was going to just happen from there, but then the energy dropped.

“There’s not much more we can do other than review the game and move forward.”

Steele arrived at Linen House Centre last October in exchange for a future second-round pick and began his maiden pre-season at the club in the rehabilitation group following a foot injury in the NEAFL finals series.

The former Greater Western Sydney midfielder joined the main group after the Christmas break and hasn’t looked back since, building form over the JLT Community Series to earn a Round 1 berth.

“I’ve definitely found my groove now I think,” Steele said.

“I had a fairly good JLT series so I’m just looking to carry that into the regular season."

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