It might not have been the prettiest of wins at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson was pleased with his sides method and ability to respond when challenged by Brisbane after half-time.

After a winless first fortnight of 2017, St Kilda generated 13 more inside 50s, hauled in 22 marks inside 50 to six and registered 37 scoring shots to 21, paving the way to a 31-point victory at Docklands.

Given the expectation placed on his side leading into Sunday’s game and the importance of putting a win on the board, Richardson said the performance in the last quarter was a sign of the group's maturity.

“It was at times a frustrating game and also at times a positive game. I thought that from a method point of view, to generate a lot of entries – I think we had 57 entries, 37 scoring shots - that was positive,” Richardson said in his post-match press conference on Sunday night.

“They got going in the third quarter and I was very disappointed with our play but I was very pleased that with five minutes to go in the third our guys were able to wrestle back some of the momentum.

“It was a very positive last quarter. A fair bit of pressure on the group, expectation to win, you’re zero and two. I thought the group showed a lot of maturity to be as composed in the last quarter, which was really a reflection of their want to win and work and get over and support their mates."

After another poor performance in front of goal, Richardson conceded the Saints have an issue with conversion and will need to continue to work on their accuracy.

“It’s been a bit of a trend across the competition but it certainly is for us. We gave ourselves every opportunity to have a really strong result in Perth last week and missed opportunities," he said.

“Every team knows that given how even the competition is now that if you don’t make the most of your opportunity when you’re on top you’re going to leave the door ajar and that happened again.

“What are we going to do about it? We’re just going to continue to work on it. We do a lot of work on our goal kicking, whether it be set shots or on the run or snaps at training and we’ve just got to keep doing it.”

Tim Membrey may have carved out a reputation for himself as a sharp shooter last year, but his radar in front of goal evaded him on Sunday. Last year’s leading goalkicker finished with 1.3, including two misses from set shots inside 25 metres, while Josh Bruce also had the yips, converting 1.4.

“He’s [Membrey] probably our most accurate. He was really, really strong for us last year and he does not only in our structured training but on his day off he’s down at the club having shots,” Richardson said.

“They will be fine they are doing, they’re doing the work. In AFL footy and in elite sport if you’re doing the work things will turn and I’ve got no doubt that will happen.”