St Kilda veteran Nick Riewoldt admits his three-week stint on the sidelines around the bye has freshened him up ahead of the second half of his 17^th season.

The 34-year-old missed the losses against the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide due to bone bruising in his troublesome left knee, but made a strong return in last Friday night’s win over North Melbourne, collecting 21 disposals and 11 marks.

Riewoldt, who has played nine of the first 12 games this season, didn’t rule out having another break in the coming months to help him get the most of the tail end of the year when the whips are cracking and St Kilda is chasing a return to September.

“Certainly the break has freshened me up, so last week I felt really good, (running) back on top of the ground. Hopefully it continues that way,” Riewoldt said at a press conference on Thursday.

“I’m always keen to be out there training and playing, but I did need that break.

“I think if you look at a lot of the veterans across the competition, no doubt a lot of those guys will be scheduling breaks in, so that’s not to say I’ll play every game between now and the end of the year.”

Out-of-contract at season's end, Riewoldt says that while he’d like to play on for as long as his body will allow him to, and will continue to prepare himself as best he can, the end does eventually come for everyone.

“I love the game and I’ve got a great respect for the game at the same time. So I know at some stage (my time will come to an end)," Riewoldt said.

“In the meantime, all you can do as a player is prepare yourself as best you can and give yourself the best opportunity to play well through the way you prepare and at the same time make sure you’re leading really strongly.

“That’s the number one focus that you’re contributing to the team and leading them team and making sure the team is heading in the right direction.”

After missing the win over the Kangaroos with a similar injury to the one that sidelined Riewoldt, emerging key forward Paddy McCartin is available for selection this week and could force a change in attack.

“He’ll certainly come into calculations. It’s only Thursday and we’ve got a Sunday game, so I’m not even sure if match committee have made that decision yet,” Riewoldt said.

“He was doing some really good things before he came out of the team, on the flip side the team had a good win so it’s always that balance.”