St Kilda spearhead Tim Membrey says the next generation at Linen House Centre has stepped up in the absence of retired royalty, dragging the playing group through another long, hot summer in Seaford.

Six-time Trevor Barker Award winner Nick Riewoldt and two-time All-Australian Leigh Montagna hung up their boots at the end of last season, while stalwart defender Sean Dempster called time on his ultra-reliable career earlier in the year.

“Those guys were a massive influence on the club in the way the lead over a long period of time,” Membrey told Melbourne radio station SEN on Wednesday night.

“Now it’s about the young brigade coming through who are driving the club to where we want to be and that’s to win a premiership.

“There’s been a real improvement in everyone buying in to get to where we want to.”

Membrey, who has played 37 of the past 39 games after breaking his way into Alan Richardson's best team, said the best lesson Riewoldt taught him was to never use feeling less than your best as an excuse for poor performance.

“I remember early on when I first got to the club (he told me) there’s going to be days where you’re not feeling 100 per cent,” Membrey said, “there’s going to be times where you’re coming off a poor sleep or something during the week that prevents you from giving 100 per cent at training, but you’ve got to give 100 per cent on game day and give everything you possibly can.”

Membrey has kicked the most goals at the Saints in each of the past two seasons, booting 38.14 in 2017, after finishing with 44.18 in a breakout 2016.