Alan Richardson and his men will attempt to turn their season on its head when they tackle the Giants on Saturday afternoon.

With the visitors sitting atop the AFL ladder, the Saints need to replicate the manic pressure that saw them snatch the four points from GWS in Round 7 last year.

1. Turn up the heat

The Saints swarmed the Giants all day and appeared to outnumber them at every contest, applying the sort of frenzied pressure that saw Richmond lift the premiership cup.

St Kilda’s hunger for possession of the football was epitomised by skipper Jarryn Geary’s bone-crunching tackle on Giants big man Jonathon Patton.

So far in 2018, the Saints have averaged over 10 fewer tackles per game than in 2017, and will need to close the gap this weekend.

2. Boss the midfield

Seb Ross and Jack Steven were the standout performers against the Giants last year, on a day where the young Saints took arguably their biggest scalp to date.

With 31 and 29 touches respectively, both were prolific through the midfield, with Steven nailing two important goals in a rampaging last quarter.

The Saints will need to build on their work from clearances against Geelong last week, where they won first use of the footy out of the centre but were rarely able to capitalise.

3. Finish big

The Giants boast the impressive record of not having lost a fourth quarter so far this season.

St Kilda’s six-goal final quarter last May saw the Saints dismiss the heavy favourites, and a strong finish will again be critical to victory.

Having only won 50% of their final terms in 2018, the Saints will need to overcome their inconsistency.

4. Share the spoils

Five out of the Saints’ 10 goalkickers booted multiple goals against the Giants last year, with Jade Gresham the standout bagging three.

St Kilda has only enjoyed the luxury of multiple goalkickers in two matches so far in 2018, with only Luke Dunstan posting more than one last week against Geelong.

If the Saints are to stand a chance against GWS, the midfield needs to get on the scoresheet, whilst the front six need to show deadly accuracy in front of goal and convert their chances; a factor that proved costly early on Sunday.