St Kilda stand-in captain Seb Ross believes his team will bounce back after dissecting what needs to change after Saturday night’s loss to Brisbane.

After conceding nine goals in an eye-opening third term, Ross said his side was forced to put each individual performance under the magnifying glass on Monday morning.

“It was really handed over to the players to really sort of delve deeply into what each player was thinking, particularly in that third quarter.

“That’s probably where the game was lost.

“There were some really strong conversations and guys were held accountable.”

According to Ross, the Saints simply failed to match the Lions’ pressure in the contest.

“The effort was there, but the execution and the overall physicality – and the want to work and get to the next to the contest probably wasn’t,” he said.

“We just weren’t up to scratch, we weren’t physical enough, our work rate wasn’t there.

“It’s on everyone – Richo wasn’t out there running with us on the weekend, and there’s still plenty of improvement in the 22 that were out there.

“The scrutiny will come, and deservedly so after a performance like that.”

St Kilda sits just one game outside the eight in the lead-up to Sunday’s all-important clash with Richmond, in what shapes as a season-defining match.

“We’re at a critical part in our season now, we’re six and seven, which is where a lot of teams sit,” Ross said.

“Richmond are six and seven also, so it’s a really important clash for both clubs – it’s also Maddie’s Match this weekend – which adds a lot of extra importance.”

“I think after performing like we did on the weekend and having an eight-day break, we’ve got plenty of time to review how we played, and what we don’t want to do next time.”

The Saints will play host to Richmond in front of a sea of purple at Marvel Stadium at 1.10pm on Sunday.