ST KILDA coach Scott Watters has lamented his team’s second quarter in Friday night’s loss to Hawthorn.

[ REPORT: Hawks too good for Saints ]

The Saints went down by 46 points to the highly fancied Hawks, a margin that was largely orchestrated in the second term.

“If you look at the game I guess for three quarters of football the margin was four points, four points and five points,” Watters said post-game. “One quarter of football was 33 points, which is probably indicative of where we’re at as a group and would be a fair reflection on where they are at as a group as well.”

Despite the lapse in the second term, St Kilda held the ascendancy in the clinches for most of the evening, an aspect of the game that pleased Watters.

“We won the contested ball tonight which was a target that we set ourselves for, but our ability to sustain it over four quarters is still a challenge for us at this point,” he said. “Three quarters against a potential premiership side – there is a lot to take out of it for us.”

“I don’t walk away from a game like tonight’s deflated.”

Another positive for the night was the debut of clever half-forward Darren Minchington. The lightly build 19-year-old was elevated off the rookie list mid-week after a string of excellent performances in the VFL.

“You can see a little bit of class and a little bit of polish there and with another pre-season he’s going to be a player. So we’ve found another one tonight. It’s fantastic,” Watters said.

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Minchington’s 2012 season was riddled with various injuries, limiting his ability to work on his fitness and strength on the training track. However in the past two months the youngster has developed the engine to compete at the highest level, but still has a long way to go according to Watters.

“I still think he’s 50 per cent AFL conditioned with where I think he needs to be. But he needed to get that taste tonight… So he can go away knowing that if ‘I get a little bit stronger, a little bit fitter, a little bit more mature, I’m good enough to play.”

“Could he sustain it for four quarters out there tonight? He was cramping at half-time. He’s got to learn. So we’ll expose him,” he said.

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At the other end of the spectrum is Adam Schneider, a similarly crafty half-forward who impressed in his return to AFL football after an extended period on the sidelines due to injury. After coming on as the sub, he booted three second-half goals and collected 14 disposals.

“Adam is 28… You see the class that he has when he plays – maturity, leadership and he kicks the ball really well. He just needs to keep moving forward… Adam is a really important player for us,” Watters said.

St Kilda faces another tough contest this Sunday, taking on Sydney at the SCG. While winning is important, Watters also suggested that finding the balance between blooding youngsters and achieving the right result was something he is constantly weighing up.  

“We notice the win-loss – no doubt. But we have got to make sure that we are playing the right players to move this club forward and then recruit and add to it. That’s where we are at.”

You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32