SAM Fisher is a reliable defender, equally adept at shutting down his direct opponent as he is at free-wheeling from defence. However, as a senior player amongst a raft of up-and-coming youngsters, his role encompasses more than his own personal performance these days.

“It’s part of my job to help these young guys,” he said after the Saints were defeated by the Western Bulldogs on Saturday evening.

“You’ve got to put away your own game at times and help young guys get through and that’s the job of senior players and leaders around the club.”

Fisher collected 19 disposals, took nine marks, and was a sturdy pillar in the Saints back half against the Bulldogs. Nevertheless, he maintained that this area of St Kilda’s game isn’t as strong as it could be.

“We weren’t happy as a defensive group,” he said. “We got off to a poor start, myself included, and that and is something we have to work on.”

He reiterated Scott Watters’ post-match message, citing the lack of four quarter efforts as the primary area for improvement in coming weeks.

“As Scott [Watters] said, putting together four quarters starts with our defensive group … we’ve got to move forward that way.”

Fisher was full of praise for Ben McEvoy, who along with fellow big-man Tom Hickey managed to limit Will Minson’s influence on the contest.

“I think Macca (Ben McEvoy) has been superb all season,” he said.

“Coming up against Minson, who is probably the in-form ruckman of the competition at the moment was [always] going to be a big job for him … He’s growing week by week.”

You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32