ST KILDA coach Alan Richardson is open to potentially trading out another significant player as the rebuilding Saints look for a strong presence in upcoming drafts.
The Saints started their rebuild last season when they traded No.1 ruckman Ben McEvoy to Hawthorn for Shane Savage and a first-round draft selection.
It came after head of football Chris Pelchen informed fans via an open letter that the Saints would aim to increase their draft activity by 50 per cent in the first three rounds of the next four drafts, starting in 2013.
Richardson, who arrived at the Saints after the McEvoy trade was made, said he understood why the strong leader was exchanged and was prepared to do that again if it helped the club long-term.
"Every footy club has to make decisions on their playing list; strategically, this year was all about making sure we got into the draft and got early picks," Richardson told AFL.com.au.
"Depending on ladder position, this year it may be that we have to trade.
"There's an enormous amount of work that goes into why you do what you do; the reality is that we have four young developing ruckmen that we're going to back in to come through.
"That trade gave us the opportunity to get in early at the draft and we're really pleased with what we've done at the draft."
The McEvoy departure left the Saints with a ruck division bereft of senior experience.
Tom Hickey, who arrived from Gold Coast for last season, has played 24 games. His new partner Billy Longer – who was traded from the Brisbane Lions last year – has played nine.
Lewis Pierce is untried and international American rookie Jason Holmes is brand new to the game and very raw.
Richardson said while the presence of reluctantly retired dual premiership player Darren Jolly as ruck coach had helped fast-track their development, he conceded they would face ups and downs this year.
"We're totally realistic about where these guys are at; the reality is that they are a chance to be a little bit inconsistent at times, they certainly won't have the luxury of feeling that it’s acceptable to be inconsistent," he said.
"We'll make sure we'll do everything we can around them to expedite their development, their progression.
"While it's only early days, Jolly has been outstanding, they do a lot of work one-on-one with Darren and in that program, and there's going to be fantastic, healthy competition for spots.
"They're going to get significant opportunity and minutes to play so they'll have every opportunity to improve."
Newly re-appointed captain Nick Riewoldt will play more in the forward line this year than roaming the ground, with Richardson keen to capitalise on his dominance in attack given the Saints' forward options.
He said it was time for the next layer of forwards to step up to help Riewoldt, who was easily the Saints' leading goalkicker last season with 50 to the now-retired Stephen Milne (28).
"There's no doubt we need that to happen. We need [Rhys] Stanley, we need [Tom] Lee, we need [Arryn] Siposs, [Spencer] White, these guys to improve and come through," he said.
"They guys are working really hard with Aaron Hamill on their forward craft and we definitely need them to step up.
"Guys are going to get opportunities to play and if they perform, they hold their spot."
The three draftees – acquired with the trio of first-round picks the Saints had to spend in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft – are close to being ready to play with Luke Dunstan the most physically advanced.
They'll get their opportunity at some stage, as will defender Josh Bruce who was recruited along with Luke Delaney to shore up the backline.
Richardson said he was confident the defence would be "pretty strong" this season after numerous years of an undermanned and undersized back half.
On joining the Saints days after Port Adelaide – where he was director of coaching – sent out a release stating he wasn't interested, Richardson said he had simply needed to ensure the approach was genuine before he agreed to meet with them.
He was appointed on November 14 after receiving the go ahead from Power coach and good friend Ken Hinkley, and started at the club a week after pre-season began.
Richardson admitted there were challenges with starting his job later than the rest of the new AFL coaches but was reassured by his lieutenants and the work they had done before he arrived.
"I suppose initially there was a little bit of uncertainty about pulling the program together," he said.
"But the reality was that two guys in particular, Danny Sexton and Adam Kingsley, pretty experienced guys, had the program from a conditioning perspective and the basic fundamentals of footy perspective up and running.
"That was an enormous relief. From there, it was as I presumed it would be."
