IT'S TIME for the Saints to get serious.

St Kilda is one of just four sides in the competition who have never made a finals series, alongside Hawthorn and Port Adelaide (both season seven expansion teams) and West Coast.

The Saints have been languishing in the middle of the AFLW ladder for quite some time and are treading a very fine line of heading the same way as their men's side – the path of mediocrity.

But there's reason to believe that 2024 will be the year that Nick Dal Santo's side finally breaks its finals hoodoo and features in the pointy end of the season for the first time.

AFLW expert, Kate McCarthy, believes this could be the year the Saints take their game to another level.

"St Kilda are really starting to find their system under Nick Dal Santo," she told AFL.com.au vodcast Tagged.

"They'd be the one that I'd be keeping an eye on going into round one and beyond."

Dal Santo has had several seasons at the helm and the grace period is over.

The Saints have all the tools now to make a big push and featuring in finals action should be non-negotiable.

But where will St Kilda get its improvement from?

Unlike clubs such as Fremantle and Hawthorn who went hard over the trade and draft period, the Saints will be relying predominantly on natural growth across their playing list.

It looks as though their connection between the midfield and forward line, which plagued them last season, has improved drastically.

Their ball movement has looked more fluid over pre-season, which has enabled greater efficiency going inside 50.

Ella Friend has been a big driver of that, acting as a key linking player across the half-forward line, as has winger Grace Kelly, who booted two goals in St Kilda's practice match victory against West Coast.

Friend has played 25 games across her AFLW career to date and is ready to take that next step and use that penetrating left foot to generate plenty of drive.

One name the Saints did bring in over the off-season was ruck Rene Caris. Caris made the move from the Giants and is set to partner veteran Simone Nalder in the ruck this season.

Ex-Blue Paige Trudgeon has also arrived to reinforce the defence, as will Bec Ott who has overcome an Achilles problem that ruined her 2023 campaign.

Another name who many have pencilled in for a bigger and better year is defender Serene Watson. The 22-year-old doesn't take a backwards step and offers plenty of drive and rebound off the half-back line. She looks likely to have the kick-in duties this season too, which only highlights the trust the St Kilda coaching staff are placing in the former Sun.

J’Noemi Anderson is also ready to step up in 2024 and show the footy world why she was such a highly touted junior. Anderson has played just 10 games throughout her career so far, but having had two seasons in the competition now is ready to make her mark. Anderson's ferocious tackling and aerial ability look likely to make her a key cog of Dal Santo's forward mix this season.

A key benefactor of the improved ball use and connection between the midfield and forward line will be star forward Jesse Wardlaw.

Wardlaw booted eight goals from her 10 matches last season, but expect her to get closer to the 22 majors from 12 outings she kicked in her last year at the Lions, which saw her win the AFLW Leading Goalkicker award.

When up and about, she's one of the most dangerous forwards in the competition. Just ask the Eagles who felt her wrath in the practice match, where she piled on four majors in the second half to blow the game apart.

You can always tell a fair bit about the culture of a footy club when players want to recommit.

The Saints have re-signed a host of players ahead of the 2024 season including former Pie Jaimee Lambert and star midfielder Georgia Patrikios.

Two other players who will be at the core of Dal Santo's plans this season are Liv Vesely and Tyanna Smith, who have also recently penned four-year extensions.

That quartet are all stars in their own right and the fact they have recommitted at Moorabbin shows that something special is brewing.

Vesely in particular seems ready to have a career-best season. The star onballer looks to be reaping the benefits of a strong pre-season on the track, having struggled for consistency given her injury issues in years gone by.

St Kilda will also unveil draftee Charlotte Simpson against Gold Coast this weekend, after impressing in her first pre-season. The father-daughter recruit is strong around the coalface and has had to work incredibly hard for her opportunity at the top level, with a cyst on her ovary delaying her draft dream initially.

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Kiera Whiley is also waiting in the wings for an opportunity this year as the club's other new draftee.

All the pieces are there for the Saints, who were so incredibly close last season.

But the time is now.

It's time for these Sainters to step things up and enter the finals mix for the first time in AFLW history.