AFTER two weeks of the 2024 NAB AFLW season, St Kilda is sitting pretty in second spot on the ladder.

Yes, there are still nine games to play, and the Saints' fixture certainly gets tougher in the coming weeks, but there are clear areas of improvement on the field, none offering more impact than the increased maturity and sense of calm the side has demonstrated over the past fortnight.

"I think it comes from one, time with Nick Dal Santo, time in the system, and two, personnel," Lucy Watkin said on the Credit to the Girls podcast.

"We spoke about it a little bit last week when we spoke about Jesse Wardlaw, but seeing Liv Vesely really fit on the field, being able to win the footy more. Players like Molly McDonald, I think, has been really good on the wing.

"Tyanna Smith coming up, but also I think that one of the biggest ones is Nic (Stevens) going back to defence."

McDonald's improvement so far this year has been stark, with the winger crucial to St Kilda's newfound attacking game style.

Molly McDonald's improvement

Her ability to take ground and send the ball forward is emblematic of the team-wide ethos this year. In the past the Saints have been guilty of playing a very defensive game style, which was often effective in keeping the opposition's score low, but prevented them from kicking match-winning scores in the process.

This year, things are different.

"They were beautifully set up in defence, but different to the Saints we've seen in previous years, which is just hyper defensive, create stoppages," Gemma Bastiani said on the podcast.

"They were able to set up that defence, but then generate attacking run from it. So, they stopped the ball, and then rebounded out, instead of just stopping the ball and then getting stuck there."

With the backline solidified, including the reintroduction of Stevens to the line, it is allowing its opposition just four marks inside 50 and 3.5 contested marks per game.

This has forced teams to play a ground-level game against the Saints, a style in which their strong contingent of midfielders including Vesely, Smith, McDonald, Jaimee Lambert, and debutant Charlotte Simpson thrive. Once the ball hits the deck, St Kilda is able to clean up and start attacking.

On the whole, St Kilda is averaging more metres gained across the opening fortnight of the season than it ever has before, and the second-highest inside 50s in club history.

The other clear line of improvement is the spread of goalkickers the club can now rely on. In the win over Gold Coast in week one, 10 different Saints kicked majors, and against the Swans it was a spread of six players.

"The other thing that I love is that they're not relying on Jesse Wardlaw to kick four goals every week to get them a winning score," Bastiani said.

It's a style of play that has real potential to stand up against some of the best teams in the League, one that spreads the load across many rather than few, and relies on maturity and connection.

Now, with matches against the upstart Hawks and perennial contender Adelaide to come in the next month, St Kilda has the opportunity to means test its ability under pressure.

Come out the other side unscathed, and it will be perfectly placed to reach a finals series for the first time.