ST KILDA moved the magnets in its final game of the season against Brisbane, and it begs the question – at what point of the season do you try something new?

The Saints were still in the finals hunt before last weekend's nail-biting loss to the Western Bulldogs, and with the top eight out of the question on Sunday, decided to change things up.

Youngsters J'Noemi Anderson and Charlotte Simpson played big midfield minutes against a strong Lions engine room.

The Credit to the Girls team were divided.

"I've loved what the Saints did [on Sunday], and I've been pretty harsh on the Saints this year, because they've gone into their shells a little bit at times," Gemma Bastiani said.

"They want to play attacking footy, but then once the pressure gets on, they go into their shells, they flood their defence, and then they've got nothing to go to when they want to attack, and it breaks down for them.

"I know they lost by a big margin, they gave up six goals in the third quarter, but I think they wanted to compete and they wanted to future-proof what they're doing. They sent Charlotte Simpson and J'Noemi Anderson in as pure midfielders for the game – you're going to learn what it's like to run against a highly fit, well organised midfield group. 

"They competed well. They didn't win the battle, but they learned what it was like and had moments of their own glory in it. Ash Richards also went into the midfield at times, and they managed to close the gap on the scoreboard in the last quarter."

But should the trigger have been pulled last week, when finals were still on the cards?

"I wouldn't say I'd be excited if I was a Saints fan, and that's me being really harsh. I think it's really good that they're playing those young players through the middle, but I think what they've done through the year hasn't shown me that's what is going to take them to the next level, or push for a finals spot in 2025," Lucy Watkin said.

"I think it's good to have that versatility and give those young players an opportunity, but if they want to compete in 2025, they have to hit trade and draft really, really hard.

"I think doing it in the last game is all well and good, but they had nothing to lose yesterday. Last week, against the Bulldogs, where the game was on the line – for a lot of that game against the Bulldogs, they were in a winning position, and they didn't throw caution to the wind to try and win that game. 

"There's been so many opportunities this year where they could have done that, and they thought in the last game, 'Well, we've got nothing to lose so we may as well do it.'"