IN FOOTY, you usually get what you deserve.

And in 2024, St Kilda got just that, according to head coach Nick Dal Santo, leading to an overarching sense of disappointment in the wake of the season.

The club struggled to reign in close margins, playing strong defensive football but unable to kick its own winning score.

Six of its 11 games this year were decided by 15 points or less. The Saints won just one of those games, leaving them floundering in 11th spot and missing finals yet again.

The club remains one of just two – alongside West Coast – which is yet to qualify for a finals series across its AFLW history.

"We lost four, five games by 15 points or less, and when you look at all those games in isolation, you're like 'we were close', but my approach as a coach is, you get what you deserve, and we weren't good enough on any of those occasions to get the result that we really wanted," Dal Santo told AFL.com.au.

"You bundle that all up and you reflect on the 11 games that we played this year, and you're still disappointed with what the possibilities could have been, or what potential we had."

In 2023, the Saints finished ninth on the ladder, missing the top eight by an agonising 4.3 per cent. As a result, they were determined to go one better this year. But a tougher fixture, and the overall competition lifting, left them out in the cold.

"That goes into the bigger conversation about the evolution of AFLW, and my expectation is (that) year on year it'll be substantial growth in all phases of the game, from fitness levels, to skills, to tactics and strategies and gameplans," Dal Santo said.

"So absolutely, I think we improved in a lot of areas this year. It didn't always result in us winning games."

Things started promisingly, with three wins to open the season, only to finish the year with just one win from the last eight games.

While there were some standout performers through St Kilda's midfield – best and fairest winner Jaimee Lambert and youngster Tyanna Smith in particular – the balance and overall strength of the line was a concern.

The club failed to win a disposal count across the season, and only won the contested possession count twice – by no more than two each time – while its inside 50 count dropped compared to last season.

As it struggled to win control at the source, there was a flow-on effect across the field. Average scores dropped, and the Saints were forced to battle in defence for extended periods of time.

For this reason, the Saints are targeting midfield depth across the off-season, which started with the addition of Hawthorn's Charlotte Baskaran via a trade last week.

"It's really, really clear, and it has been for a while, about what makes players and clubs really good (in finals). So, there's no hiding the fact that we need some extra support, particularly through the midfield," Dal Santo said.

There were injuries that hit the line. Georgia Patrikios failed to play a game after a foot injury during a pre-season practice match. Nicola Xenos played only five games after battling a heel concern, and Olivia Vesely played 10 of a possible 11 games but was hampered by injury all year.

But that's not the whole story. Establishing better depth, and more versatility on the park, is going to be key in taking St Kilda to the next level.

"I could go through a lot of these girls that had challenges throughout the year for physical reasons. But I was also watching the likes of North Melbourne or Adelaide or even Port Adelaide … when Ashleigh (Woodland) goes on ball and I was like 'Wow, okay, they've got really good depth'," Dal Santo said.

"They've got quality starting midfielders, then they've got this group of five, six, or seven that can go through there at any stage. So we were really pleased with a lot of the mids that we've currently got, but we're also aware that we need to bring some extra support into that particular part of the ground."

It's not just about bringing in a host of midfielders, however, there needs to be a clear focus on how that midfield balances out. Adding players who complement those already in the line, and developing those who are already at the club to move through the line.

In St Kilda's final game of the season, Dal Santo sent both J'Noemi Anderson and Charlotte Simpson to play as inside midfielders, helping them learn the ropes up against the likes of Brisbane's Belle Dawes, Cathy Svarc and Ally Anderson.

"You'll see better versions of those girls going forward. J'Noemi, off the top of my head, might have played I'm going to say 19 games, not a lot of football, and she's played the majority of that as a small forward … Charlotte Simpson, who's a father-daughter, hadn't played at this level at all and played 10 games out of a possible 11, and the one she missed was through illness," Dal Santo said.

"Then you add in the compounding factor, how does that work with other midfielders … I watch Anne Hatchard and Ebony Marinoff and these sort of girls, the way that they work together. It's not just one individual, it's also the collective. So we need this group, and we will support them and challenge them at the right time for this next group of five or six or seven to do it as a collective."

Now, with five months until the 2025 pre-season kicks off in earnest, there is a chance for Dal Santo to get creative. Fresh off a two-year contract extension, tying him to the Saints until at least the end of the 2026 season, heading up the club's AFLW side has given him a different perspective on footy as a whole.

"We're talking about football, so it's not rocket science, but there are a lot of areas of life that you can take learnings from and take the good bits out of it and implement it into your program. And by program, I mean your culture, high performance environment, how you communicate with players, how do you structure up meetings, all of that. I love the exploring about what that might be," Dal Santo said.

"I'm definitely a different coach, and I've evolved probably even as a person three years into the role, for the better… this has challenged me in different ways and made me a better person I think, and a better coach absolutely."