ST KILDA youngster Jack Sinclair believes Sunday's record win against Essendon could give the building Saints confidence and drive for years to come.
The Saints fielded six players aged 22 or under on Sunday, and all played their roles in the club's biggest win against Essendon.
Sinclair, who returned after one match in the VFL because of rookie list rules, said the young group's enthusiasm would only grow after the 110-point win.
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"I think that performance will really lift us for a long time and give us heaps of confidence going into the rest of the year and the years ahead," Sinclair told AFL.com.au.
"It's really positive for the group and I feel like we've been building to that sort of performance for a while.
"It's been driven by the senior players, but we've got a young group that continue to play our roles and help the team play some good footy.
"It's great. It's a really exciting group to be a part of."
Sinclair said the Saints had been craving a performance where they put their foot down late, and it had been important to maintain their aggressive style in the final quarter.
With their first three-figure win since 2012 in sight, the Saints kicked eight goals in the final term to take their lead from 66 points at the final break to 110.
"When we go into our shell that's when the other team is able to get back into the game a bit," Sinclair said.
"We just keep trying to play the way we want to play, which is to be really aggressive with our ball use and run.
"We just keep trying to take on the game. We finished off really well."
Sinclair played as a forward for three quarters on Sunday and kicked two goals, but he thrived in the midfield in the final term when the Saints decided to rest Jack Steven.
"He got opportunities in there late and he was able to break free and kick a pretty good goal, and I think he had three centre-bounce clearances," coach Alan Richardson said.
"It was great for him … we just wanted to rest him a little bit given we were able to because of the scoreboard.
"He's doing everything right … and he's won the respect of his teammates because he's pretty tough."
