ST KILDA forward Mav Weller will miss Friday night's clash against Greater Western Sydney at Etihad Stadium with a rolled ankle.

Tough nut Nathan Wright comes back into the side for the first time since round one.

"The team was going to be unchanged. Unfortunately, Maverick Weller rolled his ankle yesterday, so he won't play. We're hoping that will just be the one week," Saints coach Alan Richardson said at Sandringham on Thursday.

"Nathan Wright will come in and play that role."

Wright picked up 25 disposals and nine tackles through the midfield in the VFL last Saturday against Collingwood.

The Saints make their first appearance on a Friday night in more than two years. Last time on that stage, they lost to Collingwood by 74 points in round three, 2015, their 11th consecutive defeat in the Friday night timeslot.

It has been more than five years since St Kilda last won on a Friday night, with that clash coming against Fremantle – the last time Ross Lyon coached against the Dockers.

Richardson said there was no doubt about the edict from AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan.

"Gil's made that pretty clear, that the AFL and the way that they structure the draw have to be confident that anyone who plays Friday nights is going to be really, really competitive, and probably play in a manner which the viewers like, and that is to be attacking. We're pleased that we get that opportunity," Richardson said. 

Paddy McCartin was at the captain's run session, along with ruckman Tom Hickey and the hard-running Daniel McKenzie, but none of the trio will be named in the 22 face the Giants.

McCartin, who turned 21 a fortnight ago, didn't earn a recall despite coming off a dominant seven-goal performance for Sandringham. 

"He's a driven, ambitious young man that played the sort of game that would often get you in," Richardson said.

"The team performed strongly. Those that he would look to replace performed strongly, so he understands that. It doesn't mean he's not disappointed or even a little bit frustrated, but he's just got to keep going." 

Sam Gilbert was used as a relief ruckman in the win over Hawthorn last Saturday, taking over from Josh Bruce in the role.

"Because 'Brucey' has the ability to work over his opponent, we didn't want to give whoever his opponent was a break," Richardson explained.

"We know that certainly last week, Hawthorn defenders can zone off and support each other as well as anyone. We wanted to make sure they were engaged for as long as possible, and 'Brucey' was a big part of that."