A WINLESS start to the season has not changed the mood at St Kilda, forward Josh Bruce says.
The Saints struggled after quarter-time in their round one clash against Melbourne before losing by 30 points while they were overrun late versus West Coast last Saturday.
St Kilda entered the pre-season full of expectation after it won 12 games last year and missed the finals on percentage. Starting the season trailing in the win-loss ledger has not been what the club wanted.
"We're really disappointed with the way we played against Melbourne but we turned that around against West Coast and gave ourselves a chance to win," Bruce said.
"Irrespective of the 0-2, I think it's really important to continue to play our way."
Former skipper Nick Riewoldt trained on Tuesday as he bids to make a miraculous comeback to face the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Another aiming to return is tough midfielder David Armitage, who was sidelined by a groin injury last Saturday.
Both will need to train well on Thursday to be available for selection.
Dynamic onballer Jack Steven flew back to Melbourne on Monday with club doctor Tim Barbour after playing the last half of the final quarter with a punctured lung. He has been ruled out of facing the Lions.
Harris Andrews will likely spend time marking Bruce on Sunday. The 20-year-old is seen as a future leader of the club and is excellent at reading the flight of the ball and taking intercept marks.
Bruce said he enjoyed the attention from opposition coaches.
"I really pride myself on taking the best defender week in, week out and setting myself against them. I'm looking forward to the challenge," he said.
"I see it as a feather in the cap. I've got a lot of support around me with Tim Membrey and Paddy (McCartin) having terrific years last year and being further big bodies down there as well."