ST KILDA forward Josh Bruce will return to the side to face Adelaide on Friday night at Adelaide Oval.

Meanwhile, defender Jimmy Webster will play if he completes training on Thursday, as expected.

Bruce was dropped to the VFL after the Saints' round eight win against Carlton.

He kicked four goals for Sandringham last Sunday against Collingwood in less than three quarters of game time.

"Brucey will definitely come in," coach Alan Richardson said at Melbourne Airport on Thursday.

"Jimmy's also really likely to come in. We've got a bit of a hit-out today at West Adelaide where we think he's really likely to come back into the team."

Webster suffered a broken right hand in the clash against Carlton.

Paddy McCartin's form has come under scrutiny, although the No. 1 selection in 2014 showed promising signs before the bye against the Western Bulldogs.

The 21-year-old has kicked 4.7 from his four games this season.

Richardson said the forward's best was not far away.

"We like the way Paddy's preparing for games of footy now. He's able to get out there and do much more training at a really high level, and we think sooner rather than later that's going to result in really strong performance," Richardson said.

The Saints started the season 5-3 but dropped games against Sydney (by 50 points) and the Dogs (40).

They acknowledged inconsistency was an issue last season and Richardson said more work needed to be done.

"It was a focus coming into this year that we needed to bridge the gap. We think our best footy has gone to another level. We've probably bridged the gap a little bit, but not enough," Richardson said.

Breaking out of the mini-slump would require more efficiency with the footy.

"Our ability to finish off our work has been frustrating. If you look at entry versus opposition and rebound versus opposition, most of our footy's been heading the right way," Richardson said.

"The ability to be able to convert our work has been a bit of a struggle for us. That's not just forwards, that's a bit of the way we bring the ball in.

"Our defence needs more work. That's been disappointing."

Geelong's 22-point win against the Crows last Friday night may have offered Richardson something of a blueprint.

Don Pyke's men have played some exhilarating football and are the highest-scoring team in the competition, but Richardson said it was important not to be too caught up in that.

"Geelong just really went after their own game and weren't spooked by the fact they were playing against a really good team," Richardson said.

"We all acknowledge that Adelaide's a terrific team, and that's going to be our challenge, to make sure that we get the balance right. Try to take away their strengths but continue to play and execute what we want to do."

Six-time best and fairest Nick Riewoldt is likely to be available for next week's clash against North Melbourne after bone bruising in his left knee again kept him out of the side.