A FOUR-GOAL haul in the VFL is unlikely to be enough to see St Kilda No.1 draft pick Paddy McCartin make his AFL debut against Collingwood on Friday night.
Saints coach Alan Richardson said on Tuesday he'd be 'reluctant' to make any changes to the side that beat Gold Coast on Saturday.
Fellow draftee Hugh Goddard is also unlikely to be brought into the side.
Josh Bruce kicked six goals for St Kilda against the Suns, joining skipper Nick Riewoldt in a powerful new forward line partnership.
"If everyone's fit and healthy, we'll be reluctant to change our team too much.
"We were pleased for big parts of the game, and those guys have earned the right to keep their spot," Richardson said at the club's Seaford base.
But he insisted he would have no issue with unveiling McCartin on such a big stage.
"No, it'll be when we think he's ready," Richardson said.
"His performance was positive; he's certainly done what he needs to do at a lower level."
Veteran Leigh Montagna, who missed the Suns clash, is getting closer to a return from a knee injury, but Richardson said he was no certainty to come into the team.
"He won't do much at all out there (today), but we'll give him every opportunity," Richardson said.
The Saints play Collingwood at the MCG in what will be their only Friday night game of the season.
Richardson revealed he spoke about the significance of the upcoming match in the minutes after the 28-point win over the Suns.
"We spoke about what a terrific opportunity it is," he said.
"We've got to make sure we do everything right, and be seriously professional in the way that we recover so that we can be in really good shape," he said.
"To their credit they were able to do that last week; we've got to do it again."
Richardson said there was no spot for ruckman Tom Hickey at the moment, with Billy Longer impressing in the role.
"We think there's room for both. It'll depend a little bit on the opposition, it'll depend on form of both guys.
"Tom will just have to continue to impress at the lower level; he did on the weekend.
"He might have to wait a while, and that's really healthy for us, we haven't had that position for a while."
The Saints coach said he expected Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury would play despite an ankle concern.
