ST KILDA champion Lenny Hayes says the Saints are bullish about their 2014 prospects and confident of knocking off a rising Greater Western Sydney outfit in round two on Saturday.
Hayes' comments came after the depleted Saints hit back at their critics by upsetting Melbourne by 17 points in round one.
"We expected to win, we expect to compete really hard in every game we play," Hayes said on Tuesday.
"It was great to see guys playing their first game, the three debutants (Luke Dunstan, Jack Billings and Eli Templeton) and Shane Savage and Luke Delaney in their first games for the club get a win and sing the song.
"Whilst everyone else might have talked down our chances this year, we're still very bullish about what we can do.
"We want to compete, we want to be in every contest and I thought we were really good last week, but the challenge is to back that up and consistently do that, which is something we didn't do the last couple of years."
The Saints will carry high hopes of starting the season 2-0 when they face the GWS Giants at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The Giants are also aiming for a perfect start.
GWS built on a 68-point hammering of the Saints in the final NAB Challenge match with the greatest win in its short history over the Sydney Swans in round one.
"They’ve been really good and we played them a few weeks ago and they touched us up, had a really strong second quarter against us and probably blew us out of the water a little bit," he said.
"We know we're in for a tough game, they've got some really good young, talented kids who have added experience, but we'll go in with a bit of confidence as well."
Hayes and fellow midfielder Leigh Montagna are set to return to the side this weekend after serving one-game suspensions.
"It's really exciting and (the club's) a good place to be at the moment so I can't wait to get into it," Hayes said.
"I feel great, I feel obviously pretty fresh after last weekend and I'm still really keen to have an impact out on the field, but also with the younger guys as well.
"I certainly had some good role models coming in and that's what guys like myself and Nick (Riewoldt) and 'Joey' (Montagna) and Sean Dempster and Sam Fisher … that's the legacy we want to leave."
Hayes, who is entering his 16th AFL season, mentored round one NAB AFL Rising Star nominee Luke Dunstan during the pre-season.
The 277-game veteran has been impressed with Dunstan's determination to excel.
"I think from day one when he got to the club he really wants to improve," Hayes said.
"For a guy who is only 18 or 19 his professionalism was something that really stood out to me.
"He wants to get better and he wants to learn and he's the one that's coming to me.
"You can just see how driven he is – a lot of our young guys are like that."
