ST KILDA might be assured of a September berth after their 48-point defeat of Adelaide on Sunday but the players are still reluctant to use the 'f' word.

Midfielder Nick Dal Santo said that, while it's nice to know their fate as a finals contender is sealed, the Saints can't afford to take their eyes off their round-22 clash with Essendon.

"To be honest we haven't spoken about finals that much," Dal Santo said at the club's recovery session at the St Leonard's College pool in Brighton. "We're not in any position to take any week for granted.

"You look back 10 weeks and we were struggling to get in the top eight and our focus has just been to improve as a side to get across the line.

"This week is nice because we know where we are at but we've still got a big game ahead of us."

Dal Santo agreed the Saints have hit season-best form in recent weeks, winning seven games from nine starts.

"In the last month, we probably haven't put a full game together that we've been happy with, but there's definitely three quarters or half a game which is the way we like to play our football," he said.

"We've been putting some good scores on the board and stopping oppositions, so if we can do that for four quarters, we give ourselves every chance to be successful."

Nick Riewoldt was a notable absentee from the recovery session, however Dal Santo said everyone pulled up well from the win on Sunday, including forward Stephen Milne.

Milne, 28, has endured a traumatic week, being forced to take a cross-country road trip after a fractured cheekbone in round 20 prevented him flying back from Perth.

"It's not great to look at his face, but it was great to have him out there," Dal Santo said.

"I thought he played really well again and obviously he's had a pretty tough week, but the way he's handled himself, even last week coming off the cheekbone and finishing off the game and the travel this week and then playing the game, was fantastic.

"He contributes really well and gives us another avenue to goal, which we really need."