ST KILDA coach Ross Lyon says Nick Riewoldt has improved as a player and labelled his superstar skipper the Saints' 'Mr Everywhere'.

Riewoldt booted 6.0 in his side's stirring 30-point win over Hawthorn.

While he was still a potent force further afield, it was the damage he did close to goal that made him such an important figure.

Lyon refuted suggestions his skipper would be relied on to play near the sticks if his team was to be a genuine threat in 2008.

"We've won our last four and that's his first bag of six, isn't it?" Lyon said at Moorabbin on Tuesday.

"Our mids are kicking goals, our backs are kicking goals and our small forwards … we had nine goalkickers on the weekend and the week before we had a fair few, so we like to share the load and clearly we don't want to be dependent on one person."

The Saints coach said his captain's ability to play a variety of roles made him such an asset.

"He took a number of marks up on centre wing; he took a number of marks inside 50," Lyon said.

"What's really pleasing is he's improved his ground-level play and he's getting goals [in] different ways … handball receives, front and square, contested mark and on the lead, so he's added some strings to his bow.

"So he's actually improved as a player, and he is the everywhere man.

"You know he'll run into defence, he'll run on the wing, so you don't know where Nick's going to be – and that's the way I like it."

Meanwhile, Lyon said former spearhead Fraser Gehrig was getting closer to a potential return to the AFL, although whether he makes it back to senior football remains to be seen.

"He's been training, he's fit, he's strong," Lyon said.

"It's been more one-to-one skill work. He hasn't joined with the [main] group yet, so that's a decision to be made yet and to be honest it hasn't been a pressing issue for us."

Lyon, whose side travels to Perth for a clash with West Coast on Saturday, said the veteran – who is suffering from arthritis in the fingers – was not being kept as an insurance policy should the Saints suffer injuries to other key forwards.

"As far as I'm concerned he's on the long-term injury list and he's rehabbing to play AFL footy again," he said.

"I have an expectation that he rehabs to full fitness with an aim to get back to full training to give himself [the best chance of] possible selection … we want all hands on deck."