ST KILDA’S off-season has sometimes looked busier than the season itself.

The football department was overhauled, the board replaced, a new club base announced and the player turnover was significant.

The star full-forward retired but then decided he wanted one more AFL season and came back.

Ross Lyon deadpans that in his second year as coach he feels "as stressed as I did in the first".

But having fumed at times during 2007 about the club's injury management and then seen plenty of cause for optimism about their on-field prospects, Lyon has now made the Saints his team.

St Kilda will be one of the most intriguing teams this year, with the big question being, does the Riewoldt-Ball-Dal Santo era have a premiership in it?

And Lyon will not die wondering. "I feel more in control, obviously, I really know what to expect - forewarned is forearmed," he says.

"The group and I have made a lot of inroads into what we want to do and things we want to work on, in regards to attack and defence.

"We've put a lot of good people in place, added to the resources and therefore the systems are tighter, we're really hopeful of getting the results."

That hope was given a further boost when St Kilda won the NAB Cup on Saturday night.

Heading into the regular season, they are widely seen as the team best-equipped to challenge defending premiers Geelong.

A month-long losing streak last year saw the Saints reach the half-way mark with just four wins. However, they won seven of their next 11 to miss the top eight by a mere half a game.

Full-forward Fraser Gehrig's retirement only lasted a few weeks but Aaron Hamill, Brett Voss and Andrew Thompson were among those who definitely ended their careers.

Geelong premiership ruckman Steven King led the player recruits, but the most important personnel changes at the club could prove to be among the team's support staff.

Matthew Drain took over as football manager, David Misson joined from Sydney as fitness coach and Tim Barbour came in as a club doctor.

For at least three seasons, the Saints have not taken a trick with injuries and decided enough was enough.

In the midst of this, Greg Westaway led a board takeover that deposed the Rod Butterss regime, then the Saints announced that they would leave their Moorabbin home for Frankston in the growing south-east Melbourne corridor, traditionally a Saints’ stronghold.

Where all of this leaves St Kilda will remain a query for at least the first 10 weeks of the regular season, but so far the signs are good.

Former West Coast ruckman Michael Gardiner only played one game at any level last season, but the former all-Australian has impressed so far in 2008.

If Gardiner, King and Michael Rix can settle as a ruck trio, that frees Justin Koschitzke to spend more time forward alongside Nick Riewoldt and Gehrig.

Injuries have hit the Saints particularly hard in defence in previous seasons with Matt Maguire, Max Hudghton and Brendon Goddard all out for extended periods last season.

Common wisdom rates a settled back six as the key to a premiership team and here the Saints badly need some stability.

Former coach Grant Thomas has wondered aloud whether legendary veteran Robert Harvey is playing one season too many but the Saints have depth in their midfield group.

After a carefully-managed summer, gun onballer Luke Ball eased back into the team for the pre-season semi-final win over Essendon.

Amid all the questions of who plays where, Drain has already noticed something else about this team.

"The biggest thing that has jumped out at me about St Kilda's list is the maturity of the playing group," the former football manager at Essendon and the Western Bulldogs says.

"I mean the maturity of people. They're good athletes, they are very focused. But again, you've got to back it up, haven't you?"