ST KILDA captain Nick Riewoldt's concussion history won't be a major factor when considering whether he plays against Hawthorn on Saturday afternoon at Aurora Stadium.
Riewoldt passed a concussion test last Saturday against Collingwood but club doctors felt he was not fit to finish the game.
The skipper suffered a head knock in the second quarter when attacking a ground ball, crashing into Magpie Levi Greenwood.
He appeared dazed and took a few seconds to stand up but would slot a goal after taking his free kick.
"(His history) doesn't factor into that (whether he plays the Hawks)," Saints football manager Jamie Cox said at training on Monday.
"It's the process that is important here. We would roll that out for any player from our list.
"We won't take any risks."
The 33-year-old suffered a massive hit against Adelaide in round seven last year when he collided with Crow Brodie Smith.
He copped another big hit in round one earlier that season against Greater Western Sydney, but was diagnosed with whiplash rather than concussion.
Paddy McCartin, the No.1 pick in the 2014 draft, was also concussed against the Pies.
Cox said he and Riewoldt would be assessed, with neither player ruled out to play Hawthorn.
"Both (Riewoldt) and Paddy are here and they've both come through it pretty well," Cox said.
"They'll both go through the normal medical processes and that's exactly the way we treat it – like every other case of concussion."
That's courage, Paddy McCartin! #AFLSaintsPies #ohwhatafeeling https://t.co/eLEMeEACyl
— AFL (@AFL) April 9, 2016
Riewoldt and McCartin both trained at Seaford as the team completed a light recovery session.
Midfielder Nathan Freeman was also on the track, fresh off accumulating 46 disposals in three quarters for the Sandringham reserves last Saturday.
Freeman was rested for the final term, in his first match since crossing over to St Kilda.
Saints midfielder Jack Steven said the loss of the two key forwards didn't affect the team's morale a great deal against the Pies, because the players weren't aware the pair would be ruled out.
"I think it was still up in the air whether they could come back on, so it wasn't too doom and gloom at half-time," Steven said.
"We were still up and about and really backed our legs."
The dual best and fairest echoed coach Alan Richardson's thoughts, who said the victory was St Kilda's best win since Richardson was first appointed at the end of the 2013 season.
"Probably in recent history, it was right up there," Steven said.
St Kilda finished the game with just one fit player on the bench, with defender Dylan Roberton also going down with a knee injury.
The injury toll meant the team used only 72 out of a possible 90 interchange rotations.
It did not seem to hinder the Saints though, as they kicked six consecutive goals in the third quarter to take the game away from the Pies.
Steven said the Saints would lessen their workload this week.
"(Training will) probably be a bit lighter in the first couple of days, but other than that, pretty normal," he said.
"I think we'll be at our peak (against the Hawks)."