AFTER four straight finals appearances, and three Grand Finals, some in the AFL world were tipping St Kilda to start sliding down the ladder in 2012.
But ahead of their showdown against the Saints at Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Swans coach John Longmire insists he expected St Kilda to remain at its competitive best under new coach Scott Watters.
"There were maybe a few people tipping them to fall off the pace, but I certainly wasn't one of them," Longmire told reporters on Monday.
"If you look at their core group of six players, they're some of the best players still running around in the competition.
"If you look at Lenny Hayes being back in the line-up now, he's playing really good footy, [Brendon] Goddard, [Leigh] Montagna, [Nick] Riewoldt, [Nick] Dal Santo, all their best players are still playing really well.
"And they have some really good young kids they've introduced into their team as well and they've got some real speed and excitement in their team.
"I didn't expect them to slide much at all, because they've been playing hard, tough, competitive footy for a long time now, and I didn't expect them to alter too much from that."
The Saints demonstrated their abilities in an excellent four-goal victory over Carlton a fortnight ago, before a competitive showing against West Coast on Sunday that fell short.
However, bookmakers remain sceptical of their chances in 2012, with the majority still having St Kilda just outside the top eight in flag favouritism.
This week Longmire will review the last time the two sides met, an elimination final the Swans won by 25 points in Melbourne, but he is more interested in the Saints' recent form.
"It's more about the two teams this year," he said.
"You always have a bit of a look at previous games, but you really live in the moment and we'll be looking at the form of St Kilda particularly over the last two weeks."
Co-captain Adam Goodes is expected to resume running this week as he continues his recovery from a torn quadriceps muscle, while Shane Mumford (back) could return as early as next week's match with the Western Bulldogs.
Goodes is still some weeks away from playing and Longmire is doing his best to remain patient with the dual Brownlow medallist.
"Because he recovers so well, and he's actually feeling pretty good at the moment, that's actually a bit of a danger," Longmire said.
"Even when he starts running, trying to hold him back will be our challenge and he'll try to push himself and do more and more.
"We need to make sure we take it step by step with him and don't put him at risk."
James Dampney covers Sydney AFL news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the AFL or the clubs
