The Saints have conceded former captain Nick Riewoldt should have been given a rest earlier this month instead of playing against GWS at Etihad Stadium.
St Kilda hosted the Giants in round seven and Riewoldt played in the fixture, but after playing under an injury cloud for most of the season, coach Alan Richardson has been forced to sitย him ahead of their clash with the Bulldogs on Saturday.
"He probably wasn't at his best that game. Still did a reasonable job for us structurally, but didn't have a great influence on the game," Richardson told the media on Friday.
"In hindsight, we possibly could have rested him then.
"He was keen to play (and) we were keen for him to play. This one's been taken out of his hands and our hands. He's just a bit too sore."
With the Saints scheduled to have a bye next weekend, Riewoldt will now have a 20-day rest before facing the Crows at Adelaide Oval on June 9.
"It really just came down to this week," he added.
"He bruised his knee on the weekend so we were hopeful that he'd come up, (but) it was pretty clear early in the week that he was still a little bit sore."
Shane Savage and Darren Minchington come into the St Kilda line-up, while Riewoldt is joined by midfielder Luke Dunstan on the outs list.
Richardson said he wanted to bring forward Josh Bruce back into the side, but decided against it given his form still isn't where the coach would like it to be.
"Structurally, it probably makes a little bit of sense, but just his form prior to him going out and then again on the weekend wasn't quite where it needed to be," Richardson said.
"There's a plan in place there. Of course, plans go out the window if you think that person's going to help you win a game of footy, (but) we're happy with the group we've got in front of the ball.
"It'll give us a different look โ there's probably a little more speed and energy given that we're going to be a bit smaller."
