After losing a one-point epic to an emotionally charged Adelaide Crows outfit, Ross Lyon's press conference was always going to be appointment viewing.
He did not disappoint.
When the oddity that is the Saints consecutive games at the Adelaide Oval was put to 'Ross the Boss', he flippantly dismissed the line of questioning, weaponising the language of the question in a masterful deflection.
"Vagaries happen, consistently," he said, before quizzing journalists on the Saints' run of fixtures to start the year.
Media performances are the least of Lyon's worries, however. His side are sitting in the red, having notched two wins and four losses from their first six fixtures, and an injury cloud now hanging over one of their prized, big-money recruits, in Tom de Koning.
De Koning clutched at the left side of his lower back after a rucking contest in the second quarter, and with a history littered with back complaints, all eyes will be on the requisite scans the Saints will surely subject their ruckman to, come Monday.
He played in sporadic patches after the incident, but left veteran Rowan Marshall to shoulder much of the combative rucking duties.
Lyon implored onlookers to see past his side's record, touching on their improvement in recent weeks.
"Our best is very good, but we need more consistency," he said.
“I would think, if you take out win-loss, we've improved.
“But do we want more four points? Yeah. So, it's a work-in-progress.
“We're not devastated, but we're hurting because we come here to win. We don't come here to compete, we come in to win, but we didn't get it done.
“We're just a little bit inconsistent in a key area that we've been really good at all year, so those guys in our midfield will be hurting, and we know they're better than that, but stress under load equals growth, right?”
“I would think we look ok. What are we, 2-4?. Who did we play?
“Brisbane they're handy, they are back-to-back (premiers). Port Adelaide. Interstate, and then Adelaide. Did Adelaide play finals?” Lyon quipped.
Following their fortnight in the city of churches, the Saints are presented with a reprieve or sorts, with two weeks of Melbourne matches against struggling sides West Coast and Carlton.
