Saints' AFL woes continue in Bombers loss

St Kilda are in danger of looking more like Motel Hell than an AFL destination club.

Dan Hannebery's observations would have been fascinating after the Saints lost to Essendon by 43 points on Friday night at Etihad Stadium.

They challenged the Bombers in the first half, but were unable to follow through despite Essendon's four injuries.

St Kilda's defence bled turnover goals, their midfield could not withstand Essendon's inevitable counter-attack late in the second term and their forwards fluffed too many straight-forward set shots.

The Saints confirmed this week that they are interested in Hannebery, if the star midfielder decides to leave Sydney at the end of the season.

St Kilda are determined to be major players in the trade period as they try to rebound quickly from their disappointing season.

Despite their problems, coach Alan Richardson is buoyant about St Kilda's potential.

"We have some players who are better than what they're showing at the minute," he said.

"We think we have a really strong nucleus - we've also made really strong noise that we need to support that group."

Ruckman Lewis Pierce impressed in his second game and Richardson conceded they probably should have promoted him earlier.

Seb Ross was easily their best player in his 100th game and Ben Paton had an encouraging AFL debut.

But overall they are struggling, with Jack Steven a symbol of their problems.

"It's as if Jacko is trying too hard - he's rushing around," Richardson said.

"While his intent is admirable, at times the execution and outcomes are not what we're after.

"But there's no-one at our footy club who tries harder and wants to do the right thing."

St Kilda's last two games are against Hawthorn and North Melbourne.

"By and large, the guys are still absolutely up for the fight - I'm not questioning that," Richardson said.

"The fans I reckon would see that we shot ourselves in the foot, particularly when we had some momentum, with our use.

"They were pretty easy options at times and we didn't get that done.

"These are not just two games to get to the end of the year, these are two great opportunities for players and for the club."