St Kilda leadership member Callum Wilkie insists the team's lack of on-field effort is the reason behind the club's worrying form slump rather than a deficiency in coach Brett Ratten's game plan
The Saints were rated a premiership fancy after opening their season with an 8-3 record, which included wins over Fremantle, Richmond, and Geelong.
St Kilda are now 9-8 and have slumped to 10th spot after winning just one of their past six matches, leaving their finals hopes hanging by a thread.
The poor run has placed extra pressure on Ratten, but Wilkie said the players were to blame.
"They (the critics) are talking a lot about game plan. But the game plan in the front half of the year stacked up against the good teams," the 80-game defender said.
"I think we beat four of the top eight teams in the front half of the year. It just comes down to 100 per cent consistency to abide by the team structure and game plan, which we're just not seeing at the moment.
"We've shown patches that we're a tough team to play against, but (also) patches that we're too easy to play against.
"It's just not good enough."
The Saints held a heart-to-heart review on Monday where players delivered a number of home truths to each other.
It followed last week's 28-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, when the Saints laid just 11 tackles in the first half.
"It felt like we got a bit further than we have in previous reviews. We delved deeply into the why," Wilkie said.
"(There were) a lot more honest and hard conversations which needed to be had, putting more stuff on the table about why it's happening and how it's making everyone feel the flow-on effect of lack of consistency of effort.
"I put my frustration out there yesterday about how it's making me feel being on that last line (in defence), and the lack of effort in defence and the pressure that we're putting on."
Ruckman Paddy Ryder could miss the rest of the season after it was deemed he would need four to six weeks to recover from his calf injury.
Dan McKenzie is also sidelined by a calf injury, but Hunter Clark (facial surgery) could return for Sunday's match against West Coast in Perth.
The Eagles will again be without ruckman Nic Naitanui, who could miss the remainder of the season with his latest knee injury.
Naitanui pulled up sore from the round 17 loss to Carlton, and he will be assessed again next week to determine whether he can play again this year.
