Acting captain Callum Wilkie and his teammates will keep holding the fort as St Kilda carry a long injury list into their marquee AFL clash against Essendon.
The Saints will mark their 150th anniversary on Saturday night and hope to break the club home-and-away record MCG crowd of 67,000.
They have started the season with upset wins over Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs, two finalists last season.
But they will take on the Bombers without captain Jack Steele, who is their latest casualty with a broken collarbone.
"We're going to have to wait a little while to get the cavalry back, but that's alright. This group has done it the last couple of games and we're just going to look forward to this week," Wilkie said.
"That's all we can control."
Steele returned to the field on Saturday night after breaking his collarbone, something which stunned Wilkie, and he is honoured to be minding the captaincy in his absence.
"It's a huge honour. Firstly, Steeley - his character to play on after breaking his collarbone - I'm superb-proud to be behind him," Wilkie said .
"HIs pain tolerance ... I don't know if I could have done that. He's incredible.
"He said after the game it wasn't feeling too bad and then he showed me the X-ray and it was shattered.
"So I don't know if he feels any pain. He inspires the young boys with the way he goes about it."
Wilkie said St Kilda's ability to perform well, despite a deep injury list, was testament to coach Ross Lyon.
"It probably comes right from the start when Ross came in - he set the standards high, a real clear game plan," he said.
"The boys bought in and it wasn't about who's on the field because we've had injuries right from the start.
"It was next man up, system."
Saints chief executive Simon Lethlean said the team could not have done more in their opening two games.
"You've seen how fit they are, how hard they run, how hard they work.
"As Saints fans, all you want to see is a committed group turn up each week and deliver their best, which they've been doing.
"He (Lyon) is intense, he's well-prepared, he's organised and he's demanding. He really suits our guys right now.
The Bombers have also started the season with two wins and look a far cry from the disorganised team that could only manage 3.14 in windy conditions against St Kilda during a pre-season hit-out.
Essendon could welcome back star forward Jake Stringer, who missed the last fortnight with a hamstring problem.
"To have him back would be a massive inclusion for us," said Bombers midfielder Jye Caldwell.
