ST KILDA forward Nick Riewoldt yesterday dismissed criticism of teammates Robert Harvey and Nick Dal Santo, saying the entire team was to blame for the Saints' poor performance in the last three quarters of its 38-point loss to the Western Bulldogs last Friday night.

Former Hawthorn forward and five-time premiership player Dermott Brereton again criticised 36-year-old Harvey, suggesting on Channel Nine's Footy Classified that someone at St Kilda should tell the 300 plus-gamer it is time to retire.

"Dermie again, was it?," Riewoldt said. "Harvs is a very resilient man. He is a very strong character and Robert Harvey wasn't the reason St Kilda lost on Friday night, Nick Dal Santo wasn't the reason St Kilda lost on Friday night. It was a team effort and it was a poor team effort.

"Like anything, people can tend to overreact in a circumstance like this. Harvs went through it earlier in the season and you underestimate great players like Dal (Santo) at your own peril."

The Saints were smashed by the Bulldogs in the midfield after quarter-time and their normally frugal defence conceded an uncharacteristic 19 goals — one more than the side conceded in the first two rounds combined. Still, Riewoldt was confident the club could turn its form around this week against reigning premier Geelong.

"We've played six games so far this year and we've played three bad quarters of footy, so hopefully this was an aberration," he said.

Riewoldt said the Saints would have to get tougher and show a greater effort across the board to beat the Cats at Telstra Dome on Saturday.

"Clearly we need to be a lot harder and we need to win more contested ball. Effort is the key every week in football. You can't expect to win games of AFL football, with it being so competitive, without sustained effort.

"(Geelong) are the benchmark of the competition, we've got nothing but total respect for them, but that being said we're confident going into this week we can match it with them."

The 25-year-old also dismissed suggestions that the Saints' forward line could not sustain the three-pronged attack of himself, Justin Koschitzke and Fraser Gehrig. "I don't think anyone was questioning whether it would work at quarter-time on Friday night," he said.

He said the club would not rush back defender Matt Maguire, despite him putting in two good performances for the Casey Scorpions in the VFL in recent weeks. The Saints expect former Eagle Michael Gardiner to return after the ruckman missed the Bulldogs match with a calf strain.