ST KILDA defender Brendon Goddard is likely to make his return from a knee reconstruction in tomorrow night's match against the Western Bulldogs, coach Ross Lyon said yesterday.

Lyon said Goddard, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in round seven last year, had about 300 minutes of game time under his belt from playing in practice matches and the VFL.

"We'll make some final decisions post-training … but Brendon's a really strong consideration," he said.

Goddard would only be picked if he was considered 100%, Lyon said, as he would not consider nursing him through his reintroduction to the senior ranks.

"Once you get picked, you let it rip and away you go — we won't be protecting anyone. Once you're picked, you're in, you're fit and you're available … there's no easy rides in AFL footy," he said.

Lyon said centre half-back Matt Maguire, who also played in the VFL last weekend as he makes his way back from a foot injury, was still at least two weeks away from selection. "Then it's about him finding his form, really, because the team's up and about, so he's got to really force his way in," Lyon said.

The Saints were forced to reschedule their training session to an earlier time yesterday in an attempt to avoid the dangerous weather. But, when they met at Moorabbin at 2pm, massive winds were already blowing across the training ground, sending a sheet of corrugated iron flying off a roof and even knocking over ball nets and a goal post.

Looking to tomorrow night's match at Telstra Dome, Lyon said he was wary of the Bulldogs' fast, free-flowing style, which has resulted in them posting scores of 19 and 24 goals in the past two rounds.

"We want to bring our work boots and make sure we're in the contest because they can blow you away quicker than any other team in the AFL," he said.

Lyon paid tribute to the performance of his three main forwards — Nick Riewoldt, Justin Koschitzke and Fraser Gehrig — in last weekend's win over Carlton, despite the fact that Riewoldt and Koschitzke contributed just three of the team's 19 goals between them.

"A forward's job is not only kicking (goals) but seeing that they're kicked, and forward pressure, so Kosi's laid a forward tackle every week — if he does that for the 22 weeks, that'll put him in the top 10 in the competition for forward pressure," he said. "And if we kick 19 goals every week, I'll be happy."