THE St Kilda list is a little like the healthy food pyramid. It is a strong list, with not many wasted places, which means not much junk food up the top. There are a few really good defenders on the next level down, and a bundle of extra-good onballers on the fruit and vegetable level below that. Then there is the forward line, the bread and water.

The Saints look like they should kick goals. They look like they should kick a lot of goals, as they will need to kick goals if they intend to win the premiership this year.

Yet last year, they were one of the two lowest-scoring sides in the competition, which means they will need to upgrade to French baguettes and sparking mineral water if they are to make their big jump.

Fraser Gehrig was not in last night's side, but St Kilda started with Justin Koschitzke in the goal square and Nick Riewoldt up high, and switched them as they went. Stephen Milne was there, Xavier Clarke was there, Adam Schneider was there and so was Charlie Gardiner.

They were up, incidentally, against the other lowest scorer in the competition.

The Crows have looked to new and older faces to kick their goals through the pre-season, and did the same last night. Andrew McLeod started there again and Simon Goodwin happily handed some more midfield duties to younger others, who kicked the ball long, high and happily to a former basketballer called Kurt Tippett.

Tippett was drafted two years ago as a 19-year-old and kicked the two third-quarter goals that helped Adelaide respond to a St Kilda surge.

He is smart, strong and exciting and could prove a good pointer as to why the likes of Ian Perrie and Scott Welsh were not wheeled through another season.

The Saints looked for their fresh options in more established faces that were looking for new, rather than first, chances. Gardiner and Schneider were among them, after arriving for nothing from Geelong and Sydney respectively.

Gardiner's first term was his best: he slipped into a pocket to give Riewoldt someone to kick to early and missed the shot, but hung around half-forward, forcing balls to stay in his part of the ground longer than they otherwise might have done.

Schneider spent part of his night bobbing around the midfield, but did some of his better work down forward, too. His best moment was early; in the second term, he shot a quick handpass sideways across his body to Robert Harvey, who luckily realised it was coming and put a short, pulled pass into Riewoldt's arms for St Kilda's first goal. The problem, early in the game, at least, was that the goals still weren't coming. Riewoldt's goal came three minutes into the second term, Milne snapped the next 15 minutes later and Schneider scored the third. Because Scott Thompson wandered past the mark, his shot from 20 metres became worth nine points.

They missed early chances, as did the Crows, and Ben Rutten and Nathan Bock were, as always, difficult opponents for Koschitzke and Riewoldt.

At times, it worked; at other times, their teammates moved the ball bit by bit towards them, rather than use the space. Riewoldt kicked two goals and Koschitzke saved his one for the last quarter, but he looks big and strong and, more than that, ready.

If all the finger-crossing keeps working for Michael Gardiner and Steven King, who teamed up reasonably well again, Ivan Maric, Jonathan Griffin and Brad Moran — the other young Crow hopes — last night, Koschitzke also should be able to stay in his most dangerous place for longer than in previous seasons.

The Saints did break things open, briefly. During a three-minute patch in the third term, Riewoldt, Clarke and Gram kicked goals that pushed them 20 points clear.

Gram's goal was ugly, but it was long, worth nine points and one he had threatened to kick all night.

Things dried up after that, and if there was a question mark, it was that: save for Clarke's on-the-fly goal and a few nifty Harvey passes, none of the goals came direct from midfielders.

Still, the Saints won, the clincher kicked fittingly by Milne a minute after he wrapped McLeod up in a timely tackle on the wing. Who cares how many goals you kick, after all — as long as you kick more than the other team.

As Saints coach Ross Lyon put it after the match: "There's a lot of ingredients that go into baking the cake."