Veteran defender James Frawley is in the frame for his St Kilda debut on Friday night against Geelong as the Saints search for ways to quell the in-form Cats forwards.
Saints coach Brett Ratten says Frawley was recruited to the AFL club for such a task, and after recovering from a pre-season hamstring injury he's in the selection mix for the Marvel Stadium match.
"Geelong's tall forwards are all in good form ... we got 'Chip' (Frawley) in to play on big forwards and to be part of our backline, so if we think he's ready to go we'll pick him," Ratten said on Wednesday.
"He's done everything right ... we just have to tick that off with the high-performance boys and see where that sits."
Playing more than 100 games for the Demons and then Hawthorn, where he was part of their 2015 premiership-winning side, Frawley came out of retirement to join St Kilda.
The 32-year-old got through their round three VFL match against Box Hill to press his claims to join a backline featuring talls Dougal Howard and Callum Wilkie.
With Tom Hawkins, Jeremy Cameron and Gary Rohan combining for 15 goals in Geelong's win over Richmond last Friday night, Ratten said they were a formidable challenge for his side, who are looking for their third successive win.
"We're starting to build some momentum but there's no bigger test, is there - the Cats in great form, just beaten the Tigers, up and about," Ratten said.
"If you're probably asking Scotty (Geelong coach Chris Scott) what does he want from his team - to have their key forwards kick 15 goals between three of them - that's probably what he's after.
"They're in good form and we'll have some challenges and we'll get to see where we're at."
He said it wasn't just the forward line that would test his Saints, with the Cats "fantastic in the contest".
Jack Higgins, Jack Billings and Rowan Marshall were on light training duties on Wednesday but Ratten said the trio would be fit to play.
Star midfielder Seb Ross is also set to return after missing St Kilda's win over Gold Coast after his wife gave birth to twin boys.
Australian Associated Press
