Saints coach Chris McLaren’s back complaint, which saw him miss the second semi-final loss to Port Fairy, is improving, while a couple of players have pulled up well from worrying knocks during the game.

“Taylor Mulraney got a bit of a knock on the front of the shin, under the knee, but he pulled up even better than he thought he would,” McLaren said. “Jayden Watson was a little bit the same.

“I was a little bit worried on Sunday morning, but they’re going around just fine now.”

Cobden also has depth waiting in the wings, with the likes of Taylor McKenry and Will Couch performing well in the reserves’ loss, while key forward Marcus Darmody is expected back from a hamstring injury.

His presence was sorely missed against the Seagulls, as the Saints went goalless in the second half and finished with an unflattering 7.19 scoreline.

McLaren said the club was yet to review its loss to Port Fairy, which saw it give up a 26-point lead at the main break and eventually go down by 17 points, but would break down what went wrong at Tuesday night training.

“We obviously had a drop off in the second half against Port Fairy,” he said. “I haven’t looked at the game on video to look at exactly why. I’m sure it’s more than one factor.

“Whether it was all them playing better or all us playing bad, or a bit of both, I’m not sure.”