West Coast coach John Worsfold admits he's more hopeful than confident defender David Wirrpanda will be fit to tackle high-flying St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Wirrpanda was a late withdrawal from last week's 50-point AFL win over Port Adelaide after suffering back-related hamstring soreness on the eve of the game.

The 29-year-old completed a series of light runs at training on Tuesday but Worsfold said the club would take a cautious approach with the 14-season veteran.

"We are not going to push him up too hard," Worsfold said on Tuesday.

"But because it is related to his back there is every chance he could be feeling really good on Thursday morning.

"We'll keep him there as a possibility all the way until we can see what he can do on Thursday.

"We just have to weigh up how much time we want to give him.

"If he doesn't feel it at all today and on Thursday then there is that chance we'll have a look at him.

"He's had these before and he's played with them before and he's got through games, so we've got to weigh that up.

"Depending on the level of soreness, players can get through and not tear their hammies when they've had these feelings but there is a risk involved every time you do that.

"Most times ... you get away with it but we've got to go through that process later in the week."

Adam Hunter trained only lightly on Tuesday but Worsfold said the swingman's shoulder had pulled up well from his first AFL match of the season.

Worsfold said ruckman Mark Seaby and utility Brent Staker would come into the selection mix this week but the pair face an uphill battle to break into a winning side.

The Saints sit in third spot on the table after disposing of Sydney and Adelaide in the opening two rounds.

Nick Dal Santo has played a key role in St Kilda's early surge but Worsfold said the gun onballer wasn't his only worry ahead of Saturday's clash.

"He's been in great form for them ... he's been a real key part of their form, but not the only part," Worsfold said.

"They've had a lot of other very good players and they've got the ability to have other players to step up if he's not at his best.

"We certainly won't have that as our sole focus, it'll be part of the overall picture.

"I think they've improved overall the way they want to play.

"They've got a good, strong list up and going.

"They're defending really tightly, making it tough for opposition teams to score, and their attack is pretty dangerous."

Meanwhile, Worsfold said star draft pick Nick Naitanui, snared with pick No.2 in last year's national draft, was still three weeks away from resuming after a slower-than-expected recovery from off-season knee surgery.

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