The only thing Adam Schneider can do about last year's AFL grand final loss is use the bitter memories to his advantage.

Schneider was one of the St Kilda small forwards who missed crucial shots at goal as they lost an epic grand final to Geelong last September by 12 points.

On Friday night, Schneider starred with 4.1 as the Saints beat the Cats by 24 points, the first time the two teams had met since that premiership decider.

"You learn from your mistakes and unfortunately I had to learn the hard way," Schneider said.

"You just move on and you try to use it for the next time you play, every time you play.

"I was pretty happy to kick straight, I missed one there at the end, which would have been nice to get, but in the end I'm just glad to get the four points."

Nine of the Saints' 10 goals on Friday night came from their small forwards - Jack Steven also kicked three and Stephen Milne contributed two.

It was another big win for the St Kilda attack, which has coped superbly since captain Nick Riewoldt suffered a hamstring tendon injury in round three.

St Kilda have 10 wins after 13 rounds and are equal-top with Geelong.

Riewoldt is set to return to the side within a month.

"I reckon he might have to come through the `twos' next week," Schneider joked about the team's best player.

"Nah, `Rooy' has been great.

"He's training really well, he's absolutely flying, I think he's a fair chance to get a game very soon."

While Riewoldt's return will be a huge boost, a big feature of the win over Geelong was how lesser lights such as Steven did their bit.

"That's what we need to improve as a team," Schneider said.

"We need those younger (players) coming through and it makes it tougher for everyone else to keep their spots as well, you've got blokes knocking on the door and it's only good for the club."

The Saints were at pains to play down the significance of the Geelong win, saying it meant nothing more than another four premiership points.

But it followed the away win over Fremantle in round 12 and these two successes have emphasised that the Saints remain strong premiership contenders.

"Against Fremantle, (it) was fantastic, the boys really stood up, the character for Milney's (Milne) 200th was super," Schneider said.

"Again, we just showed we're going about our business and getting the job done each week."

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