St Kilda's revised game style will face a stiff test against bogey side Essendon in their AFL pre-season semi-final.

The Bombers finished 14th last year, but beat the grand finalists twice and they have a three-game winning streak against the Saints.

New Essendon coach James Hird has placed a greater emphasis on the defensive side of their game and they have impressed so far in the NAB Cup.

The Saints unveiled their taller forward set-up in last week's win over Sydney, with Sam Gilbert, Tommy Lynch and recruit Ryan Gamble all providing backup for captain Nick Riewoldt.

Essendon and St Kilda drew their mini-game in round one of the pre-season, but Friday night's clash at Etihad Stadium will give the two teams a clearer idea of how they are progressing.

"They have had the wood over us the last couple of years, we've probably been found out a couple of times with their pace, they're a very quick unit through the midfield," said star Saints midfielder Leigh Montagna.

"They obviously have a bit of confidence against us because they have beaten us the last few times, that obviously helps.

"Each game is different, on its merits, and it will be good to have a test against them tomorrow night."

As well as fancying their chances against St Kilda, the Bombers' confidence is growing after their Cup quarter-final win over Melbourne.

Utility Henry Slattery said there was a strong sense at Windy Hill that the new coaching staff and a hard pre-season were paying dividends.

"The last few weeks have been a great improvement for us, we weren't too sure where we'd be at the start of the season and it's been very positive for us," he said.

"We're aware that we're still in pre-season and we're coming up against a good side who played in the grand final last year - it's probably good to see where we're at.

"We've been wanting to improve (in) the last few years on our defence and we've done a fair bit of work on that, it's probably shown in the last few weeks that we've gotten a bit better - that's obviously one big area (where) we've needed to improve.

"We've just got to keep continuing to improve."

Slattery and Hird were team-mates at Essendon for three years before the club great retired.

Slattery said Hird the coach was as easy to respect as the Brownlow Medallist player.

"As a coach, I've found him to be very empathetic, he's really good with the players," Slattery said.

"He's very honest, you can't fault him as a person, he's the perfect role model on and off the field.

"As a player ... he just did everything right, he's carried that on as a coach as well - you're all ears whenever he speaks."

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