St Kilda's players put no expectations on themselves in their 20-point AFL victory against Melbourne ... they simply went out and played football.

Last season's grand finalists scored just their second win of the season on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.

Midfielder Leigh Montagna had 38 possessions and kicked two goals, while Saints would have been encouraged by the return to form of halfback Brendon Goddard who had 37 touches.

Skipper Nick Riewoldt kicked three goals without a miss, Stephen Milne also kicked three and, suddenly, the Saints were starting to look like a power side again.

"For the whole season, we've been trying to unlock these issues and try to work out why we haven't been playing with that same burning desire, that same hunger that we've had in previous years," Montagna told the Seven Network's AFL Game Day on Sunday.

"Slowly we are working our way through it. This week was really no different to other weeks.

"Maybe we had a bit more of a chat to try to just release a bit of the pressure now.

"We spoke about let's not worry about finals and about expectation. Let's get back to doing what we know wins games of football and try to just release the shackles a little bit.

"You saw that with guys like BJ (Goddard) yesterday, a little less pressure on them to worry about their performance and the results, and we got a bit more of what we wanted."

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