St Kilda coach Scott Watters upbeat about his side's finals chances

ST KILDA coach Scott Watters is upbeat that his side will rebound and reach the finals after its 29-point loss to Sydney.

ST KILDA coach Scott Watters is upbeat that his side will rebound and reach the finals.

Watters' charges paid the price for inaccurate goal-kicking and haphazard use of their 60 inside-50s against Sydney, with North Melbourne leapfrogging them into eighth spot.

"They (Sydney) are the best side in the competition for a reason. We felt that we let an opportunity slip today," Watters said.

"We'll have to lick our wounds and look forward pretty quickly. We've got six opportunities to get six results.

"We feel we're capable of beating any side in the comp. It's a disappointing loss for us, but you've got to rebound quickly."

Watters' sources of frustration were varied.

The Saints' poor use of the ball was his main gripe, but Justin Koschitzke being denied a goal by the video review system in the third quarter can't have helped.

The goal umpire signalled a "touched goal" despite replays proving inconclusive.

But Watters refused to be drawn in to discussing the issue.

"It's part of the game. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't," he said.

Nick Riewoldt continued to play despite a nasty collision with Koschitzke in the second term.

Watters said the Saints captain was restricted but not injured.

"I guess all players cop different bumps and physical pressure throughout a game. Very few of them are 100 per cent," he said.

Sydney coach John Longmire said that while his side was not at its best, it had persisted.

"That was a really good sign from the players. They were able to push through that," he said.

"Particularly in the last quarter, five minutes to go there was only a kick in it."

Longmire noted his men can "always get better".

"We fumbled a bit - and we probably made some bad decisions with the footy at times. They were the areas that stood out to us.

"... (But) periods of the game we actually did play pretty well.

"It's going to be hard to play well for every minute of every game.

"We obviously know where the ladder sits. But more important than that is how we go about our work."