ST KILDA coach Scott Watters has again forecast some aggressive list management this October as the club looks to rebound from what is shaping as its worst season for more than a decade.

The Saints have won just three games for the year, with their latest defeat being a 36-point loss to Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

Afterwards, Watters sang from the same sheet as he has for much of 2013, generally pleased with his club's endeavour, but looking ahead to a time when the Saints have some more talent at their disposal.

"I don't want to outline our strategy going forward other than to say we're going to exhaust every opportunity from free agency to trade. We're going to look at everything," he said.

"It's not to say we'll do everything but we'll certainly exhaust every option.

"Over the last 10 years we've had very limited access to top 20 picks, actually the least in the league because of the club's enviable record.

"We need to build some top end talent into the list going forward. There's no real secret. Pick the kids, play them, develop them and move them forward. That's the path we're going down," he said.

The clash against the Blues again highlighted the need for the Saints to inject some talent into the side. St Kilda won the ball often enough and led the tackle count 53-43.

But their disposal once they won the ball moving forward was ordinary; they kicked 3.10 off Carlton turnovers and as Watters noted, switch those figures around and there may have been a different outcome.

"Our ball use and efficiency still requires work," he said. "We need to build some class through the middle over time. Just the ability to look after the ball a little better because otherwise you have to work twice as hard as the opposition to get it back."

At the other end, Carlton key forwards Lachie Henderson and Sam Rowe combined for seven goals, feasting against a defence that battled hard, but lacked for height and strength.

"That issue doesn’t go away for us," he added.

First-year forward Tom Lee did well with 3.3, but needs more work to build his strength.

"If we can get another six or seven games into him over the remainder of the season that sets him up for another solid pre-season where he'll harden up physically. But we think he'll be a very solid player for us."

Ashley Browne is an AFL Media senior writer. Follow him on Twitter @afl_hashbrowne