YOUNG St Kilda forward Paddy McCartin will be encouraged to keep attacking the football despite his bad luck with injury, Saints coach Alan Richardson says.

McCartin broke his collarbone attacking a ground ball in the first quarter, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

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The unfortunate injury came in just his second game back from three concussions during the year. 

However, Richardson said there was no need for McCartin to alter his approach.

"He will keep playing that way," Richardson said.

"He will work on his technique but we want him to be strong and physical. We certainly recruited that player and he will be getting better technically."

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Richardson said that while the injury was "bloody disappointing" for the 20-year-old, he did not expect it to have any long-term ramifications.

"[He'll] only miss one game and he'll be able to run … so he'll have a strong pre-season and we know long-term we have got a really good player for us," Richardson said.

The Saints' youngsters were keen to earn respect from their peers for the way they played and Richardson said McCartin was certainly doing that with his fierce attack on the contest.

He said there was little danger the run of bad luck would affect McCartin's confidence.

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"He's played some pretty strong footy, albeit not for long enough because of injury," Richardson said.

"He'll be a beauty."

With one game to go Richardson said the team had made good progress this season.

It was the first time since 2010 St Kilda had beaten Richmond and it made its record at the MCG three wins from three games for the year. It also pushed Hawthorn and North Melbourne closer than it had done since 2011. 

"We've been able to bridge the gap a bit on some of the teams," Richardson said.

"Our best footy is much better but I'm not saying for one minute we saw that today … we know we have a fair bit of work to do but it has been a positive year."

If the Saints can beat the Brisbane Lions in the final round they will end the season with 12 wins, double the amount of victories in 2015.