ST KILDA defender Brendon Goddard says the side’s big game experience will be a factor as the home and away season draws to a close.

Of the teams remaining in the finals race, only Adelaide and the Sydney Swans have more finals experience than the Saints, which Goddard says will be an advantage in the lead-up to September.

“It comes in handy for the next couple of weeks and playing a couple of teams that are fighting for a top four spot,” Goddard said.

“We can draw confidence from that. We’ve got a lot of players who have played finals. We have a lot of guys in their fifth and sixth season. Coming to the end of the season it is handy to have the harder and older bodies.”

But the 23-year-old was careful not to look too far ahead, with the Saints taking on an in-form Adelaide side this week.

“We’ve talked about it before but we’re in a position where we can’t afford to look any further than this week,” he said.

“That is just the position we’re in and I think that is what we’ve got to focus on.”

“I don’t think you have to be a genius to realise we’ve got a lot to play for.”

With the finals such a tightly contested race, much will depend on how other teams perform in the closing stages of the home and away season.

But Goddard said it was important for the side to worry about the process rather than the result and not concern themselves with matches other than their own.

“We don’t want to have to rely on other teams winning or losing which is what we’ve had to do the last couple of years.”