St Kilda face an "audit" against the hottest team in the AFL when they play Fremantle, and coach Ross Lyon is bullish about his side's bottom line.
The Dockers have won nine straight, equalling the club record that was set in 2006, and also when Lyon was coaching them in 2015.
St Kilda are mid-table with a 5-5 record, but all their wins have been against teams currently below them on the ladder. Beating the Dockers would be a massive scalp.
But they will have to do it without forward Jack Higgins, ruled out with a knee injury. It's another addition to their injury list that also features Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Max King, Liam Ryan and Mitch Owens.
St Kilda's new-look ruck duo of Tom De Koning and Rowan Marshall will come up against Luke Jackson, who is the latest unicorn in the AFL, according to Lyon, for his variety of skills.
"They don't seem to have a weakness ... we're looking forward to the challenge," Lyon said of Friday night's clash at Optus Stadium.
"We've travelled well, our game is coming together ... we're looking forward to the audit.
"We have a firm belief that we're going to be in the game.
"Our stoppage work is very good, and clearly Rowan and TDK as a combination are important to that - but we come up against a unicorn."
Despite Wanganeen-Milera's buoyant mood, Lyon said there was no way they were going to risk him against Fremantle as he recovers from a calf muscle injury.
"If you get a chronic calf, you're gone ... you have to be cautious with them," Lyon said.
Lyon was surprised when told the Dockers racked up a nine-game winning streak under him in 2015.
"Was it only nine? It felt like 13 ... it doesn't matter," he said.
"I've coached 18 in a row, 20 in a row (in his first stint at St Kilda) and we fell short on grand final day.
"You'd prefer to be 9-1, but you're only as a good as your next moment ... you have to start again."
Asked how it would feel to end his old club's streak, Lyon said it was "irrelevant".
In the midst of the AFL's Sir Doug Nicholls Round, Lyon was asked about how to fix the declining number of Indigenous players.
"There's a lot of talk - it probably needs more action," he said.
Lyon wants more work done at the most basic grassroots level, before emerging players are identified for talent academies.
"Indigenous players out-perform their backgrounds by a long way," he said.
