St Kilda has flagged "significant changes" to its playing list, while declaring it would be surprised if the AFL Commission awarded Melbourne a priority pick.
With just four wins to the Saints' credit, coach Alan Richardson says the remaining two matches of a rugged season will be used to help shape his thinking on the future of several of his players.
"We've got some guys that need to perform strongly," Richardson said on Wednesday.
"They might not necessarily be in the AFL team. They may be in the VFL team and still need to finish off strongly and prove they're worth their position on the list.
"We'll make some significant changes to our list, there's no doubt about that. But it is a great opportunity for a lot of those guys because of the injuries to get another crack at AFL level and show they're worth going forward with."
The Saints made 10 changes to their list last season and are set to have a similar number this year. Lenny Hayes will retire while Sam Fisher and Clint Jones, both out of contract, are two players facing uncertain futures.
The Saints have said for several months they are open to trading their first pick in the national draft as they continue to enforce their "road to 2018" blueprint.
They have the same number of wins as Melbourne but, as the Demons have a better percentage, they sit at the foot of the ladder.
The Saints have also not ruled out applying for a priority pick should they finish last. They face Richmond and Adelaide in the final two rounds, while the Demons have the West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne.
Richardson said he was in favour of the AFL having the ability to hand out a priority pick, but he does not believe the Demons should be awarded one if they finish 17th.
"I think it would be surprising if a club that finishes above you on the ladder ends up with [a pick], and I know it's a culmination when you look back," Richardson said.
"But we've had one draft selection inside pick eight in 10 years. Then for a club that finishes higher and has probably been more consistent with their performance; I think they've been in winning positions probably more often than we have in games.
"That would surprise me but that's a decision the AFL would make."
Under the old priority-pick formula, the Saints were able to draft Nick Riewoldt in 2000, with Justin Koschitzke taken with the next selection.
Saints football department chief Chris Pelchen said on Wednesday priority picks needed to be allocated "very, very carefully", pointing to how advantageous draft concessions had been for expansion clubs Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.
Richardson said the Saints were keen to follow their model of last season where they actively sought early draft picks, finishing with three selections in the top 20.
"We've had a conversation internally, we certainly haven't been to the AFL and it may be that we do that at season's end," Richardson said.
"But we're pretty confident we're on the right track. We've mentioned there's going to be a bit of pain in terms of win-loss for us, and even being competitive in games and consistency for a while.
"But we've going to drive that really hard from a coaching perspective and be really aggressive to make sure we get early selections as we did last year."
