IF THERE’S one advantage Melbourne has ahead of Round 14, it’s Alan Richardson.

The former St Kilda coach is up against his old side for the first time, and while things have changed since last year, his insights could prove handy for the Demons.

“They’ve got a little bit more speed on the outside, which is pretty obvious for all to see, so that’s a bit different,” Richardson said on The Talking Points.

“Where I can add value is when it comes to any match-ups that we might go with, giving the players, or even the line coaches, a bit of understanding of, ‘When this particular player is at his best, this is what it looks like in my experience and this is what could potentially take that away from them.’

“So hopefully there’s some value there.”

The clash at TIO Traeger Park could prove to be an eight-point game come season’s end, with Melbourne chasing the Saints’ spot in the top eight.

But they will be a hard team to stop, having won eight of their 13 games in 2020.

“They’re playing good footy,” Richardson said.

“They’ve changed things a bit – certainly Ratts (Brett Ratten) has probably got them playing with a bit more of an attacking from the back style.

“They did something about personnel with (Zak) Jones and (Dan) Butler and (Brad) Hill – they’ve got some serious wheels those lads.

“So that’s going to present some challenges and they’re in really good form.”

To hear more from Richardson in the lead up to the game, watch Episode 9 of The Talking Points below.