ST KILDA'S Dylan Roberton and Paddy McCartin have spent the night at the St John of God Hospital in Ballarat.

Both players left hospital on Monday and were now resting at home, St Kilda's general manager of football Simon Lethlean told the club's website.

On Sunday night, the Saints' club doctor was forced to address the players to allay fears around a health scare to Roberton, just hours after McCartin sustained yet another concussion.

Roberton alerted doctor Tim Barbour that he was feeling "wonky" after the Saints' 14-point JLT Series win over the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat, prompting instant assessment.

After missing the bulk of 2018 after a heart irregularity in round four, Roberton's latest concern comes after a faultless pre-season where he has been training with an implant in his chest.

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"Dylan was just a bit wonky at the end of the game," coach Alan Richardson said following the match.

"He just felt a little bit off, right at the end actually when the siren went.

"You could imagine given what Robbo's been through the doctors were pretty keen to get him in, analyse him and just make sure he was OK.

"I'm not sure exactly where that'll end up, he's fine, he's in there, he's sitting up and he's having a laugh with his mates so we'll just have to wait and see how that goes.

"The doctor came out and spoke to the group and (said) no, Robbo's fine. The doctor's almost said themselves we're probably overplaying this and being a little bit over the top in terms of being cautious.

"Because of the way he felt and because of his history there'll be more tests than you normally have with Robbo. He had a stress test on Tuesday just to make sure everything was tracking really well."

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Roberton was the best player on the ground in the first half, collecting 17 disposals and repelling a number of wayward Dogs forward entries.

McCartin sustained his eighth concussion since 2014 – and first since round seven last year – on the stroke of half time, copping a hip from teammate Ben Long in a marking contest.

WATCH Alan Richardson's full post-match media conference

"He'll be assessed as per normal, you just wait to see from a symptoms point of view," Richardson said.

"I think we all know Paddy's had a little bit of history there, (being a) JLT game, we're not going to take any risks.

"He's fine in there (rooms) now, he'll need a bit of time to clear the head.

"Our doctors, who are brilliant, will obviously make sure when he's right, he's right. We don't know when that'll be, it could be that he's right by Tuesday, it could be that it takes longer, who knows."

Richardson also praised the game of key defender Darragh Joyce, who all but secured his round one spot in the absence of Jake Carlisle (back injury) and Nathan Brown (suspended).

Joyce spent time opposed to Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton who kicked three goals in a promising display, having played in defence last year.

After finishing fourth in last year's best and fairest playing mostly as a defender, coach Luke Beveridge declared Naughton, 19, would start forward in round one against Sydney.

WATCH Luke Beveridge's full post-match media conference

"Without letting Sydney know what we're going to do, that's what we're going to do," Beveridge said with a laugh.

"Last week against the Gold Coast we played the two rucks (Tim English and Jackson Trengove) and we weren't flash with our talls forward of it.

"Historically, we've found it hard to bed down those key forward positions.

"We think Josh Schache's very promising and if you're trying to forecast or crystal ball what sort of player Aaron Naughton might be in 12, 24 months now as a key forward, he could be anything.

"Aaron's got all the attributes some of the best key forwards have got; the difference is that Aaron hasn't played there a lot."

Aaron Naughton takes a mark against St Kilda. Picture: Getty Images





Beveridge has 14 days to weigh up the shape of his ruck division, with deficiencies exposed when playing both last week, as well when he fielded Trengove and English in separate halves on Sunday.

"Possibly (one ruckman is an option), we've got to work through the challenges we faced today with it," he said.

"It means we need to take Josh (Schache) or Aaron (Naughton) up into the ruck.

"Because we haven't been doing that for a little while, we need to work out whether it's feasible.

"If you remember when we started doing it (one ruckman), we were able to second jump (third man-up), able to control the hit, now that was taken off us.

"We need to work now within the different framework to turn that into a positive."

Beveridge said he was edging closer to a team for round one, with a decision still to be made on the side's wingmen.

The premiership coach conceded mature-age draftee Will Hayes and second-year youngster Ed Richards were exposed by Jack Billings' impressive 25-possession display on Sunday.