Fill-in St Kilda captain Callum Wilkie denies Ross Lyon had to stamp out a drinking culture when he returned to the Saints, but says the new coach's high standards have lifted them to their 4-0 start.
Former Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd claimed last week Lyon had immediately fixed a drinking culture on his return, suggesting players would hassle teammates who did not want to drink.
Wilkie admitted the group liked a drink but denied it was to a problematic level.
"I'm interested in Lloydy's take, I've only been there for four years ... I guess I'm pretty new to being in the AFL," he told Fox Footy.
"We like to get together and have a drink when it's appropriate, rules weren't really broken that we set as a playing group.
"We hold ourselves to a high account and if someone did break a rule, which always happens every now and then, we'd come down hard on them.
"Standards have lifted in terms of that area, but I didn't think we had (a drinking culture).
Wilkie, who's leading the Saints after captain Jack Steele broke his collarbone, said on-field standards had been the bigger growth area with inconsistency costing them in the back half of 2022.
The Saints won three of their last 11 games to slump from their promising 8-3 start to miss finals, culminating in former coach Brett Ratten's sacking and eventually Lyon's return.
"Last year we started off very well ... but we'd just have lapses throughout games, week-to-week, we just needed to find that consistent form," Wilkie said.
"He's added his approach, his spin, his system ... but there was a reason we were 8-3, it wasn't by pure luck.
"He definitely took a piece of that ... we've seen it flourish in the first four rounds."
Lyon left St Kilda in 2011 for an eight-year stint as Fremantle coach, before heading back to Moorabbin to once again lead the Saints.
Wilkie said he'd "demanded excellence" from the moment he walked in the doors - exactly what he thinks the club needed.
"He's got this aura about him, he walks in and everyone sits up straight, shoulders back, listems, and he demands excellence from the get-go," he said.
"Any small thing he sees that's out of order, he'll stamp it out right there.
"It's what we needed as a group of boys."
