PLENTY of praise has been heaped upon Nick Riewoldt this season, and while the veteran forward deserves every accolade he gets, St Kilda coach Alan Richardson has been just as impressed with the Saints younger brigade of future stars.

Luke Dunstan has fitted in seamlessly to the senior team and collected 29 disposals on Saturday night against West Coast, while Eli Templeton has booted four goals in three electric games as a small forward after earning a promotion of the rookie list on the eve of round one.

“Eli’s got a really infectious personality,” Richardson told SEN’s Morning Glory on Wednesday.

“He sets a really good example on the track. But most importantly as a young bloke, you have to come in and earn the respect of your peers and your teammates.”

And it’s partly Templeton’s exceptional running ability that makes him a highly valued member of St Kilda’s line-up and appreciated by his teammates. His aerobic capacity allows the Tasmanian to get to more contests than most, a fact that was illustrated in the data collected following St Kilda’s game against the Eagles.

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“He was the hardest worker on the weekend and ran 18kms,” Richardson said. “His high intensity stuff was really strong which is great for a young kid. It was a big ground and slightly warmer, but it doesn’t seem to faze him.”Yet Templeton isn’t the only youngster impressing Richardson, with a host of slightly more experienced but still raw ball-winners “heading in the right direction”' according to the Saints coach.

“It’s the second and third year guys like [Tom] Curren, [Jack] Newnes, [Jimmy] Webster and [Nathan] Wright who have been pretty impressive,” he said.

Tom Curren has been handed considerable tagging responsibilities in 2014 following on from his impressive finish to last season, while Jimmy Webster and Nathan Wright have both excelled on opposite back flanks.

As for Jack Newnes. he is the most experienced of the quartet with 28 AFL matches under his belt. The 21-year-old is averaging 22 disposals per game this year; well up on his 2013 average 15 touches per outing.

“I know internally we’ve thought their performances have been really good. They are young blokes and they still need to improve in significant parts of their game, but they are heading in the right direction that is for sure.”