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Emerging key forward Paddy McCartin has quickly repaid the faith shown in him by St Kilda by signing a two-year contract extension that will tie him to the Saints until at least the end of 2018.

Acquired with the first pick in the 2014 National Draft, McCartin showed glimpses of his prodigious talent playing six senior games in his debut season.

With the ink still drying on his fresh deal, McCartin said he was more than thrilled to re-sign given the plethora of high quality young talent at the club.

“(It was) a pretty clear decision. The club showed a lot of faith in me last year picking me up and they’ve been really good to me,” McCartin told saints.com.au.

“It was a no-brainer – just sign the contract and get on with it.

“It’s a really exciting time; I reckon we’re on the right path. I think last year we showed some really, really good signs and hopefully our solid pre-season can transfer into some on-field performances in 2016.

“All the boys signed on last year, so as I said it was a no-brainer. Just get it done quickly, get it out of the way.

“The club was really good to me last year in picking me up and I came through with a few boys that I was really good mates with and I’ve made a lot of good mates here as well.”

The Geelong Falcons product said his performances in the latter stages of last season encouraged him to believe he could perform at the highest level, and provided ample motivation heading into this pre-season.

“Last year towards the back end of year I played a few games and that gave me confidence going into the pre-season knowing that I can do it and I do belong,” McCartin said.

“I feel like I’ve just tried to give my all so far, tick all the boxes, and just try and tick each session off as it comes. I feel like I’ve done that well.

“Hopefully, not just for myself, but for the team, that can translate into some really good performances.”

Like all draftees, McCartin’s workload was carefully managed during his first pre-season, however the spearhead estimates his output on the track has doubled this summer. 

“It’s a fair bit different to my first one. Last year I probably did about 30 to 40 per cent of pre-season, so far I’ve done about 80 (per cent),” McCartin said.

“Obviously they try and manage our loads a little bit being a second-year player still having not done all the pre-season last year. But I’ve pretty much done everything and I’m feeling pretty fit.”