St Kilda finds itself in the fortunate position of having all but one player on its list available for Round 1 selection, with off-season recruit Nathan Freeman the only player ruled out due to injury at this stage.
GM of Football Performance Jamie Cox confirmed the Saints have almost a full clean bill of health ahead of the clubs season opener against Port Adelaide.
“Good news, Round 1 approaches and we’ve got virtually a full list to pick from, other than Nathan Freeman who still continues to recover strongly and train strongly and should be playing before too much longer,” Cox told saints.com.au on Wednesday.
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Captain Nick Riewoldt is set to make the trip across to South Australia to face Port Adelaide in the Saints first match of the 2016 season after overcoming general tightness.
The five-time All Australian didn’t finish St Kilda’s final NAB Challenge clash against Melbourne a fortnight ago, and has been the topic of inevitable discussion ever since. But Cox is confident Riewoldt will face the Power on Easter Sunday.
“The captain trained well yesterday and looks well on track to play,” Cox said.
Emerging key forward Paddy McCartin won’t be considered for senior selection despite overcoming the hamstring strain he suffered early in the game against North Melbourne in Wangaratta.
The 2014 No. 1 draft pick will return via Sandringham in the VFL where he will look to regain match conditioning before being available for Alan Richardson’s side.
“Paddy McCartin is available for selection, but because he injured himself so early in the NAB Challenge, really hasn’t had the volume necessary to play in the seniors,” Cox said.
“Paddy will play for Sandringham in a practice match on Sunday to hopefully he get his season underway.”
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