St Kilda could unveil a handful of new faces against Carlton in Saturday’s JLT Community Series clash at Ikon Park, with the Saints’ first two picks in the 2016 National Draft, Ben Long and Josh Battle, and 2015 father-son recruit, Bailey Rice, named in the 29-man squad.
Long and Battle, who were taken with picks No. 25 and No. 39 last November, and Rice, whose father Dean played 118 games for the Saints, are all in contention line for their first appearances in red, white and black.
Rookie pair Nick O’Kearney and Rowan Marshall have also been included in the extended squad for the first time, while Darren Minchington, Blake Acres, Jimmy Webster and Jack Sinclair could all feature for the first time in 2017. The latter three were all included in the squad last Thursday but didn’t play against the Power.
After getting an early hit out under their belts last weekend, Nick Riewoldt, Jarryn Geary, Dylan Roberton, Sam Gilbert and Tom Hickey won’t appear in the Saints’ second game of the pre-season tournament.
West Australian Acres overcame a patchy first-half of last season to produce a blistering finish to his third season at Linen House Centre. The big-bodied midfielder was named best on ground in two of the final five games to underline his late season rise.
Rebounding defender Webster hasn’t played a senior game since he first encountered hamstring issues in the Saints’ win over Geelong in Round 14, while midfielder-forward Sinclair played nine games in his second season at the Saints.
After impressing in their first appearance, new key defenders, Jake Carlisle and Nathan Brown, are set for more game time together to build their synergy ahead of a date with Melbourne in Round 1, which is now just 23 days away.
Two other recent acquisitions, Koby Stevens and Jack Steele, have also been named to face the Blues after they both featured in the second weekend of the JLT Community Series.
At the attacking end of the ground, key forwards Josh Bruce, Tim Membrey and Paddy McCartin will also get another opportunity to fine tune their games at Princes Park.
Former St Kilda Captain and current Senior Assistant Coach, Aaron Hamill, will take the coaching reins this weekend as part of the coaching rotation, after Senior Assistant Coach, Adam Kingsley, steered proceedings against Port Adelaide last Thursday night.
2017 JLT Community Series
St Kilda v Carlton
Ikon Park
Saturday March 4, 2.05pm
2. Jake Carlisle, 3. Jack Steven, 4. Jade Gresham, 5. Shane Savage, 6. Seb Ross, 7. Luke Dunstan, 8. Blake Acres, 9. Jack Steele, 13. Jack Lonie, 15. Jack Billings, 16. Jack Newnes, 18. Billy Longer, 20. David Armitage, 21. Ben Long, 22. Nathan Brown, 24. Sean Dempster, 25. Koby Stevens, 26. Josh Battle, 27. Josh Bruce, 28. Tim Membrey, 29. Jimmy Webster, 32. Paddy McCartin, 33. Nick O’Kearney, 34. Nathan Wright, 35. Jack Sinclair, 36. Daniel McKenzie, 37. Bailey Rice, 41. Darren Minchington, 43. Rowan Marshall.
