Ella Friend will be one of three inclusions for Sunday's match against the Western Bulldogs as the competition celebrates this season's Pride Round.

The recalled first-round draftee will be accompanied by Deanna Jolliffe and Nat Exon, who returns to bolster the Saints' engine room after missing the past fortnight with a rib injury.

The Saints will field a shorter line-up in the absences of Clara Fitzpatrick (jarred knee) and Simone Nalder (rested), while Jess Matin has also been omitted to round out the changes.

Nalder, left dazed in the early stages of last Friday's game against Carlton following a collision, was cleared of concussion on game-day and in the tests undertaken in the ensuing days, but has been rested as a precaution.

Matin, Nalder and Caitlin Matthews have been named as emergencies.

The club will debut its Season Seven Pride Guernsey in Round 8, which pays homage to some significant markers in LGBTQIA+ history while inspiring and encouraging an inclusive and accepting future for all.

Designed earlier in 2022 by members of St Kilda’s AFLW playing group – including current players Kate ShierlawAlice Burke and Lucy Burke – and the club’s graphic design team and community partners, the guernsey reflects key moments and events that have helped shape an inclusive culture both at the Saints and the broader football community. 

The guernsey adapts a blackout version of St Kilda’s Crusader kit, featuring the Crest motif in the colours of the Pride Progress Flag. Emblazoned on each colour wave are milestone words, detailed in chronological order, which carry significant meaning within the LGBTQIA+ community and Saints’ AFLW playing group.

St Kilda will meet the Western Bulldogs at Ballarat's Mars Stadium on Sunday 16 October, commencing at 1:10pm.

IN: Exon, Friend, Jolliffe
OUT: Fitzpatrick (injured), Matin (omitted), Nalder (rested)

       

B

Rebecca Ott Alice Burke  

HB

Hannah Priest Bianca Jakobsson Tarni White

C

Darcy Guttridge Olivia Vesely Molly McDonald

HF

Nicola Stevens Kate Shierlaw Nicola Xenos

F

Hannah Stuart Caitlin Greiser  

R

Lucy Burke Nat Exon Rosie Dillon

INT

Ella Friend Georgia Patrikios Deanna Jolliffe
  Ash Richards J'Noemi Anderson  

E

Jess Matin Caitlin Matthews Simone Nalder