It will be 338 days this Saturday since Josh Bruce, Tim Membrey and Paddy McCartin last took the field together.

The trio appears almost certain to line up in attack when the Saints take on the Kangaroos in the JLT Community Series on Saturday.

A significant back injury and then a broken leg curtailed almost the entire 2018 season for Bruce, while McCartin also missed the final seven games with a foot sprain.

The responsibility fell to Membrey, and while the leadership group's newest addition finished the season well, the Saints struggled in attack overall.

READ: Membrey leads from the front

The long-awaited reunion was put on hold last weekend at St Kilda’s intra-club match due to Membrey’s AFLX commitments the evening prior, but the signs were positive.

Bruce’s imposing figure, competitiveness in the air and freight-train-like leads delighted the St Kilda faithful.

And he also caught the eye of senior coach Alan Richardson.

“Brucey’s effort can’t be questioned, whether it be his running power or when he’s outnumbered, or his ability to bring the ball to ground,” Richardson told saints.com.au.

“It’s great to have him back.”

Josh Bruce was a standout in Saturday's Intra-Club match.

Bruce said he was excited to re-join his two fellow talls in the forward half.

“Early days and the first couple of match sims I felt really weird, because I hadn’t played footy in 12 months, but I got used to it pretty quickly again, and I’m gelling really well with Timmy and Paddy down there,” Bruce said.

We haven’t actually played that much footy together, so it’s been pretty frustrating we haven’t been able to string a bunch of games together with the three of us, and we’re really looking forward to showing what we’re capable of.”

In their four years together at the club, the three have only played 15 games as a collective unit, with 2018 the first without Saints legend Nick Riewoldt in their midst.

Much has changed during that time, with the inclusion of Brett Ratten as St Kilda’s forward line coach just one aspect of the Saints' reinvigorated approach to Season 2019.

Such an addition to St Kilda’s arsenal has been “fantastic” in the eyes of McCartin, who is excited at the prospect of heading up a formidable vanguard alongside Membrey and Bruce.

REPLAY: Saints' 2019 Intra-Club Match

“One thing that 'Ratts' has put in with the three of us is that it’s going to be tough for defence to match up on us,” McCartin said.

“Usually at one time it will be one of us that’s firing, so we’ve just got to make sure that we can make that as good as we can for the team and keep gelling together.”

‘Gelling’ is a word which frequently pops up in conversation between all three forward powerhouses, and is something which will be crucial for the Saints in their mission to surge up the ladder.

READ: Young Saints shine at Intra-Club

Understanding each other’s attributes and abilities has been instrumental in enhancing their chemistry, with a solid pre-season under their belt a testament to their growth as a united offensive.

“We’ve had a really good couple of months now at training together,” Membrey said.

“The three of us have been able to create some good synergy in our running patterns and really start to understand where each of us likes to run, how we want to mark the ball and the space.”

“It’s going to take time for us to find our feet early, but then once we play some footy together, I’m sure it’ll click and away we go.”