EIGHT uncapped Saints will take the field at Simonds Stadium, including No.3 draft pick Jack Billings and former Hawthorn and Brisbane players Shane Savage and Billy Longer.

Billings, Savage and Longer are part of a 29-man squad for Wednesday night’s NAB Challenge match against the Western Bulldogs.

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Rookie Eli Templeton will also have his first official hitout for the Saints after he was selected with the third pick in November’s Rookie Draft. Fellow rookie and former Gold Coast Sun midfielder Maverick Weller will also make his debut in the red, white and black.

Former Giant Josh Bruce and ex-Kangaroo full-back Luke Delaney will bolster St Kilda’s defence, while Tom Hickey and Longer look set to share the ruck duties for the first time after the latter’s arrival from Brisbane in the summer.

However much of the attention will be centred on draftees Luke Dunstan and Billings, who both impressed in St Kilda’s intra-club match a fortnight ago.

Dunstan is a classy left-footer equally capable of winning his own ball and playing an outside role, while Billings has recovered from a quad injury sustained in December and will get his first taste of senior football.

On the injury front, Rhys Stanley is fit and raring to go after post-season shoulder surgery, while Dylan Roberton and Arryn Siposs have enjoyed strong pre-seasons after going down late in the 2013 campaign. Stanley and Siposs have proven they have all the attributes to kick goals at AFL level and are likely to be two of the main focal points in Nick Riewoldt’s absence on Wednesday evening.

Also sitting out the match is 34-year-old Lenny Hayes, Sean Dempster, Sam Gilbert and Tom Lee.

You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32