A host of big names in new colours will be on display in Thursday night’s Marsh Community Series opener between St Kilda and Hawthorn at RSEA Park in Moorabbin.
The likes of Paddy Ryder, Dougal Howard and Brad Hill will put on St Kilda colours for the first time after being named by senior coach Brett Ratten.
Dan Butler and Ryan Abbott will also play for St Kilda for the first time, while Zak Jones (wisdom teeth), Jarryn Geary (calf), Dylan Roberton (corked knee), Dan Hannebery (managed) will all miss out of the club’s first pre-season clash of 2020.
Meanwhile, Hawthorn has also gone into the clash with a strong squad, headlined by the 2018 Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell’s return from a horrid leg break sustained in pre-season last year.
New Hawks recruits Sam Frost and Jonathon Patton will also play their first matches for the club but Shaun Burgoyne and James Sicily miss out.
Max King will also get his first run in St Kilda’s senior team after impressing throughout pre-season.
As flagged by Hawthorn on Wednesday, ruckman Ben McEvoy will be trialled in defence after multiple weeks of training in that position, allowing Alastair Clarkson to see how the positional shift stacks up in a competitive clash for the first time.
Football’s return to Moorabbin for the first time since 1992 looms as a momentum occasion for both St Kilda and the AFL in general, with around 10,000 people set to pack the suburban ground for the first pre-season match of the year.
SQUADS
St Kilda: D.Howard, C.Wilkie, N.Coffield, J.Carlisle, H.Clark, B.Long, J.Billings, S.Ross, B.Hill, J.Sinclair, P.Ryder, D.Butler, T.Membrey, J.Lonie, M.King, R.Marshall, J.Gresham, J.Steele, J.Marsh, R.Abbott, S.Savage, D.McKenzie, B.Paton, J.Battle, L.Dunstan, D.Kent
Hawthorn: B.Stratton, J.Frawley, D.Greaves, S.Frost, B.McEvoy, H.Morrison, I.Smith, L.Shiels, R.Henderson, O.Hanrahan, M.Lewis, T.O'Brien, L.Breust, J.Patton, P.Puopolo, J.Ceglar, J.O'Meara, J.Worpel, C.Jiath, C.Wingard, M.Walker, T.Mitchell, D.Minchington, J.Cousins, B.Hardwick, T.Scully
