A one-hour cameo in an intra-club match was enough to settle some nerves for St Kilda star Jade Gresham as he plots a course back to competitive action after two AFL seasons wrecked by injury.
The 24-year-old gun managed just 14 games in that time, with a back stress fracture and ruptured achilles tendon keeping him sidelined for long periods.
He has not played since round three last year, but looms as a key inclusion for the Saints in 2022.
Gresham has enjoyed a strong summer preparation and produced an impressive display in the Saints' most serious hit-out of the summer so far at RSEA Park on Thursday afternoon.
He spent his two-and-a-bit quarters rotating through the midfield and forward line.
"It was just about getting through today, he was pretty nervous," Saints assistant coach Brendon Lade said.
"We had a good chat and said, 'when the ball's there you win it, that's what you do well, so do that'.
"I think he's starting to get a little bit of confidence back, which is good for us and hopefully it's scary for the opposition."
Gresham will likely play about three quarters of a practice match against Carlton next week and a full game in the pre-season fixture against Essendon next month.
All going well, he will play in round one against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium on March 18.
"He hasn't really missed a beat (over summer)," Lade said.
"Just a few little setbacks here and there, but generally he's been very good and probably improved his running a little bit."
Jack Hayes, Jarrod Lienert and Patrick Naish impressed Lade with their intra-club performances as they vie for the last remaining spots on St Kilda's list.
Experienced midfielder Zak Jones was the standout and Ben Paton got through after missing all of 2021 with a broken leg.
Versatile Josh Battle is being readied to settle in defence this year and kept star forward Max King quiet in an entertaining duel.
Brad Hill won plenty of the ball across half-back, with the Saints keen to use the speedster more as a running defender this season.
Exciting youngster Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera started slowly but showed glimpses of his talent in the second half.
Dan Hannebery, Paddy Ryder, Jack Billings and Jarryn Geary were all absent from the intra-club match but are in the mix for round one.
Hannebery, who has endured a string of injuries since swapping Sydney for the Saints three years ago, is likely to feature in a VFL practice match next week.
