ADAM Schneider and Jack Lonie may have only had 12 months overlapping in their football careers but the former Saint has left an indelible impression on the rising star.

Although the two have only known each other for a brief period, Lonie spoke glowingly of his mentor on Channel 9’s TAC Cup Future Stars program on Sunday.

“I probably hung around him like a bad smell and I am disappointed to see him retire,” Lonie said.

“I’ll stay close with Schneids forever.”

Behind the guernsey: Jack Lonie

Lonie played 17 games in his debut season after being selected with pick no.41 in the 2014 National Draft.

12 of these matches were alongside Schneider, who played his 228^th and final AFL game in round 22 against Sydney.

“Schneids and I got paired up pretty early at our New Zealand High Performance camp in the pre-season,” he said.

“I roomed with him in week one of being drafted. He is a fantastic footy person with a great brain and I just tried to pick it apart.”

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Another teammate who Lonie has plenty of admiration for is Jack Billings.

“Jack is fantastic,” he said.

“I watched him a lot last year and throughout this year’s pre-season. I love the way he goes about it. He’s a beautiful left foot kick and someone I look up to. Hopefully I can be as good of a player as he is.”

VIDEO: Lonie crunched