St Kilda small forward Jack Lonie says he is humbled to inherit the No. 13, after being handed down the guernsey from the recently retired Adam Schneider.

The pair worked very closely together in Lonie’s debut season, building a strong partnership inside the Saints forward 50, with Schneider imparting plenty of wisdom on his young protégé.

Lonie comfortably exceeded expectations in his first year, playing 17 games to become a regular member of Alan Richardson’s 22.

The 19-year-old revealed he latched on to Schneider when he first landed at Linen House Centre, identifying the veteran small forward as an ideal player to soak information from.

“It’s obviously something I’m very proud of, to wear Schneid’s number. I had a great relationship with him last year and for him to give it to me is something very special and I’ll always remember it,” Lonie told SEN on Saturday.

“(And) not just Schneid’s but all the others guys who have worn 13 for the St Kilda footy club in the past.

“We worked pretty closely me and Scheids. I just saw him at the start of the year as someone who was very similar to me.

“He has a very good footy brain – I probably hung around him too much and probably annoyed him a little bit. But hopefully I’m better off as a player for having him there.”

After such an impressive start to his career at St Kilda, Lonie is desperate not to fall victim to the dreaded second-year blues.

The polished left-footer is looking to improve his all round game this pre-season and has spent time analysing the best small forwards in the game, including All Australian duo Hayden Ballantyne and Cyril Rioli, to pick up incremental gains.

“They (the coaches) just want to keep me improving in all facets of my game and really knowing my role to a tee, playing that small forward role really well,” Lonie said.

“They give me a lot of opposition players to watch such as Hayden Ballantyne, Cyril Rioli and these guys who play that role really well. Hopefully I can learn off them as much as possible.”