Off-season acquisition Nathan Freeman is making steady progress with his troublesome hamstring, edging closer to joining the main group after suffering a minor setback prior to the Christmas break.
The No. 10 draft pick has endured a tumultuous time during his first two and a bit years in the system, due to chronic hamstring issues that have limited him to only a handful of appearances at VFL level.
Despite the ongoing issue, St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson remains optimistic about Freeman’s prospects, confident the strong willed, athletically gifted 20-year-old can emerge from years drenched with disappointed, and build on the impressive start he has chiselled out of adversity at Linen House Centre.
“When someone doesn’t play for two years – or play senior footy for two years – and you bring them to your footy club, you make sure they have all the attributes that when they are fit and healthy they’re going to be a really good player for you, otherwise you wouldn’t do the deal,” Richardson told saints.com.au on Thursday.
“But you also go into it realistically, knowing that this is going to take a while and this is where ‘Free’s’ is at.
“He’s an incredible worker; he’s a great kid; he’s a very positive person; he’s already won the respect of his teammates with the way he’s gone about his training and the way that he’s coped with his minor setback.
“Having said all that, he’s not far away really, in terms of joining in. In probably a couple of weeks, you’ll turn up and watch training and not notice that he’s been out of it.
"He’s a pretty impressive athlete so it won’t take long for him to get up to speed with the rest of the group."
Richardson revealed the Saints were erring on the side of caution with young game-breaker Jack Billings, pulling on the reigns to ensure he isn’t brought back too soon.
Billings – taken seven picks ahead of Freeman in the 2013 National Draft – managed only nine senior games in 2015 as he battled persistent shin problems that put the brakes on his development in his second season.
“He’s going well, we’re holding him back a little bit, he’s getting a little bit frustrated as he wants to get out there, he wants to contribute, he doesn’t want to be missing out and that’s what he thinks he’s doing at the minute. But that’s okay,” Richardson said.
“We’ve been somewhat conservative with Jack, but he’d only be a week, perhaps two before he’s back in doing all the stuff.
“He’s a person that’s really important to us for obvious reasons – he’s exactly what we need – someone with that class and run on the outside to complement some of our bigger, harder guys on the inside."
