St Kilda’s depth in defensive key posts is widely regarded as the strongest part of its team structure, with reliable and established veterans in Sean Dempster and Sam Fisher still contributing at a high level in 2015.

Dempster has been a paragon of consistency across his entire journey at the Saints, underlined by his four third-place finishes in the Trevor Barker Award in the last five seasons, including a bronze medal in the 2015 edition.

And Fisher returned from football triage last year, following two years in which injury threatened to draw the curtains on his decorated career in St Kilda’s back six.

With both Fisher and Dempster closer to the finish line than the start, Hugh Goddard looms as a critical component of not only this season, but of the years to come. Expect the highly rated teenager to be exposed to more senior football in 2016 after earning a taste of the highest level in the back end of last season.

After playing every game and establishing himself as a permanent fixture in Alan Richardson’s defence in 2014, Luke Delaney endured a difficult 2015 battling form and injury concerns in the second half of the season.

With Jake Carlisle unavailable for the entire 2016 campaign, opportunities will arise for someone to cement a spot down back. And Tom Lee is another name pushing his case after transitioning from attack to defence during the latter stages of last year at Sandringham.

Recent recruit Nick Coughlan was one of the standout key defenders in the TAC Cup in 2015, prompting the Saints to pick him in the rookie draft and add him to the club’s key defensive stocks. Whilst Coughlan will be provided time to develop at his own rate in the VFL, he shouldn’t be ruled out as an option in 2016.