With the ink still drying on his new four-year contract, St Kilda star forward Josh Bruce admits feeling relieved by pledging his allegiance to the Saints until at least the end of 2020, putting an end to outside noise regarding his intentions.

Bruce’s re-signing continues a month of celebration at Linen House Centre, with the 23-year-old’s signature following big milestones for Leigh Montagna and Nick Riewoldt, the 50th anniversary of the 1966 premiership and last Saturday night’s Hall of Fame function which included the elevation of Robert Harvey to legend status.

“I feel really excited. Obviously it’s a relief to get it done early on in the season. It’s been a big few weeks for the club with Nick’s 300th and the 50th anniversary last week, so really exciting times,” Bruce told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

After playing 14 games with Greater Western Sydney, Bruce’s transformation into one of the premier young key forwards in the game will reach another mark on Saturday afternoon in Launceston when he runs out for game No. 50. A feat he never thought was possible, growing up out of a football bubble in Canberra.

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“I never thought I’d get there to be honest, it's pretty incredible for a kid from Canberra,” Bruce said.

“I’m really excited about going down to Launceston, I played them down there in my first year in NAB Cup I think and got a bit of a touch up then, so hopefully I can do a little bit better.”

St Kilda’s five-goal win over Collingwood last weekend snapped an eight-game losing streak, helping kick start 2016 after a lacklustre performance against Western Bulldogs in Round 2.

Bruce conceded missing out on a valuable practice match hit out during the NAB Challenge series affected St Kilda’s preparation, but with the side now three games in the Saints are well placed to face Hawthorn this weekend.

“I think we’ve had a really positive month. We obviously had a disrupted prep in the NAB cup missing that game in Mackay,” Bruce said.

“We probably should have got that job done against Port in Round 1, just fell away late. Obviously Round 2 was disappointing.

“But I think we’re building towards something exciting, there’s a really good feeling at the Saints at the moment.”

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