By now, it’s a well-known story. Starved of opportunity in the harbour city, Josh Bruce was recruited from Greater Western Sydney at the end of 2013 to plug a hole in St Kilda’s defence.

A little further down the road, under the watchful eye of Alan Richardson - a man who wasn’t at the club when Bruce was lured south - the athletic big man has been transformed into one of the best young key forwards in the competition, capable of getting the job done on the lead, in the air and in front of goal.

With the ink still drying on his new four-year contract extension, the 23-year-old spearhead revealed Richardson’s decision to switch him from one end of the ground to the other was the turning point in his career.

“It was a bit of a surprise, I obviously went down to play in defence at GWS. I was struggling with the likes of Jeremy Cameron and Jonathan Patton coming in, and played a few games down there,” Bruce told 3AW’s Sports Today on Thursday.

“But when I came to the Saints I was obviously recruited as a defender. ‘Richo’ obviously saw something in me and trialled me in the forward line in the VFL. Luckily enough I made the most of the opportunity.

“I’ve always felt really comfortable playing forward and always felt like a bit of a natural forward. So I’m really enjoying my time down there.”

Follow Josh's lead and sign on today! Click here for membership options.

After kicking just seven goals in his first 24 games, including the ten he played with the Saints in his first season at Linen House Centre, Bruce sprung to life last year, thriving inside 50 to claim St Kilda’s goal kicking crown with 50.24, and stamping himself as a bona-fide key forward.

On the man who helped kick start his career, Bruce admiration is evident. He identifies Richardson’s his ability to communicate with each and every player on St Kilda’s list as one of his major strengths and something that is crucial inside the four walls of a football club.

“I’m really enjoying being coached by Richo – he’s got a bit of a teaching background. One thing he does is he gets around to each individual player on a Thursday and lets them know what team they’re playing in,” Bruce said.

“Obviously guys that are generally in the ones, the older type guys they know what their roles is for the week, but the guys that are on the cusp and the guys that are just missing out he lets them know what they need to be doing to improve and why they are not picked. That’s a really important thing.”

On Saturday afternoon in Launceston, Bruce will chalk up his 50^th AFL game against Hawthorn, a milestone he conceded at a press conference this week was something he never considered possible as a boy growing up in Canberra.

It looms as the first of many milestones in red, white and black for the 197cm mobile tall. The man who moved back to forward to propel himself forwards.

Limited Edition History Book: Celebrating 50 Years 1966-2016 The Archives Edition