Eight months ago they were parked deep inside 50 at the MCG, wrestling for position. Now, Josh Bruce and Nathan Brown go to work on each other every day in match simulation and it’s a test the St Kilda key forward relishes.

After years matched up on Sam Fisher and Sean Dempster at Linen House Centre, the arrival of the former Collingwood premiership full-back has provided Bruce with a fresh assignment.

And soon, the 24-year-old will face another recent key acquisition in versatile tall, Jake Carlisle, who is gradually being reintroduced back into the main group after hip surgery midyear.

“Browny’s going really well, I’m playing on him week-in, week-out. It’s really good for me because obviously he’s a really quality defender,” Bruce told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

“I’m looking forward to getting Jake back in and testing my mettle against him as well.

“He’s [Carlisle] been doing part sessions, running really well, things are looking good for him.” 

While Jack Steele has been restricted to the rehab group with Carlisle during his short time at St Kilda, Brown and the other player – Koby Stevens – signed by the Saints during the trade period have already made an impact on the track, according to Bruce. 

“Guys like Nathan Brown and Koby Stevens have been setting the standard at training, so it’s been really good,” Bruce said.

“We’ve got about nine new players, a few of them have been in rehab like Jack Steele and Jake Carlisle obviously coming through from injuries but they’re performing really well in rehab.

“It’s been a really good month or so, the boys have been training really well. The younger guys were here a little bit earlier than that and everyone’s been getting stuck into it.”

St Kilda’s pre-Christmas training block draws to an end on Thursday, following the Saints pre-season training camp in New Zealand earlier this month. Alan Richardson’s men will return for the next phase of the program on January 6.