St Kilda spearhead Tim Membrey says the Saints are excited by the prospect of filling the void left by Nick Riewoldt, rather than being daunted by the challenge of replacing a champion.

For the first time since the club read out Riewoldt’s name with the first selection in the 2000 National Draft, the champion centre-half forward won’t be on the track over the pre-season, opening the door for another No. 1 pick in Paddy McCartin to step up in his absence.

“I guess it’s exciting; he’s obviously been a superstar of the club for such a long time and now his time is up,” Membrey told reporters at Catani Gardens on Tuesday.

“It’s obviously a massive hole that we’re all going to have to work together to fill, but it’s just another exciting challenge for us as a forward group to improve and take the next step.

“We’ve done it before with Nick playing on the wing at times. So I’m sure with another good pre-season working alongside each other, we’ll be able to fill that void.

“He’s made it pretty clear that Paddy’s the one to come in and make a big stamp on this team and that’s exciting.”

McCartin, 21, has made an eye-catching start to his fourth pre-season at Linen House Centre, running a big personal best in the opening 3km time-trial of the summer, before following that time up with equally impressive runs across the first two weeks.

Membrey, who has kicked the most goals for St Kilda across the last two years with 82.32, couldn’t contain his adoration for McCartin when asked about him several times by reporters.

“I’m personally his No. 1 fan; I love him and think that he’s going to be a superstar,” he said.

“He’s clearly putting in the hard yards now and the rewards are starting to show just in his aerobic capacity and his body now.

“I hope that he gets a clear run out; I personally think he could be a bit scary.”