It was a slower ball that got Dylan Roberton.

Shane Savage had thrown down three lightning bolts that moved a bit off the seam and Roberton was expecting more of the same.

Instead, the change of pace surprised the dashing defender, striking him in the crown jewels in a moment that will be written into St Kilda pre-season folklore.

Roberton, 26, had surgery downstairs and missed the last couple of weeks of 2017 before returning to the main group on Wednesday.

“We had about five minutes to kill before a meeting, and as we normally do we muck around to fill in the time,” Roberton told the Inside St Kilda podcast this week.

“We were playing a bit of cricket and the bat we use is a mini one that Jack Lonie brings from home.

“Sav is a pretty handy cricketer and the three balls prior to it he was making the ball do a bit and sending them down real fast.

“I finally got my eye in and he decided to send down a slower ball and I was expecting another fast one and it got me where you don’t want to get hit.”

While many of his teammates only had to care for themselves over the summer break, Roberton and his partner, Amy, have three young children, so the holidays are a bit different to most.

“It’s getting a lot better now because they are able to get up and run around and do that sort of thing. There’s been a lot of playing in the pool this summer, which is good fun,” he said.

“Our eldest is off to school at the end of this month, so we’ve got a couple more weeks left with him and then he is a school kid.”