It's a morning ritual practised by millions around the world.

Not coffee, not meditation and not some new-age trend, but the trusty crossword. 

For a trio at the Saints, it's a routine like clockwork every Thursday morning. The man leading the charge? Three down, six across.

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"It's myself, Jack Sinclair and Josh Bruce," the 27-year-old confirmed. 

"It keeps your brain ticking over and it’s something a bit different. We probably get one completed every few weeks without cheating.

Tom Hickey, Josh Bruce, Jack Sinclair and Jack Steven complete the crossword on a Thursday morning

While both current and past players have featured sporadically, the Crossword Crew remains a tight-knit group.

"Nick Riewoldt was part of it, but we hear he’s with Jason Dunstall now," Hickey said.

"Apparently, he’s a gun crossworder."

PLAY: Can you finish our Saints crossword?

Every Thursday, you can find Hickey and Co. sat around a table at RSEA Park with a newspaper spread in front of them.

"Thursday’s our day. We get it out of The Age – we don’t like the Herald Sun one," he said.

"We have a group text message, so if we have a day off and any of the boys are out and about, we’ll try and get the crossword going.

"The girlfriends might jump in to help and we’ll send our answers to each other and see if we can get it as a collective.

"If we get it, we’ll get around each other, bring it into the club and put it on the noticeboard for all the boys to see.

"Every now and then, we’ll send a photo to the rest of the playing group to let them know that the Crossy Crew’s done it again."

PODCAST: Behind The Crest w/ Tom Hickey