On the eve of his third season at St Kilda, highly regarded leader Maverick Weller has praised Senior Coach Alan Richardson for his ability to instil self-belief in his players.

The former Gold Coast Sun has proven to be a recruiting masterstroke after the Saints selected Weller with a rookie pick at the end of 2013. He has since played 36 games for St Kilda, establishing himself as a regular fixture in Richardson’s best 22.

On Tuesday, the 24-year-old was re-elected to the eight-man leadership group, earning the recognition for the second consecutive year to further highlight the impact he has had in Seaford in a short space of time.

“I’ve absolutely loved my time down here. It was a breath of fresh air (getting an opportunity at St Kilda),” Weller told Adelaide radio station Five AA.

“Richo’s let me come in and really let me work on my game, he’s given me a lot of self-belief that I didn’t have before I got to the Saints. He’s really let me progress my footy. I’m loving my time down there.”

Following an encouraging 2015 campaign in which the Saints exceeded expectations, Weller said St Kilda must become more consistent this season to build on the strong foundations that were laid last year.

“We’ve been working on this for a couple of years, putting a really good foundation for young kids to come in and just play on instinct and deliver this high pressure style that we play. We feel it’s not far away; it’s just about consistency for us,” Weller said.

“We shook some pretty good sides last year; we just couldn’t really hold on, I believe that’s due to a younger list and a lack of experience.

“It could easily come together for us this year. We’re not putting limitations on ourselves; we’re expecting to keep growing and moving forward.”