STRONG wins from both St Kilda and Sandringham last Saturday are likely to cause a welcome selection logjam this week, with senior players returning and numerous youngsters in the mix.

Lenny Hayes and Leigh Montagna are the obvious inclusions to the Saints team as they prepare to clash with GWS, with both midfielders returning from suspension.

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Alan Richardson can’t wait to welcome the experienced duo back into the senior fold.

“It will be great to have the opportunity to bring those guys back in,” he said on Saturday night.

“They are leaders of the football club and showed some really good form throughout the NAB Challenge.”

Hayes may be entering his 16th season, but he’s just as excited to play as any other year and spoke of his frustrations in watching from the stands in round one.

“Joey and I really wanted to be out there,” he said on Tuesday morning.

“Normally when you are missing games you are injured but we were really proud of the boys’ efforts. I feel great and pretty fresh after last weekend and I’m still pretty keen to have an impact out on the field.”

These two inclusions will force Richardson to make at least two changes to the team that defeated Melbourne by 17 points last Saturday, though a full bill of health is no certainty according to St Kilda head physio Andrew Wallis.

“David Armitage got a bit of a knock on the knee, but he trained today (Tuesday) so hopefully he’ll get through and play,” Wallis told SAINTS.com.au.

“And Webster tweaked his groin but will hopefully pass a fitness test and he should be right to play.”

Assuming these two left footers are passed fit, it may be hard to squeeze anyone else in the team given the aforementioned returns of Montagna and Hayes.

Nevertheless, Sandringham’s 66-point win over the Northern Blues last weekend included a few excellent performances.

Trent Dennis-Lane’s four-goal haul may bring him into the selection discussion, while Daniel Markworth and Josh Bruce also played well according to assistant coach Paul Hudson.

“With Trent’s role as a forward, he was on the move all the time. He really had a great impact,” Hudson told SAINTS.com.au earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Markworth’s 19-disposal effort was a step in the right direction but it’s difficult to see him debuting just yet given his extended layoff with a knee reconstruction in 2013.

“He’s starting to show his fitness is improving,” Hudson said. “He’s quite quick and uses the ball well. Daniel had a good, sound game.”
Tom Simpkin and Bruce will more than likely fight for that last key defensive post However with Sean Dempster, Luke Delaney and James Gwilt impressing against the Demons, it’s hard to find room for either one of them despite solid VFL efforts.

Bruce played 14 matches for GWS before arriving at the Saints late last year, and Hudson said that the 21-year-old “grew in confidence” as Saturday’s game progressed.

Of the others, midfielder Seb Ross was named an emergency last week and did the warm-up with the Saints on Etihad Stadium, while Tom Lee may considered if the coaching staff elect to play another key forward.

You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32