MAVERICK Weller and Eli Templeton will join their new St Kilda teammates in Colorado at the end of the week after being picked up in Wednesday's NAB AFL Rookie Draft.
Flights have been secured for the pair to travel to the US despite booking difficulties caused by the approaching Thanksgiving holiday.
The earlier-than-usual scheduling of the rookie and pre-season drafts have allowed the Saints to get their new rookies overseas, which they haven't been able to do before.
In previous years, the final two drafts have been held in mid-December, after the majority of pre-season altitude camps are finished.
"They both go on Friday. It's one of the benefits of bringing the rookie draft forward," Saints head of football Chris Pelchen told AFL.com.au.
"Apart from the obvious advantage for us from a pre-season camp point of view, all clubs benefit from having the boys join their program sooner, especially when this is such a critical phase.
"Historically, November was spent very much on fitness training and now it's a combination of fitness training and game planning.
"The sooner the guys can participate in game planning, the better. Both boys are very excited."
Weller, 21, was recruited with the Saints' second pick in the draft – No.20 overall – after Tasmanian midfielder Templeton was secured with the third selection.
Weller, who has spent the past three seasons playing for Gold Coast, has been training with the Saints since they started their pre-season on November 6.
On Wednesday afternoon, he was hoping to join his new teammates for the two-and-a-half week altitude training camp, which they left for on Tuesday afternoon, but was still unsure of his fate.
"It would be ideal if I could go over there," Weller told AFL.com.au.
"I was talking to the coaches prior to being picked up and said, 'If this happens, I'd love to come over to Colorado'.
"We're just working through the logistics of it all now and seeing if it's worthwhile or not so we'll see what happens."
The Saints' third rookie secured on Wednesday, US-born Jason Holmes, has travelled with the majority of the list.
Holmes, a college basketballer for Morehead State Eagles in Kentucky, signed a two-year international rookie contract on the eve of the October NAB AFL Combine.
He will stay in the US after the training camp for the festive season and return to the club after New Years.
The club's three draftees from last Thursday night's NAB AFL Draft – Jack Billings, Luke Dunstan and Blake Acres – are also on the camp.
Despite essentially being part of the Saints' outfit for the past three weeks, Weller wasn't 100 per cent sure he was going to be taken on Wednesday.
He watched the draft, which is lodged over the phone with all 18 clubs dialling into the AFL, on AFL.com.au.
He first learned he was a St Kilda rookie when his name popped up next to No.20, and then took a call from coach Alan Richardson from the US, welcoming him to the club.
"In terms of knowing, you can't guarantee anything until your name is read out," Weller said.
"They didn't tell me at all. They said I was in the mix but they had to see what happened in the pre-season draft and at the start of the rookie draft, which was fine.
"I just found out when I found my name."
