VETERAN Saint Leigh Montagna will not play in the opening match of the JLT Community Series against Port Adelaide on Thursday night after suffering a calf strain last week.
Montagna, 33, was left out of the strong squad – that includes fellow experienced players Nick Riewoldt, Sean Dempster and Sam Gilbert – to face the Power at Etihad Stadium.
Stand-in coach Adam Kingsley said there were no doubts about Montagna's fitness for St Kilda's round one clash against Melbourne on Saturday, March 25.
"He hurt his calf last week, so he's not fully fit. If he was, he'd definitely be in our team. We're expecting him to be ready around JLT3, give or take," Kingsley said at Seaford on Tuesday.
"We're expecting him to definitely be fit for round one."
Montagna, who shifted to the backline last season, did not play in the intraclub last Thursday.
Durability hasn't been an issue for Montagna. Since 2006, there has been only one season when he failed to play 20 games or more (he missed five games after knee surgery in 2015).
Luckless midfielder Nathan Freeman is back in full training after missing the intraclub with a hip injury, but Kingsley said the club would tread carefully with the 21-year-old.
"He's back in training but we're not in a rush to play Nathan. If he's ready, he'll play. He's had a strong summer. We've been really happy with the way he's trained over the pre-season," he said.
"It's more of a marathon than a sprint with him. We identify that he hasn't played any footy, really, for three years.
"We need to not have enormous expectations that he's going to play every game this year. We're going to treat him as a first-year player and try to ease him in."
However, Kingsley said Freeman is not out of the running for a spot in the round one team.
"He (Freeman) has an opportunity to be there round one. If he continues to play well and train strongly, then he'll put his hand up. We'll see where that takes him," he said.
None of the club's draftees will line-up on Thursday, despite Josh Battle booting five goals in last week's intraclub. He, along with the Saints' first selection from last year, Ben Long, will likely feature against Carlton on Saturday, March 4.
"The following week, JLT2, we'll play some of the other guys that missed out, or many of them. The final game will basically be a full-dress rehearsal for round one," Kingsley said.
Former skipper Nick Riewoldt will play in two pre-season games as he prepares for a 17th season.
"Nick will probably play around three-quarters this week. [He] probably won't play the JLT2 game. He'll be back certainly for the third game," Kingsley said.
Key defender Hugh Goddard is yet to return to the main group after rupturing his left Achilles tendon against Adelaide in his only senior game last year.
"He's back into running and doing a little bit of agility work on the sideline. Not sure of the exact timeframe as to when he'll be back with the main group, but probably midyear I would think without really knowing, would be an expectation of when he'll play," Kingsley said.
