ST KILDA recruit Jake Carlisle has been managed in his first session with his new club and will be on a modified program for the next month after sitting out the Saints' 3km time trial on Monday morning.

Carlisle returned for his summer program early with the club's first to fourth-year players, but was restricted to heavy rope training while his new teammates ran around Albert Park Lake.

Carlisle, who volunteered for a first drug strike after vision surfaced of him snorting a white powder in Las Vegas, said it was exciting to join the Saints but he was likely to be in rehab for another four weeks.

"I'm on feet today, light jogs and progressing pretty good so hopefully in the next month I can get into it fully," Carlisle said on Monday.

"I've met half the young boys already and it'll be good to meet the rest of the playing group."

Carlisle was pushed by new Saints high performance manager Matt Hornsby under the watchful eye of coach Alan Richardson in a lengthy rope session.

Assistant coach Adam Kingsley said the key to Carlisle fitting in at the Saints would be "getting to work" and earning respect.

"He'll go about it the right way and we're confident he'll build respect," Kingsley said. 

"He's coming from a little bit further back than where he might have been, but he'll get there.

"We need to manage him at the start to see where his body is and where he's at within our group.

"But once we can get some idea of that he'll be included in our main drills."