ST KILDA is confident Ahmed Saad can make the most of his second chance in the AFL after his long road back to Seaford was completed at the NAB AFL Rookie Draft on Wednesday.
Saad will complete an 18-month anti-doping suspension in February next year, and his discipline to stay in elite condition this year convinced the Saints to redraft him as a rookie.
"We were keen to make an assessment of how he handled himself during the year both physically and mentally and whether he was up to what we would deem as AFL standard," list manager Ameet Bains told AFL.com.au.
"He was able to experience his dream of playing AFL football for a couple of years and then it was taken away.
"We've been pleased to get feedback from both him and the personal trainer he's been working with around the physical testing he's done."
Saad told 3AW radio on Wednesday night that his time out of the game had made him more motivated than ever to succeed in the AFL.
"Because I've had a taste of it, I knew what I was missing," Saad said.
"Being out of the game has made me a lot hungrier, probably more than what I was first time around."
Saad played 29 games for the Saints in two seasons at Seaford before his suspension put his career on hold.
But the 25-year-old said he was not bitter about his anti-doping ban, saying it had been his own "silly mistake" to consume an energy drink containing a banned substance before a game last year.
"There's no excuses in that," Saad said.
"It was definitely hard at the time, knowing my career could be over, but it happened and I had to deal with it.
"I've missed a year of footy and I don't want to miss any more."
The Saints re-drafted small forward Adam Schneider as a rookie on Wednesday, with teenagers Jack Sinclair and Brenton Payne also joining the club and rounding out the 2015 list.
Bains said the club's new additions had strong character and would fit in with the young list building at Seaford.
"That (character) is the one thing we don't compromise on as a club," he said.
"For the guys picked in the rookie draft there's usually small knocks on them in one way or another with their football.
"But in terms of their character it's still very important, and perhaps even more important as a rookie because you're still going to have to fight to make it."
Selection No.1 – Jack Sinclair
Ameet Bains says: "We watched Jack a little bit last year when he was playing year 12 at Scotch College but he had more of a focus on his cricket. He was invited back to the Oakleigh Chargers as a 19-year-old this year and we were very impressed with his football both as a small forward and a midfielder. He played in the Chargers' premiership and, importantly for us, had three games with Port Melbourne at VFL level. That showed his ability to mix it with senior company."
Selection No.19 – Ahmed Saad
Ameet Bains says: "With how well Ahmed's looked after himself, that indicated to us he had a professional approach and wanted to resurrect his AFL career. We're excited to have taken him and we're quite hopeful he can capture some of the form he showed in his first year as an AFL player. We caught up with him recently and it's clear that having had a taste of AFL football, and then having that taken away, has hardened his desire to get back and improve."
Selection No.37 – Brenton Payne
Ameet Bains says: "Brenton had a very good year but also a tough year in many respects. He lives in the Bacchus Marsh area, goes to school at St Pats in Ballarat and plays footy at the Western Jets and trains in Altona. It's a massive workload with year 12 and all the travel commitments, but through all that we thought his football has been pretty sound. He played in the Under-18 Championships and kicked nine goals, but he's also played back. He's just got some development to do with his strength and size."
Selection No.54 – Adam Schneider
Ameet Bains says: "His leadership ability and his capacity to coach players in team meetings and on the field is very strong. He's got a very smart football brain, he's a good person and he's had a lot of success as a footballer. If his body holds up he can still make a solid contribution at AFL level. Having 'Schneids' working with Jack Lonie, who we drafted as a small forward, will be phenomenal for his development."
