ST KILDA'S 18-year-old ruckman Ben McEvoy will make his AFL debut when the Saints take on Fremantle on Friday night at Telstra Dome.

Coach Ross Lyon confirmed that the teenager would replace the injured Michael Gardiner, who sustained a hamstring injury in the 35-point loss to Sydney on Saturday night.

“McEvoy is going to play,” Lyon told the Herald Sun. “We’ll play a few kids. There will be a couple of changes.”

McEvoy, who was picked up at No.9 in last year’s NAB AFL Draft, was widely regarded as the second best ruckman in the 2007 draft behind Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer.

The opportunity for the 200cm and 98kg giant to play seniors comes on the back of some impressive performances for St Kilda's VFL affiliate Casey Scorpions in recent weeks.

Apart from the missing Gardiner, the Saints have other injury concerns, with Sean Dempster (ankle) and Justin Koschitzke (knee) still not certain to be fit for the Friday night clash.

Lyon admitted that the club’s match committee meeting would be delayed until after training.

"The injuries are not dramatic but we’ll have to wait and see," he said.