ST KILDA remains confident Nick Riewoldt will play against Collingwood on Friday night despite the Saints captain appearing limited at training on Thursday.
Riewoldt trained with his left calf heavily strapped for the first half of the session at Moorabbin, after coming off late in the Saints' win over Gold Coast on Saturday night.
First-year forward Paddy McCartin is expected to be named as an emergency on Thursday night after training with the squad on Thursday, along with Eli Templeton and Nathan Wright.
The No.1 draft pick will be on stand by in case Riewoldt fails to come up from the calf complaint, after kicking four goals in the VFL on the weekend.
If McCartin does play, he will make his AFL debut in the Saints' only Friday night game for the season against a Collingwood side with its own injury concerns.
Pendlebury in doubt after leaving training early
Riewoldt moved well early on in the hit-out before having a deep conversation with head physio Andrew Wallis and coach Alan Richardson, where he sat down and removed the bandage.
He then tested out the leg at high speed, and was one of the last on the track for goal-kicking practice with the Saints' other forwards.
But it will all be about how the veteran pulls up on Friday after back-to-back six day breaks, a trip to Queensland and the New Zealand Anzac Day fixture coming up next week.
Midfielder Jack Newnes, who will play his 50th game on Friday night, believes the captain will face the Pies.
"I think he will - we've had two six-day breaks, so it's been pretty grinding on everyone's bodies," Newnes said.
"But he's looking good for this week.
"He didn't train on Tuesday but that's just due to loads on the body and six-day breaks so I think he's OK."
Saints coach Alan Richardson inspects Nick Riewoldt's injured calf. Picture: AFL Media
There's been plenty of positivity around the Saints this week after their 28-point win over the Suns, following a bleak round one loss to Greater Western Sydney.
Newnes said the aim this week would be to replicate the sort of intensity they were able to generate on Saturday night.
"We sat down and had a few chats [after round one] and a few team meetings, and the side we chose was going to bring a lot of pressure and that was the aim going into the Gold Coast game," he said.
"It's been an up and down start of the year … hopefully we can bring that effort we showed against the Suns."
Newnes said the players had avoided listening to "outside sources" about the Saints' prospects this year, after many predicted a wooden spoon finish.
"We've got a lot of confidence internally at the club and we're really excited for this week's game," he said.
"We haven't been rated too much so far but hopefully in the next month we can turn a few peoples' views around."
The 22-year-old, whose has career accelerated in the past two seasons after he played seven games in 2012, said he felt more secure at AFL level on the eve of his first milestone.
"It's kind of worked out well, it's a big game for us, our only Friday night game for the year and on the 'G so I'm really pumped and can't wait to get out there," he said.
"Playing 49 games so far has been really good for me … I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable out on the ground.
"It probably takes a while to get comfortable in an AFL setting but I'm starting to feel that now and building a lot more confidence with each game."
