IT WASN'T quite the AFL initiation new Saint Jack Peris was hoping for, especially with his famous mother Nova watching from the sidelines on Wednesday morning at RSEA Park.
In just his second session with the club, and during his first contact drill of the day, Peris received a knock that forced him to sit out the rest of the day, nursing a heavily iced right knee.
"Just some jarring and bruising, hopefully I'll be out there on Friday for the main session, just a little scare," Peris told reporters.
"I just got caught in a tackle, my knees are strong and I'm grateful for that."
Those strong knees come from strong genetics with mum Nova Peris a dual-sport Olympian who claimed gold with Australia's women's hockey team in 1996 and then forged a stellar track career.
Usually the main attraction, Nova was happy parked under a tree talking to Jack as he strapped his injury.
"She wasn't too concerned, she knows I've had my fair share of injuries," Peris said.
"She's been my athletics coach for the last couple of years, she's taught me to be resilient."
It was a scorching hot day at Saints HQ for the first day of summer with a small group comprising of mainly first-to-fourth year players braving the conditions.
Jack Higgins returned early, as did Hunter Clark with Corey Enright, who crossed over from the Cats to work under Brett Ratten during the off-season, running the group's ball skills work.
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Max King spent the majority of the session on a stationary bike in what looked a gruelling endurance session.
The full list is due back to training next week, with captain Jack Steele heading home to Canberra before attacking the 2022 pre-season.