SHANE Warne's son Jackson has been a central figure in St Kilda's tribute to his father, tossing the coin before the opening-round clash with Collingwood.
Cricket legend Warne, who died of a heart attack on March 4 in Thailand, was a lifelong St Kilda fan.
Saints players wore black armbands in Warne's honour during Friday night's game at Marvel Stadium.
They also donned shirts during the warm-up with "WARNE 23" on the back, instead of their usual numbers, and a video tribute to Warne will be played on the venue's new big screens at half-time.
The Saints had "#23" and "#708" painted on the Marvel Stadium turf, representing Warne's playing number and his total haul of Test match wickets.
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Wearing a St Kilda scarf, 22-year-old Jackson embraced Saints captain Jack Steele at the coin toss and had two attempts at flipping it before it landed flat on the grass.
Warne, who died aged 52, was a dedicated St Kilda supporter and played in the club's under-19s team.
After a disappointing 2021 where St Kilda missed the finals despite high expectations (it charged into the top eight the previous season and won a final), coach Brett Ratten will be desperate to start 2022 on a victorious note.
The Saints will expose two debutants to AFL football after Ratten picked SANFL star Jack Hayes and Next Generation Academy graduate Mitch Owens for the clash, while another first-gamer in Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera will make his debut as the medical sub.
But they will be tested and are missing some class, with Paddy Ryder, Hunter Clark, Jack Billings, Zak Jones, and Jarryn Geary all unavailable due to various reasons.
NO LATE CHANGES
MEDICAL SUBS
St Kilda: Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
Collingwood: Tom Wilson
Meanwhile, Collingwood will unveil father-son gun Nick Daicos in tonight's massive clash.
Fresh off a stunning AAMI Community Series performance where he collected a whopping 31 touches, Daicos was touted as a ready-made AFL footballer even before he was drafted by Collingwood with pick No.4 last year.
Daicos is, of course, the son of Collingwood legend Peter, and he will be lining up for his first AFL game alongside brother Josh.
Collingwood is also unveiling coach Craig McRae for his first official game in the hot seat, and off-season acquisition and former Bulldog Patrick Lipinski is another who is making a black and white debut.
So the stage is set for a huge night with a big crowd, and Marvel Stadium is offering $2 Four'N Twenty pies for this R1 cracker. But be sure to get there early as parking is already sold out.
St Kilda v Collingwood at Marvel Stadium, 7.50pm AEDT
ST KILDA
B: D.Howard 20 B.Paton 33 C.Wilkie 44
HB: B.Hill 8 J.Battle 26 J.Sinclair 35
C: D.McKenzie 36 J.Gresham 4 R.Byrnes 13
HF: D.Butler 16 M.Wood 32 J.Higgins 22
F: T.Membrey 28 M.King 12 D.Kent 25
Foll: R.Marshall 19 J.Steele - C 9 S.Ross 6
I/C: J.Webster 29 M.Owens 24 B.Crouch 5 J.Hayes 47
Emerg: N.Wanganeen-Milera 7 J.Lienert 31 B.Long 21 T.Campbell 38
New faces: Hayes, Owens, Wanganeen-Milera
Notable absentees: Ryder, Clark, Billings, Jones, Geary
COLLINGWOOD
B: I.Quaynor 3 D.Moore 30 J.Madgen 44
HB: S.Pendlebury - C 10 J.Howe 38 N.Daicos 35
C: J.Daicos 7 T.Adams 13 S.Sidebottom 22
HF: T.Bianco 8 B.Mihocek 41 B.McCreery 31
F: O.Henry 16 J.De Goey 2 J.Elliott 5
Foll: B.Grundy 4 P.Lipinski 1 J.Crisp 25
I/C: M.Cox 46 J.Noble 9 T.Brown 6 J.Ginnivan 33
Emerg: T.Wilson 12 C.Brown 17 D.Cameron 14 H.Harrison 36
New faces: Daicos, Lipinski
Notable absentees: Roughead, Hoskin-Elliott, Maynard
