WHEN Greater Western Sydney reluctantly traded Josh Bruce to St Kilda for pick No.48 on the final day of the 2013 trade period, it hardly made headlines.

He had played just 14 games as a defender in two seasons and appeared a handy cut-price backman to fill a need at the Saints.

However, his emergence as a key forward this year has become one of the stories of the first half of 2015 and underlined the amount of talent sitting on the Giants' list (it's also worthy of a gold star to the Saints' recruiting team).

Bruce, 22, has kicked 25 goals in eight games and sits equal fourth on the goalkicking table. He has been athletic and aggressive and kicked straight.

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After playing on Bruce on Saturday, West Coast's in-form defender Will Schofield said he was glad the Giants were starting to spread their talent, as the thought of facing a Giants' line-up with Jeremy Cameron, Cam McCarthy, James Stewart, Bruce and Jon Patton was too scary to bear thinking about. 

"He's quite a smart forward. Some young kids aren't that smart. They get to bad spots but it seemed like he was in the right spot most of the day," Schofield told AFL.com.au.

"He is going to be a good player."

Bruce's teammate Mav Weller was formerly a Gold Coast player so he knows what it's like to play in an expansion club where opportunities are hard to find.

He told AFL.com.au Bruce – who the Giants secured from Canberra early in their development – had taken the chances afforded him at the Saints.

"He’s just been fantastic with his attitude. He works hard around the club, he’s level-headed and the fans love him as well," Weller said.

With long hair, a high mark and the No. 27 once worn by another famous Saints forward George Young - who kicked 284 goals in 108 games with St Kilda in the '70s - he has the potential to become a cult figure at the club.

And all for a lowly pick that the Giants didn't even end up using.

Bruce's emergence alongside the performances of Dom Tyson at Melbourne, Jack Hombsch at Port Adelaide, Taylor Adams at Collingwood and the likely emergence of Tom Boyd at the Western Bulldogs, Sam Frost at Melbourne and Mark Whiley andKristian Jaksch at Carlton, shows the talent the Giants have had at their disposal since they began.

The question now is, who is the next Bruce?