ST KILDA recruit Jake Carlisle hasn't put a foot wrong since his tumultuous introduction to the club, and has been doing "a mountain of work" on the training track, says defender Jarryn Geary.
Carlisle's arrival at the Saints coincided with the emergence of a video that showed the ex-Essendon defender apparently using illicit substances, receiving a strike under the illicit drugs policy.
He has also been suspended for the opening two games of next season.
Carlisle was then late to training, which prompted an early morning session for him and his teammates.
However, Geary said the 24-year-old was ramping up his workload after starting on a restricted program and had to be held back last week while on the Saints' Sunshine Coast training camp.
"One thing you can definitely tell from the short time he's been here is he's got great work ethic," Geary said.
"Jake joined in last week for a period of training, he was pretty excited and had to be held back because he thought they were just going to let him go out there and get straight into it, but he's been doing a mountain of work on the other oval, the one for rehab.
"You look over and see him smashing himself on the boundary line and that's all he can do he doesn't have to anything special, he's just got to work hard and when the time comes to pull on the jumper I'm sure he'll represent us well.
"He came [to the club] under those circumstances, but since then he's really worked hard so we're just looking forward to him pulling on the jumper.
"Obviously it will be a bit of a belated start but when he does I'm sure he'll play some good footy for the club."
Saints captain Nick Riewoldt remains in the US on an extended break but Geary said the skipper was in contact with his teammates and backed him to return refreshed in the New Year.
Geary, who at times captained the team in Riewoldt's absence in 2015, said there was no hurry to finalise next year's leadership group.
"When he (Riewoldt) comes back, I'm sure they'll have discussions about that," he said.
"He's been captain for a long time and a really good one at that, so whoever does take over is going to have pretty big shoes to fill when the time comes, but I'm not sure when that will be.
"The decision will probably be down to what he wants to do.
"We have a vote every year, and every year 'Rooey' has been the No.1 man, so unless that changes I don't see why he wouldn't be [captain]."
Geary and David Armitage loom as the obvious candidates to replace Riewoldt if the club seeks a change, with other official leaders Leigh Montagna and Sean Dempster in the twilight of their careers and Jack Newnes and Maverick Weller new to the group this season.
Jack Steven and David Armitage hit the training track for the Saints. Picture: AFL Media
The Saints' rebuilding position and optimism for the years ahead has left Geary - who signed a two-year contract extension this week - more focused on making sure there are multiple options to take over from the long-time skipper.
"I'd like the club to be in a position where there's a lot of blokes putting their hands up to be captain.
"Armo (Armitage) did a good job when he had the opportunity throughout the year and Jack (Newnes) and Mav (Weller) have been progressing in their leadership as well and they're probably going to be around for a little bit longer than Armo and myself.
"I'm not sure the direction the club will go in but there's definitely a few blokes that are capable of doing it."
Young defender Hugh Goddard was back running laps on Wednesday after being pulled out of last week's camp with heat exhaustion.
The second-year backman collapsed during a particularly warm session and returned to Melbourne early.
While Goddard is recovering well, he isn't expected to join his teammates on a physically and mentally draining young leaders' camp later this week, the details of which remain shrouded in mystery.
Up to 12 players will be exposed to a challenging three-day regime in an unknown location with an undisclosed itinerary, which in previous years has featured sleep and food deprivation.
A slim Paddy McCartin looked to be in good shape at the Seaford session, having shed kilos and increased his upper body strength over the off-season.
Geary started full training last week after an off-season groin release operation and said Newnes and Seb Ross had been setting the standard in pre-season so far.
