JACK Steele arrived at St Kilda with a broken foot and plenty of nerves.

When he walked into the Saints' Seaford headquarters last November, Steele only had the mobile numbers of teammate Hugh Goddard and the club's player development manager Tony Brown punched into his phone.

Unable to train as he nursed the injury he suffered in his final month at Greater Western Sydney, the tall and tough midfielder spent most of his first day at St Kilda "awkwardly" introducing himself to as many people he could around the club.

That was probably the easy part. Steele wanted to introduce himself as a player, too, but the fractured metatarsal meant that wasn't immediately possible.

As he watched the Saints' other recruits hit the track and instantly show what they could add to the team, Steele had to find different means to demonstrate his quality.

"I couldn't prove myself on the field so I had to do it off the field somehow, even if it was by what I was eating, by what I was doing, by what I was talking about. I had to be good in other ways," Steele told AFL.com.au this week.  

"Especially with Nathan Brown and Koby Stevens coming in, and Jake Carlisle coming back to training, they could impress with their footy and I couldn't. That was probably the hardest thing to think about, that they could go out and show what they could do and all the boys would think they're unreal, and that I was just some little injured guy."

Steele need not have worried too much. By December he was back into some training, by March he was playing in the Saints' pre-season games and by round nine he has been picked in every game so far this year – the best streak of senior games in his three-year career.

After getting to grips with his new teammates' styles of play, Steele's form has picked up, and he's averaged 24 disposals in the past four weeks. His best game saw him gather 29 disposals and kick a goal in the Saints' win over Carlton in round eight, and last week he was one of his side's best in its defeat to Sydney.

"I'm happy with how it's going," Steele said. "I'm still on edge about whether I'm going to be in the team each week because there's obviously no guarantees and we have a lot of depth on our list now, so I can't be too sure. But it is a good feeling to have strung a few games together."

It is easy to see why Steele has reservations about thinking his spot is sealed. A lack of regular opportunities was the reason he left the Giants after two seasons.

Steele said he knew as soon as he joined the Giants at the end of 2014, as an academy selection out of Canberra, that it would be difficult to break into their star-studded on-ball unit.

But after being drafted as an over-ager – he had been overlooked in his original draft year after suffering a knee injury – Steele played seven games in his debut season in 2015.

Another 10 came last year before the broken foot prematurely ended his campaign in early September, but his decision to look elsewhere had already been made. 

"I got dropped three times in the first 11 rounds so I'd always thought about it. It wasn't until round 18 when I got sat down with three other players and the coach told us there was only one of us playing, and it wasn't me," he said.

"That's when I really made my decision that I wasn't going to be there the next year, which was sad at the time because I loved the boys and love that club, but it was easily the best decision for me and my football.

"With my manager I weighed it all up about the opportunity of playing and the chance for success. St Kilda was the best fit for me because I thought I'd get opportunity and success as well – even if it might be a little longer down the road because the Giants are right there right now."

Steele's exit wasn't a surprise for everyone at the Giants, with the hard-running midfielder keeping close mate Josh Kelly in the loop about his plans.

The pair lived together last year, but Kelly was already used to having his housemates leave the club having previously lived with Tom Boyd (Western Bulldogs), Cam McCarthy (Fremantle) and Adam Treloar (Collingwood).

Kelly, as is the way of modern football, faces his own big call about his future this year.

Steele still watches Kelly and his other friends at the Giants, enjoying tuning in to follow their form, even if occasionally catching himself wondering how he'd be faring if still there.

Jack Steele admits it was difficult facing his old Giants teammates. Picture: AFL Photos

"It's a little bit annoying seeing they have so many injuries at the moment and knowing I could be playing if I was there, but I'm not too worried about that. I'm glad I'm here," Steele said.

"I'm already happy with my decision. Unless I get dropped and don't play for the next couple of years, it's 100 per cent the right decision."

Even still, playing against the Giants was a challenge. The Saints won that clash in round seven – the best win of what has been an encouraging season so far as they aim for a return to the finals – but Steele feels his own game that night was hindered by playing against his former side.

"During the week leading up to it I was fine and I'd played well the week before. But before the game I got out on the ground and saw them all out there and I got really nervous. I was thinking 'What's going to happen here?' I thought one of them would come out and knock me," the 21-year-old said.

"Just seeing so many familiar faces out there was a bit weird. (Shane) Mumford gave me a little bit and I gave a little bit back, but it was all good."

Steele has settled into Melbourne's lifestyle, having always known if he was to chase an AFL career it would mean moving away from Canberra. He lives with Goddard and Lewis Pierce – "It's a bit 'Huey, Louie and Dewey'," he said – half an hour away from the club in Highett.

The Saints, who had pro scout Wayne Hughes watch plenty of the Giants last year at AFL and NEAFL level, are happy with Steele, and Steele is happy with them. "I've already moved around a bit. I like Melbourne a lot better, it's a little like Canberra with the colder weather," he said.

"There's not as many beaches as Sydney, but all that Sydney has is good beaches and weather, so I'm happy to be in Melbourne and hopefully I can be in Melbourne a lot longer than I was in Sydney."