After just a month on the list, teen in line for round one debut with Saints

St Kilda are considering naming rookie Anthony Caminiti for a round one debut against Fremantle, just a month after he joined the Saints during the pre-season supplementary selection period.

With Max King and Jack Hayes out and Tim Membrey highly unlikely to play against the Dockers at Marvel Stadium, spots have opened up inside forward 50 and Saints sources said Caminiti was in the frame, having made a huge impression in his month of training.

Anthony Caminiti was picked up by the Saints in the SSP periodCredit:AFL Photos

Overlooked in the national draft, the 19-year-old forward had begun training with Carlton’s VFL program and planned to go to university before the Saints invited him to Moorabbin in early February to see if he could win a spot on their list.

He made an immediate impact when he starred in an intra-club match in his first week and was offered a contract before he left the club that day.

Caminiti is mobile and a strong mark, but he played more school football for Carey Grammar than Talent League games for Northern Knights during his draft year and then played as a top-age player for the Knights last year. He nominated for the mid-season draft but did not get picked.

However, he combined well up forward with Mitchito Owens in the Saints’ final pre-season game against Essendon, taking four marks and creating an option inside 50. The Saints face a strong defensive outfit in the Dockers next Sunday.

There was mutual interest between Saint Hunter Clark and North Melbourne last year.Credit:Getty Images

The Saints, under returning coach Ross Lyon, are an unknown proposition in 2023 but their skipper Jack Steele says they will be stronger defensively this season and are showing an ability to learn.

He also said he was keen to watch how 2017 top-10 draft pick Hunter Clark responds after nearly joining North Melbourne during the trade period. Out of contract at the end of the season, he has several opposition clubs monitoring him closely, but he is expected to knuckle down before even considering whether he remains at the Saints or looks elsewhere.

Steele said the 24-year-old was one to watch out for if he can get a fair run at playing after copping several contact injuries in recent seasons.

“He’s going to respond,” Steele said.

“He had a funny little off-season trade period, potentially got traded [but] he has responded. Ross has told him where it is at and what he needs to work on and he is training really hard. He is a pretty driven kid, so I think he will have a great year mainly playing in the midfield and a little bit off half-back.”

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