The Sydney Swans have made two changes to the side which went down to the Kangaroos last weekend.
Paul Bevan will play his first game of the season against St Kilda on Saturday night at Telstra Dome while Amon Buchanan will return from a knee injury.
Buchanan has been out since round four.
Coach Paul Roos is excited to have two of his premiership players back in the team.
“Bevo was in very good form during the pre-season, he played a couple of probably his best games for a while,” Roos said prior to their closed training session on Thursday.
"We were really looking forward to start the season with him but he suffered a hamstring injury (in week three of the pre-season).
“He has played the last couple of games in the reserves and we are looking forward to getting him back in.
“He is a good player for us with his hardness, his run and he generally uses the ball pretty well, so hopefully he can have a good game on the weekend.
“(Amon has been named the last two weeks and not played) but the main difference this week is he trained on Tuesday, he still wasn’t 100 per cent so there still must be some doubt, but the fact he trained is a more positive message than last week so we are hopeful he will play.”
Bevan and Buchanan’s inclusion comes at the expense of Jarred Moore and Tim Schmidt, and Roos said they were unlucky.
“Both of them are a bit stiff, but that is what happens when you start to get a couple of your senior players back. Your better players make you a better team.”
Meanwhile Saints tagger Steven Baker was suspended during the week while the home side will also be missing Matthew Clarke through a calf complaint.
Their places will be taken by Samuel Fisher and Shane Birss.
TEAMS
ST KILDA vs. SYDNEY SWANS
Saturday, 7:15pm, Telstra Dome
SYDNEY SWANS
B: Richards, Barry, Malceski
HB: Crouch, C.Bolton, Mathews
C: Ablett, Kirk, Buchanan
HF: R.O'Keefe, O'Loughlin, J.Bolton
F: Schneider, Hall, Everitt
FOLL: Jolly, Goodes, Fosdike
I/C: Bevan, Davis, Jack, McVeigh
EMER Laidlaw, Schmidt, Thornton
IN: Buchanan, Bevan
OUT: Moore, Schmidt
ST KILDA
B: Gwilt, S.Fisher, L.Fisher
HB: Attard, Koschitzke, Gram
C: Goddard, Ball, Montagna
HF: Harvey, Riewoldt, Fiora
F: Voss, Gehrig, Jones
FOLL: Rix, Blake, Dal Santo
I/C: Birss, X.Clarke, Gilbert, Milne
EMER: Armitage, McQualter, Sweeney
IN: S.Fisher, Birss
OUT: Baker (susp), M.Clarke (calf)
