In St Kilda's case, the names of two of their three promoted rookies on the eve of their season opener roll very easily off the tongue.

Experienced Saint Adam Schneider, a five-time grand finalist, and Ahmed Saad, returning to the AFL after a drug ban, are suddenly right in the mix for senior selection due to the club's long injury list.

Schneider, Saad and 20-year-old Jack Sinclair were promoted on Thursday after Arryn Siposs (shoulder), Daniel Markworth (shoulder) and Seb Ross (hamstring) were placed on the long-term injury list last week.

Sinclair has impressed for the Saints during the off-season and fits well into the category of a young gun who has caught the eye of the coaching staff.

"Jack's journey is an exciting one," St Kilda chief operating officer Ameet Bains said.

"He focused on his cricket throughout his schooling and then came back to footy more seriously in his first year at University. From his point of view, he never gave up his dream.

"We were comfortable selecting Jack in the national draft, it just fell that our last pick was number 41 so we were delighted to be able to select him with the first pick in the rookie draft instead."

The three promoted rookies were included in St Kilda's squad for Sunday's game against GWS Giants with Saad named on a half-forward flank and Sinclair and Schneider part of the extended interchange to be culled on Friday.