Nathan Freeman visits Moorabbin as St Kilda has reasons to smile on and off the field

ST KILDA recruit Nathan Freeman’s presence at Moorabbin was symbolic of a Saints rebuild that continues apace, and the club’s fortunes look promising off field as well.

New St Kilda recruit Nathan Freeman at Moorabin Oval, Melbourne. 26th November 2015. Picture: Colleen Petch.

ST KILDA recruit Nathan Freeman’s presence at Moorabbin was symbolic of a Saints rebuild that continues apace.

The former Collingwood midfielder and former Essendon defender Jake Carlisle — along with draftees Jade Gresham, Brandon White and Bailey Rice — are primed to bolster the Saints’ young playing list in 2016 and will be unveiled to the media at Seaford on Friday.

And St Kilda’s fortunes look promising off field as well.

The Saints will also announce that financial services business Pepper Money has signed a three-year deal to join Dare Iced Coffee as a co-major sponsor.

The Saints are well on their way to reaching their stated membership target of 40,000, having this week reached the halfway mark in record time.

Equally significantly, the club hopes to confirm before Christmas that it has secured government backing to return to its heartland and redevelop the Moorabbin football ground that was its home base between 1965 and 2010.

Such an upgrade would pave the way for Moorabbin to become the club’s training and administrative base, the home ground for a stand-alone St Kilda VFL team and a central hub for community football and netball.

Freeman, 20, a former first-round draft pick traded in by the Saints after two injury-plagues seasons at Collingwood, is no stranger to St Kilda’s former home ground.

He grew up in Dingley barracking for the Saints and recalled his father Simon driving him over to the Linton St oval as a kid.

“My old man used to take me down to Moorabbin to watch the Saints play (practice) matches and train,’’ he said.

The young Freeman’s favourite St Kilda players were Lenny Hayes and Nick Riewoldt, so it is no surprise the Saints skipper played a role in Freeman’s decision to make the switch from Collingwood to St Kilda.

Nathan Freeman is no stranger to Moorabbin having watched the Saints train and play practice matches there as a kid. Picture: Colleen Petch

After resolving to leave the Magpies and seek a fresh start, Freeman said he was “pinching myself” when he met with Riewoldt and coach Alan Richardson in September for a chat over coffee at a Brighton cafe.

“I was meeting a lot of people at that time, but hearing ‘Rooey’ talk about the club and the journey that the group is on gave me a lot of confidence and really helped influence my decision,’’ he said.

Freeman, who has played only six second-tier games over the past two season because of a persistent hamstring injury, said he was interested in the similarities between his own injury and the serious hamstring tear that struck down Riewoldt midway through the 2010 season.

He was heartened that Riewoldt, along with Saints teammates Seb Ross and Farren Ray, had not had any after recurrences in the wake of serious hamstring strains in recent seasons.

NATHAN Freeman spent a fair slab of time rehabilitating from injury alongside Matthew Scharenberg during his two years at Collingwood.

So he was shattered when the news filtered through during the week that Scharenberg would need a second knee reconstruction in as many years.

Freeman had just finished a training session with his new club St Kilda on Monday when he read the news about his mate, who was a fellow top-10 pick in the 2013 national draft.

“When we got off the track I checked my phone and read the news. I was gutted for him, because he’s such a great guy, he’s one of the most professional kids I’ve ever seen,’’ Freeman said.

“Watching him come back from his last injury was pretty tough, but he did the hard yards and it was a testament to him that he came back so quick. If anyone can come back from two knee reconstructions in the space of two years it will be Shaz. He’s got the right mindset.’’

Freeman said he “flicked Scharenberg a text, saying I knew he would probably have everyone under the sun texting you at the moment .. and there was nothing I could really say to cheer him up at the time … but it was just to let him know I was thinking of him.’’