Dylan Roberton to assist St Kilda coaches while heart complaint assessed

St Kilda defender Dylan Roberton will assume a mentoring role for younger Saints amid uncertainty about his playing future.

Dylan Roberton, right, and injured St Kilda teammate Josh Bruce watch the Saints play the Giants at Etihad Stadium last month. Picture: Getty Images

St Kilda defender Dylan Roberton will assume a mentoring role for younger Saints amid uncertainty about his playing future caused by a heart complaint.

The 26-year-old will miss the rest of the season as tests continue to try to identify the reason he collapsed behind play in a clash against Geelong last month.

The manner in which he collapsed caused alarm, with teammates and opponents immediately calling for help from the sidelines.

Roberton, who began his career with Fremantle, initially thought he would be able to resume playing within weeks but he has since reconsidered.

The father of three said doctors will monitor his heart over the next three months in a bid to find a cause for the collapse.

“There’s rhythm problems going on in my heart — the electrical side of things. (We’re) still not sure as to what happened, so I’ll be out in the meantime,” Roberton said.

“I probably won’t be back again this year, but I am hoping at the end of this three months to get back to exercising and hopefully finish off the year training with the boys.

“I’ve had a little device implanted in my chest, sort of like the size of a battery, which just feeds in what my heart’s doing to the doctors and all their computers. They’ll be able to pick up what’s happening and then ... they’ll be able to put all that information together and make a decision from there.”

Roberton, who has played 128 games, is not the only AFL-listed player to suffer a heart scare this year. There was significant concern over young Magpie Kayle Kirby after he collapsed during a VFL game at Victoria Park earlier this year.

The 19-year-old, who made his senior debut late last year, is still being monitored and is yet to resume full training, with Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley saying there is no clarity surrounding his future.

The Bulldogs are also still taking a cautious approach with premiership star Liam Picken, who suffered a severe concussion in the pre-season and has not played since.