So Jack Steele had to pinch himself when his best mate Logan Austin was staying at his place in Melbourne after being traded to St Kilda.

The dream is almost a reality.

The 22-year-old pair have been best mates since their days at the Belconnen Magpies and form a Canberra trio alongside Josh Bruce at St Kilda, often making jokes about Canberra that nobody else in the change rooms can understand.

But Austin may have to bide his time before a prized AFL debut with St Kilda set to open their season against the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

"Bloody oath [it would be special], it's always been a dream of ours to play footy, let alone with each other," Steele said.

"Hopefully this year we get the chance to play a few games with each other and hopefully long careers with each other, that would be nice.

"When he first moved down early in the pre-season he was just crashing at my place for a while. He's found his own place now, he had a girlfriend that he met over in Adelaide so they've got their own place, and I've got my girlfriend living with me now.

"We're actually pretty close, we're not too far away from each other which is good. It's good to have him just around the corner.

"It's good to have Loges down here, just another familiar face for me down here which is good. He's settling in pretty well to Melbourne so I think he'll have a chance to play at some stage early in the year, it's good to have him here."

Austin played 13 games for Port Adelaide and was contracted to the Power until the end of 2018 but has been promised more game time at St Kilda following an 11th hour trade deal.

Now at the former home of his cousin Sean Dempster, Austin looms as a key man with the Saints looking to bolster their defensive stocks.

"I think he has gone very well, I definitely think he is the next key back in our side," Steele said.

"If Nathan Brown or Jake Carlisle goes down, I think he is pretty versatile and athletic which is something we don't really have back there. If one of those boys go down, I've got confidence he'll be the next one in.

"It's just a matter of time and it might be a matter of waiting for an injury to be honest, which you don't pray for but it would be an opportunity for him."

While Austin will have a fight on his hands to get a start in the backline and Steele will continue to entrench himself in the middle, St Kilda's remaining Canberra product has a big role to play up forward.

Former club leadership group member Bruce has a mainstay in the club's forward line in recent years and has a crucial role to play for Saints as they enter the post-Nick Riewoldt era.

The 25-year-old has booted 124 goals in the past three seasons at the Saints and is expecting to do some pinch-hitting in the ruck - where he could form an imposing link with Steele.

"It's funny, we always make jokes about Canberra and stuff with each other that only the three of us would understand," Steele said.

"It's still pretty weird to think that we're probably [close to] the only three Canberra blokes in the AFL and we're all on the same side. It's good to have blokes from back home around.

"It makes the environment a lot more comfortable and enjoyable."

AFL ROUND ONE

Saturday: St Kilda v Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium, 3.35pm. TV: Live on Fox Footy.