ST KILDA captain Nick Riewoldt has thanked the football community for its overwhelming support following the death of his younger sister, with the star forward on track to play in round one.

Riewoldt, whose sister passed away one month ago after a five-year battle with a rare blood disease, spoke for the first time at the AFL captains’ day in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old said he still had some hurdles to get over before lining up against Greater Western Sydney on April 5, but was confident he would be ready.

"At the end of the day I'm a footballer and I've been preparing as best I can," Riewoldt said.

"It's been great to get back among the boys and work hard.

"I've still got some boxes I need to tick from a physical and mental preparation side, but I'm on track."

Riewoldt said he was "hanging in there" since returning to training two weeks ago, and physically he was in good shape as his load had increased.

The reigning club champion did not play in the NAB Challenge but has been put through a heavy training phase to simulate matches.

"The last week especially has been pretty tough and pretty solid," he said.

"That's obviously building now towards round one."

The captain said he would eventually speak at more length, but his family's privacy was his priority.

"We're just a normal family, so we'd ask for that to continue because it's still pretty raw and pretty difficult to talk about," he said.

"There will come a time, but at the moment I'd just ask for that continued privacy and we really appreciate all the support and privacy we've received so far.

"Footy's a great fraternity to be a part of, so we appreciate the support and just ask for some more privacy going forward."