THE COUNTDOWN is on to Dan Hannebery's arrival at St Kilda, with his new teammates holding high hopes for what the former Sydney star will offer.

The three-time All Australian is in the process of moving his life back to Melbourne after finishing up in the harbour city.

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Saints midfielder Blake Acres is hopeful Hannebery will provide a boost on and off the field.

"Hannebery will bring a lot of experience for us," Acres said.

"Guys like Hannebery are going to help everyone out a lot, I think.

"I suppose he plays that wing, inside-mid role so I'll be looking to get to know him really well and work with him a fair bit in the pre-season.

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Acres, 23, has – as you'd expect – backed coach Alan Richardson and his new team to take the Saints a step forward in 2019.

"We've brought in, I think, four or five new coaches now and we'll bring in a few draftees in a few weeks," he said.

"We all trust Richo, we all know he knows what he's doing and I think this year he's got a great support group with all the new coaches.

"We've got to hold up our end of the bargain as well and perform each week."

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Acres, who's got 56 senior games to his name so far, has taken it easy of late, having battled groin issues during the season just gone.

"I had about 10 weeks off during the season and then my off-season's been relatively quiet," he said.

"(I've) rested up a fair bit, only been running for two weeks now."

Acres expects to be a part of the St Kilda side that takes part the side's first JLT Community Series practice match against North Melbourne at Werribee's Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday, March 2.