ST KILDA has locked away prized No. 1 pick Paddy McCartin on a new contract that will tie him to the club until the end of 2018.

Fox Footy understands the key forward, who played six senior games and kicked three goals in 2015, has signed a two-year extension.

The 19-year-old was nursed through his debut season at Seaford, but is seen as a long-term replacement for champion skipper Nick Riewoldt.

“There were times when Paddy struggled,” Richardson told the Saints website in September.

Round 18

“Certainly in his first couple of games, he wasn’t quite ready, but the team needed him. Paddy is just one of those kids that will just do whatever the footy club wants.

“He’s an outstanding person and is going to be a great player for a long time.”

McCartin made his debut as a late replacement for Riewoldt in Round 3, but struggled in the wet against a rampant Collingwood outfit in the club’s only Friday night match for the year.

He was handed the sub vest in the following round against Carlton in Wellington and did not make it back into the senior side until ‘Maddie’s Match’ in Round 16.

The high point of his season came in Round 17 when took a career-high nine marks against Melbourne.

The Geelong Falcons product was put in cotton wool late in the season following a broken finger that required surgery. However, this setback did not delay his start to pre-season training in November.

McCartin is the last of St Kilda’s 2014 draft crop to re-sign, following Jack Lonie, Daniel McKenzie and Hugh Goddard — who all put pen to paper last year.

@tommorris32