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High-profile Geelong recruit Jack Steven will take on his former AFL club St Kilda for the first time when the two sides meet at the Gabba.
Geelong coach Chris Scott has given Jack Steven the green light to take on his former AFL club for the first time when the Cats clash with St Kilda on Monday night.
Both sides are coming off short breaks for the Gabba contest, which will have huge ramifications for their respective top-four hopes.
Steven has struggled for consistency this season after an interrupted preparation for the restart but impressed with 21 disposals on his latest return in a win over North Melbourne on Wednesday.
Scott said the midfielder has recovered well, however, there are still questions over how Steven will confront the emotional side of a game against the club with which he won four best-and-fairest awards in 11 seasons.
"There's absolutely no ill will towards St Kilda and I suspect they're the same," Scott said.
"I don't know for sure, but that's my suspicion.
"As much as we say it's another game, he knows them well.
"Probably there's a little bit of extra spice there but not malicious spice."
St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary said the Saints wouldn't treat Steven any differently to other Geelong players.
"He's a champion of this footy club and someone we really respect as a footballer and as a person," Geary said.
"We'll battle and crack in and it will be a tough game, then after the game we'll give each other some knuckles and wish each other all the best and continue to have a friendship outside of footy."
Steven missed a large part of last season with St Kilda as he dealt with mental health issues before successfully requesting a trade to Geelong.
The 30-year-old was cleared of wrongdoing over an off-field incident in May, when he was stabbed in the chest, and the Cats conceded he was underdone on his return to action in June.
Scott tipped Steven will hit his straps later this season.
"He's in a better place but I suspect he'll be in a better place in four weeks and eight weeks' time as well," Scott said.
"There was the obvious incident that Jack had, but much more important than that was the fact that he hadn't played footy for two years, for reasons that took on greater importance than just getting right for footy."
Scott has committed to rotating his squad heavily throughout the compressed part of the 2020 fixture and swung another three changes for the St Kilda clash.
Brandon Parfitt, Jake Kolodjashnij and Gary Rohan return after they were rested against North Melbourne, with Zac Guthrie, Sam Simpson and Lachie Fogarty all managed this time.
St Kilda's Jack Bytel will make his debut after overcoming a back injury that kept him sidelined last year.
Geary returns for the Saints with Zak Jones rested and Ed Phillips dropped.
