It’s been more than six weeks since Jade Gresham’s name was read out by St Kilda at last November’s National Draft, and slowly but surely, the young midfielder is coming to terms with his new life inside an AFL club.

The Saints acquired the highly rated Gresham with its first pick, No. 18, securing one of the premier onballers in the draft following the teenager’s outstanding year.

Gresham was named All Australian and Vic Metro’s MVP after a brilliant national carnival, as well as winning the Northern Knights best and fairest, the TAC Cup Coaches Award and finished runner-up in the Morrish Medal by one vote from Melbourne's pick No. 4, Clayton Oliver.

With the Christmas interval now firmly in the rear vision mirror and getting more distant by the day, Gresham revealed the workload and expectations on St Kilda’s draftees have risen as the NAB Challenge series looms and the season draws nearer.

 “Yeah it’s sunk in a bit now. Before the break you’re sort of in and out of drills and only doing 60-70 per cent,” Gresham told saints.com.au on Wednesday afternoon.

“Now you’re doing most of the session. So it’s getting really tough now.

“I’m sort of getting used to it now, the workload and getting your body right for every session. It’s a bit different to TAC Cup, but I’m having a good time.”

Gresham singled out Saints leader Maverick Weller as one player who had gone out of his way to guide the club’s latest crop of players, assisting the new recruits with the little nuances associated with life in the AFL.

“Mav Weller’s helped us young boys out a fair bit, teaching us little things and really looking after us,” he said.

The former Northern Knights captain hasn’t put a ceiling on his ambitions this season, focusing on adopting elite practices first and building respect through a commitment to work, over an early debut or a certain number of games.

Although, Gresham is buoyed by the eye-catching maiden seasons produced by Jack Lonie and Jack Sinclair in 2015, taking confidence from their ability to exceed expectations in year one and make the leap from underage to senior football.

 “I just want to come in, work hard, train hard, earn the respect of all the boys and just go from there pretty much,” he said.

“Definitely, watching them (Lonie and Sinclair) last year, seeing what they’ve done, it’s given us a lot of confidence and it’s really inspiring.”