The Warners Bay junior now finds himself part of the St Kilda roster, training for his new club ahead of Thursday's official pre-season trial against Carlton at Marvel Stadium and within reach of making a long-awaited AFL debut.

Hunter describes the last 12-to-18 months as "pretty up and down" with "big highs and big lows" but the 28-year-old ruckman wants to make the most of his latest chance at the Saints and achieve a lifelong dream.

"It's been a very interesting journey and I've met plenty of lifelong mates at all the football clubs I've played, starting at Warners Bay," Hunter told the Newcastle Herald.

"Obviously everyone wants to play an AFL game and play good AFL games and have a good career, but I wouldn't change what's happened so far and definitely not now that I'm looking pretty likely to play round one for St Kilda."

Hunter, a St Francis Xavier's College graduate who grew up in Redhead, was part of the Warners Bay club between the ages of 11 and 18 including one senior Black Diamond Cup campaign.

Following an initial stint away at Brisbane-based NEAFL outfit Redlands he was drafted by the Crows in 2016 and spent four years at Adelaide but never cracked a maiden appearance for the national competition.

A "resilient" Hunter said after "making a lot of sacrifices" and "putting in a lot of hard work" it would be "very special" to finally step onto the AFL stage.

Hunter's ticket back to the AFL only came last month, missing the initial draft for 2021 but completing St Kilda's playing list as part of the pre-season supplemental selection period.

He rose to prominence after a strong showing for South Adelaide in the SANFL, named in the 2020 team of the year, having originally been set to line up with VFL side Williamstown before COVID-19 saw the competition cancelled.

Hunter always remained hopeful of returning to the top league, but also weighed up his options as he switched states several times.

"I feel like I've always played for the right reasons, it's never been about money or anything like that for me," he said.

"I had a couple of tough years in Adelaide where I feel like I wasn't really enjoying it. Last year with South Adelaide was just really important for that and one of the main goals was to get back and enjoy it.

"Once I started doing that I started playing my best footy again.

"At the same time I had a few weeks when I did get cut by the Crows where I was umming and ahing about everything and chatting with a few people.

"To be honest though I always had confidence that I would get back and play which a lot of people probably find hard to believe. I don't know if I'm stubborn or what, but that's just me."

Hunter has joined the Saints as cover for injured ruckman Rowan Marshall (foot) and after impressing in recent intraclub games played alongside Paddy Ryder against North Melbourne last week.

The Blues await this week in the Community Series opener before St Kilds kicks off the season proper against GWS Giants in Sydney on March 21.

"There were a couple of parts of my game that were a little bit off, but it felt like I was up to speed," he said.

"This week I get an even better opportunity with more minutes and it's basically what I've been waiting for. Just a good run at it, the No.1 ruck role. I've always shown once given that opportunity I take it with both hands so it's very exciting."

Hunter's ultimate goal is to add an AFL premiership to his under-18 flag at Warners Bay.

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