St Kilda debutant Jack Peris realised stepping up onto the AFL stage was going to be a fierce contest the moment Ben Long began to get physical.

Besides doing one preseason at Moorabbin together last year before the former Saint accepted a lucrative offer to cross to the Gold Coast, Long had pretty much mentored the youngster for most of his early football life.

The pair's prominent Indigenous families grew up in the Top End for years as close as one would be from the same mob.

But past relationships seemed to not matter on Saturday amid the attrition of a tough final quarter as the home-side Suns bullied the Saints into a 26-point submission.

"It was pretty funny at one stage," Peris said.

"We had a little push and shove.

"There was a bit of everything there.

"But I still love Longy, like when he also went to Melbourne Grammar with me.

"I even trained with him in the offseason (this year) and he's a good training partner.

"He was a big mentor for me growing up and I still look up to him as a role model."

So much so that Peris says since watching Long's game evolve from his 2017 debut, he has modelled to play similar like a "tough, little fella that just loves tackling".

"I just love that sort of pressure game and smashing into blokes," Peris said.

Four tackles was a promising start for the once Category B rookie from St Kilda's Next Generation Academy, who gave up sprinting to play Australia's Indigenous game.

Not that Peris was able to do much of that late and tired against the crafty Long.

Even quick wit and cheeky barbs to throw off the veteran, who is set to play his 100th game next month, went missing in the heat of the final battle.

"We didn't talk much to each other – I was too nervous on the field," Peris said.

"I was trying to stay focus on the game if he did.

"But I did have a good chat with Longy after the game."

The 19-year-old picked up five kicks, eight handballs and three marks in the end.

The performance appeared much like the kind of impact played out for VFL affiliate Sandringham that has kept wise St Kilda heads nodding more every other week.

But it was hard toil to endure on debut as a motivated Gold Coast – fresh off sacking its coach – clearly won most of the one-on-one hostilities across the ground.

It led Saints coach Ross Lyon to single out that "Peris found out how hard the level is" during his post-match press conference.

There was no denials from the defensive forward, who could at least walk away with the belief that he earned every touch.

"It was certainly pretty hectic out there," Peris said.

"It took a while to get used to the speed and pace of the game very quickly.

"The speed is just next level (to the VFL) … but it was a good learning experience.

"I took a lot of things out that I need to work on as well, but I feel it was good to just get the first game out of the way."

Lyon's assistant coaches did have a calming word to Peris during the week to ensure his preparation met expectations.

The address was about stripping the game style back to the basics so to keep it simple.

"They tried not to put too much pressure for me to do anything amazing," he said.

"They just said, 'go out there and use my strengths, go hard, tackle anyone, just tackle as hard as I can and pressure as much as I can.

"That was my focus going into the game because I was really nervous leading into it, obviously, but they just wanted to make sure that I do what I do at VFL level."

While coming away with the victory in the crucial game for St Kilda's top eight finals' hopes was the target, there is always a bigger picture in defeat.

Like most enlightened Indigenous footballers these days, Peris knew he was playing for so much more.

Not just for an AFL career, but the flow on affect.

For all of his mob, his people back home, and those family and friends that tallied a couple dozen cheering in the stands, who have stood behind Peris on his journey.

"It was so good seeing them there – it was a real special moment for me," he said.

"It would not have been so special if they weren't there."

They had travelled from Darwin, Melbourne, even Sydney and Brisbane, but not all who witnessed his first kick or his first goal could be there.

But the proud man of the Iwatja tribe from Western Arnhem land, and Yawuru and Gidja tribes from East and West Kimberley has never forgotten where he came from.

There was even a wise word from a non-Indigenous Saints teammate that made Peris take a breath to reflect.

"We have a really tight family connection with Nightcliff and they played a big role in my life," Peris said.

"I really appreciate that club and all its done for me.

"I remember in the warm-ups, Mason Wood was telling me to just take 30 seconds to reflect on your journey and be proud of where you have come from, who you are.

"That personally meant a lot at the time and it kind of sunk in more when I was out there at the first bounce."

But the most important supporter was his mum, whose adulation for her son is about as big as her bombardment on social media for his AFL debut.

But Nova Peris, the retired Olympic hockey star and sprinter, has been riding all the bumps of an unfolding football career for much longer than anyone from the Saints.

"She was pretty emotional just during the week," Peris says.

"It was just awesome catching up with her after the game.

"She was just really proud because she knows the hard work that I've had to put in to get here.

"She was still emotional afterwards, but I knew she would be."