Lenny Hayes, Luke Ball, Nick Riewoldt and Robert Harvey are back but Max Hudghton and Justin Koschitzke are out.
That is the wash-up for the Saints' big guns ahead of Friday night's NAB Cup semi-final against Essendon at Telstra Dome.
Hayes, Ball and Riewoldt - the Saints' three co-captains last year - will all be playing their first games of the season while Harvey returns after being rested last week.
But the Saints, who lost veteran spearhead Fraser Gehrig for the remainder of the pre-season with a calf injury last week, have decided to take no chances with full-back Hudghton or key forward Koschitzke after both came off in the dying minutes of the five-point win over Geelong last week in Canberra with muscle tightness in their legs.
With both players having a history of soft-tissue injuries, the Saints have decided to rest them but according to defender Leigh Fisher the key pair will return if the Saints reach the NAB Cup decider.
"Max and Kossy are alright but they have played the last three games - a trial game and then the two NAB Cup games - so they are due for a registered week off," Fisher said on Thursday.
"But they should be right for the following week."
Fisher said the Saints were looking forward to the return of Riewoldt after constant speculation throughout the pre-season that the star centre half-forward was suffering from a serious knee injury.
The Saints even went as far as releasing exclusive pictures on their own website of Riewoldt training strongly to prove he was on track for a senior return.
"Nick will be out there for sure (on Friday night)," Fisher said.
"He has been in full training for the last couple of weeks so he should be ready to go."
Fisher said the Saints would also be boosted by the return of three of their best midfielders in Hayes, Ball and Harvey.
A win on Friday night would give the Saints the chance of winning their second NAB Cup in five seasons, following on from 2004, but Fisher admits it will be tough against a young and exciting Essendon side that is thriving under new coach Matthew Knights.
"Every game (in the NAB Cup) gets more important and it would be nice to get through this week and then have a grand final the following week but it will be a tough game to win tomorrow night," Fisher said.
"Essendon are certainly up and running, they have got plenty of new players in and they have been doing quite well so we will have to watch out for them."
And as for his own start to the season, Fisher says he is just happy to have finally put his own injury woes behind him.
The talented defender played just ten games in his first three seasons with the Saints due to shoulder, hamstring and back problems but in the past two years has firmly established himself as a regular member of the side by playing 36 games - including 21 of 22 last season.
"A couple of years ago it wasn't the greatest time for me but the last couple of years I have been injury free which is nice for a change," he said.
"And you definitely appreciate being able to run out there every week feeling good instead of having little niggles all the time."