Bailey Rice Biography

St Kilda delist Bailey Rice and Brandon White.

"Bailey and Brandon arrived at the club together in 2015 and should be proud of the way they have acquitted themselves," Saints football manager Simon Lethlean said.

”They are held in high regard by their teammates and coaches, and we wish them all the best for the future."

Bailey Rice makes his AFL debut for St Kilda at Docklands Stadium with 17 disposals (12 kicks and 5 handballs), 4 marks and a tackle in a 28-point loss to Collingwood.

Bailey Rice will follow in his father's footsteps when he finally makes his St Kilda debut against Collingwood.

Rice's dad, Dean, played the first 116 of his 234 AFL games for the Saints before crossing to Carlton, where he played in the Blues' 1995 premiership.

"Glandular fever hit me pretty hard in 2016, but my year so far has been pretty solid," Rice said.

"I've played six or so games of some of my best footy and I just want to keep that up and put my hand up for the AFL team."

Bailey Rice signs a one-year contract extension with St Kilda that will keep him at the club until the end of 2019.

"We've had quite a few other players sign recently. It's a really exciting time to be at the club," Rice said.

"Glandular fever hit me pretty hard in 2016, but my year so far has been pretty solid.

"I've played six or so games of some of my best footy and I just want to keep that up and put my hand up for the AFL team."

Bailey Rice will be sidelined for a month after he broke a finger in the JLT Community Series win over Carlton.

It was the first time the 20-year-old represented the Saints in either the pre-season competition or the home and away season.

Bailey Rice’s pre-season has been put on hold after a bout of glandular fever.

The father-son pick will spend several weeks resting before working his way back into training.

“Bailey had been feeling a little under the weather recently and subsequent tests revealed he has glandular fever,” St Kilda football manager Jamie Cox said.

“His health and how he responds to a gradual increase in load will determine when he returns to full training."

St Kilda select Bailey Rice with pick No.49 in the 2015 NAB AFL Draft.

"A really tough competitive player, strong overhead, elite foot skills and, from our point of view, continues on the tradition of (his father) Dean having played for the club many moons ago," Saints list manager Ameet Bains said.

Father-son prospect Bailey Rice chooses St Kilda over Carlton as his preferred AFL destination.

"It's been a process over 18 months when he started to come down to our club with the father-son academy with his dad Dean and family," St Kilda list manager Tony Elshaug said.

"It's been going along for a long time now, as I guess it has been for Carlton.

"Bailey's spent a number of weeks at our club during the season, so that was good to get to know Bailey well and help him with his football and everything else around him in his world."

Father-son prospect Bailey Rice says he can't make up his mind about his AFL future.

His father, Carlton's 1995 premiership player Dean Rice, played more than 100 games with both St Kilda and the Blues, so the 18-year-old has the luxury of nominating both clubs for next month's NAB AFL Draft.

"I'm pretty lucky to have two clubs (to choose from), and I'd be happy with either of them, but unfortunately I have to choose one," Rice said.

"It's a tough choice, and I keep going from one to the other. But I'll sit down with Dad and my manager and make a decision in the next couple of weeks."

St Kilda is hoping father-son prospect Bailey Rice picks the club as his preferred destination under the new bidding system, but remains in the dark about the attacking half-back's plans.

Rice, whose father Dean played 116 games for the Saints before finishing his career with Carlton in 118 games, is weighing up which of the two clubs to nominate as his first choice.

Under the new bidding system, which will take place live during the NAB AFL Draft in November, Rice can nominate both clubs but must name one as his first preference.

"We'd certainly like him at the Saints. We'd love him to commit to us from the father-son bidding process, but we haven't got an official answer at this stage," St Kilda list manager Tony Elshaug said.