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Opinion
St KIlda finished season 2021 in tenth place on the AFL ladder, with ten wins and 12 losses. They finished a lot of percentage and a win behind the Essendon Bombers who finished in eighth place.
The fact that Marc Murphy thought Carlton shouldn’t have sacked Brett Ratten speaks volumes for his ability as a coach. Despite that, he is arguably the coach under the most pressure, according to some astute people.
Along with the Richmond Tigers and the Fremantle Dockers, St Kilda only had four players who played every game in 2021: Jack Steele, Bradley Hill, Callum Wilkie and Daniel Butler. Of those four players, only Jack Steele can be classified as elite. The other three should have been rested or managed as they didn’t deserve to play 22 games.
There’s no doubt that the likes of Paddy Ryder and Dan Hannebery provide leadership, but they should be rested for part of the season as footy is a results-based industry and they both battled injury in season 2021. They will be boosted by the return from injury of Jade Gresham, who is a match winner.
The choice of making Jack Steele the sole captain was probably the right call, as he is extremely consistent and you know what you’re going to get from him.
St Kilda are an interesting case study.
Rowan Marshall will ‘make or break’ St Kilda’s season in 2022, because Paddy Ryder is going to need help in the ruck as his days as a ruckman St Kilda solely rely on are gone.
In season 2021, Saints won eight of the 13 games that Rowan Marshall featured in. Four of the five losses were against top four teams, as they lost twice to the Geelong Cats and twice to Port Adelaide Power.
There’s no doubt that Marshall needs to improve his game with regards to scoreboard more. He should average at least a goal a game, as he will start up forward with Paddy Ryder still taking the bigger proportion of ruck work, in season 2022, if fit and available.
Above all else, what Marshall needs is a bit of luck and to stay injury free.
(Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Brad Crouch needs to improve on his equal fifth-place finish in the season 2021 best and fairest for St Kilda. He did miss the opening two games through suspension, but he could have still played even better than he did in season 2021.
There’s no reason why Brad Crouch can’t be in the All Australian squad in season 2022.
Brad Crouch is 28 years old, which means that he should be looking at season 2022 as a pivotal season in the context of his career as he needs to get better if St Kilda are to reach their optimum level.
Fortunately for Crouch, Jack Steele will probably get tagged every game, which Crouch should benefit from.
Jack Billings needs to be at his best in season 2022 as he is a player with so much potential. He has signed a contract that will see him stay at St Kilda until 2025.
He is 26 years old so it’s a make or break season for him. In season 2021 he failed to finish in the top ten of St Kilda’s best and fairest, despite featuring in 18 games, which is unacceptable for a player of his quality.
Billings will need to be at his best as St Kilda are lacking quality outside players. He will have to carry the brunt of the opposition negating him, as Bradley Hill and Dan Hannerbery were household names, but they are past their best. It’s inconceivable that Billings finishes outside the top five of St Kilda’s best and fairest in season 2022, should he be fit and available for all of their games, which hopefully includes finals!
Jack Sinclair is arguably one of St Kilda’s key players who could make or break their season in season 2022. He finished second in St Kilda’s best and fairest. In the one game he did miss in season 2021, in Round 20, St Kilda lost by 31 points! Despite missing that game, Sinclair finished second in St Kilda’s best and fairest in season 2021.
Sinclair is St Kilda’s main source of run off the halfback line, which is where he found his niche in season 2021. His value to the team is immense and he could decide whether St Kilda reach their potential in season 2022.
Sinclair’s value to the team can’t be measured in stats as he is a player that is extremely pivotal, with no other players capable of playing the role he plays on a halfback flank.
It will be intriguing to see if he builds on his season 2021 form and if St Kilda are in the race for a top-eight finish in season 2022.
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