NICK Dal Santo believes Jack Steven’s outstanding pre-season is the catalyst for his excellent early season form.
Dal Santo collected 26 disposals and played a variety of crucial defensive roles on Monday night, allowing his younger teammate to amass 39 possessions in a dominant midfield display.
“His pre-season is as good as he’s obviously ever had and I reckon as good as I’ve seen in a long time,” Dal Santo said.
“His work-rate is fantastic, his speed is exceptional and he really takes the game on.”
Steven has all the features of an A-grade midfielder according to Dal Santo, who is well positioned to pass judgement given his years of class and consistency stemming back to 2002.
“When you have all those attributes you really just have to be able to do it week in week out and I think we are seeing those signs coming through,” he said.
Steven’s rapid progression in the Saints engine room has been partly a result of Dal Santo’s versatility. While the left-footer admits it can be challenging, the three-time All Australian is impressed with St Kilda’s up-and-coming midfield brigade.
[ RELATED: Jack Steven talks to SAINTS.com.au ]
"I’m just trying to play my role as common as that sounds,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who are going through the midfield at the moment and you look at Jack Steven again tonight and David Armitage … I’m just trying to help out, play a bit of defence and contribute when we get the ball as well.”
“When it pays off it’s worth every bit.”
Dal Santo was satisfied with the Saints efforts on Monday evening, pleased with his teammate’s resilience despite a difficult start to the season.
“It’s been a tough year so far,” he said.
“We’ve been really competitive and haven’t quite got the results we’ve wanted. I thought tonight was a great effort – I know they came back late in the game but I thought that the way we hung on and worked through it was really good.”
[ RELATED: The Recap ]
His 26 disposals included 11 contested possessions, four clearances and four 1 per-centers, resulting in his best statistical return for the season.
You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32
