IT HAS been a busy but highly rewarding couple of months for St Kilda’s list management and recruiting team. At the forefront of the evolution and revolution is Ameet Bains, and the Saints list manager spoke exclusively to SAINTS.com.au on Thursday night.
With three picks inside the top 20, St Kilda selected Jack Billings, Luke Dunstan and Blake Acres – a trio of players Bains was stoked to acquire given their versatility and obvious talents.
“From our viewpoint, we like to think if we are picking guys in the first round then they can do a number of different things,” Bains said.
“We’ve had the pleasure of watching Jack [Billings] over the course of the last couple of years. In our eyes he’s a very dynamic player, he’s got match-winning capabilities and in terms of his kick – he’d be close to, if not the best, on both sides in the draft.”
It is high praise for an 18-year-old, but Bains isn’t just impressed with his footballing ability, he’s also rapt with Billings’ mental approach to the game and believes this strong mindset will hold him in good stead for a long and prosperous AFL career.
“He didn’t actually miss too many games [this year] but carried a knee injury through most of the season. He will still able to perform at a reasonably high level so that gave us a bit of extra confidence about his mental strength.”
“He’s proven himself to be an elite talent, a half forward that can go through the midfield and someone that has excelled at all levels of his play,” Bains said.
St Kilda’s next selection after pick three was 18, and it was used on South Australian midfielder Luke Dunstan – who, like Billings, displayed excellent leadership and emotional stability to complement his elite on-field talents.
“Luke’s a big-bodied inside midfielder from South Australia. He captained the SA team that won the championships this year and shared the MVP honours for the state. Again, he’s a fantastic player, a very good ball-winner, elite decision-maker particularly with his hands and a leader in the making.”
Dunstan is a born midfielder who racks up substantial numbers at will, but he is far from a Billings clone according to Bains.
“He’s more of a traditional inside midfielder, more physically developed and probably more of a genuine ball-winner in a midfield sense,” he said.
With two mid-sized centremen already selected, St Kilda went for another proven possession-hunter with a twist – West Perth youngster Blake Acres.
Acres has struggled with shoulder injuries this season, but surgery in July has primed him for a full pre-season in his first year at St Kilda and Bains was ecstatic the agile utility drifted to pick 19.
“Blake has played across half-back, wing and through the midfield for Western Australia. He is also a midfielder and I guess coming off the back of what we did in the trade period – addressing other needs including key defenders – we were able to get an overall balance if you like.”
“We think he’s almost the prototype modern midfielder at 189cm with a big tank.”
You can follow Tom Morris on twitter: @tommorris32
