Tom Hickey
6 matches
Tom had an interrupted season with injury. He showed glimpses of being a good ruckman for us with his spread and run. He booted three goals in a half for us against GWS. We expect Tom to be right to go by next year’s pre-season after having his knee done and it should be a good battle between a few of the boys for the number one ruck spot in 2015.
Jack Steven
17 games, 23.1 disposals
Jack had some foot issues in the pre-season which really threw him about. He missed over a month of training before coming back in and showing some really good signs. Pleasingly, Jack developed his leadership off the field this year and was certainly more active in meetings. Despite the injuries, he still had a reasonably good season.
VIDEO: Bend it like Steven
RELATED: Richo confident Steven will last the distance
Tom Curren16 games
Tom began the season very well, playing as our number one tagger in the midfield. He showed good signs up forward in the back half of the year, winning plenty of the hard ball and showing he is capable of playing defensive roles on opposition half-backs.
RELATED: Tommy signs on for two more years
Clint Jones16 games, 18.9 disposals, 4.8 tackles
Clint played a pretty selfless role this year in assisting the younger players’ development. He played a lot forward which enabled guys like Seb Ross and Jack Newnes to get more time in the midfield and created plenty of forward-half turnovers for us with his pressure. CJ was a little bit in and out of the side because of the position we are in as a club, but despite this, his leadership and attitude was first class all year on.
Seb Ross
13 games, 15.8 disposals
Seb took another step forward in his development, playing more games this year as an inside midfielder. He showed that he has the potential to be a big-bodied midfielder who can win a lot of clearances for us and give us first use of the footy.
RELATED: Seb a signed and sealed Sainter
Lenny Hayes20 games, 23.3 disposals
Lenny had a terrific year for us again, showing strong leadership off the field with his mentoring of Luke Dunstan amongst other players. Lenny capped of an amazing career perfectly, breaking the tackling record in the last game.
RELATED: Tributes flood for Hayes
VIDEO: Hayes retirement tribute
RELATED: Lenny won't coach in 2015
VIDEO: Lenny best and faireste speech
Leigh Montagna20 games, 23.5 disposals
Leigh had a reasonably good year. He found a lot of the ball and gave us plenty of drive. Off the field, he showed great leadership around the footy club, working closely with Jack Billings in a mentoring capacity that fast-tracked his development as we saw. Joey has become a really important guy at our footy club and we rely on him to lead the way which he does terrifically well.
VIDEO: Montagna's week
Jack Newnes22 games, 19.9 disposals
Jack had an excellent year, playing every game as a wingman or half-back with occasional spells in the midfield. We are really happy with the development of Jack and he became comfortable at the level in 2014. He was up in the top three or four possession-winners this year so his ability to find the footy on the inside and outside was clear. Jack works hard, he defends well, he’s a nice kick and he’s an aggressive player.
RELATED: Jack Newnes re-signs
Jack Newnes and Tom Curren embrace after St Kilda's round five victory over Essendon.
Billy Longer
16 games, 25.9 hit outs
Billy was in and out of the side early, but then with the injury to Tom Hickey, he came in and cemented his spot in the senior team. He’s a big, strong, competitive guy and his follow-up work this year was really good. He still has areas to work on but as far as 21 year-old ruckman go, we are pretty happy with his progression and confident that he will be a good player for us long-term.
RELATED: Billy to stay, just a little bit Longer
David Armitage15 games, 22 disposals
David began the season really well. Unfortunately he cut his knee which became infected and forced him out for eight weeks. David is a violent player for us. He’s aggressive on the inside and hits hard. He’s a strong leader and I’m really looking forward to seeing what he can do for us in 2015 when fully fit.
RELATED: Armitage takes the long road to the century
VIDEO: Lenny on Armo
Farren Ray21 games, 21.3 disposals
Farren was an important player for us this year. He had a small flat spot in the middle of the season but finished off strongly. He’s a really experienced wingman and helps organise our structures, giving great direction to our younger players on the field.
Luke Dunstan
16 games, 18.8 disposals
Luke had a fantastic start to his career as a teenager who looked really comfortable at the level. He’s a great competitor and working closely with Lenny certainly helped him become a ready-made AFL player. He’s going to be a great player for us going forward so long as he keeps working as hard as he did this season.
RELATED: Dunstan re-signs
VIDEO: Richo welcomes Dunstan
RELATED: Dunstan named Most Promising Player
RELATED: Hayes passes No.7 to Dunstan
Lewis PierceLewis missed the first half of the season with some stress fractures in his back, but he bounced back strongly in the back half of the year. He’s still a young ruckman but in those last few games he showed great potential and fight.
RELATED: Pierce pens new deal
Maverick Weller16 games, 4.6 tackles
Mav came into the team in round nine from the rookie list and immediately had an impact. He’s a really strong competitor came up against the AFL’s best midfielders every week for the rest of the season. Towards the end of the year he began finding a little bit more of the ball and we are very pleased with his campaign. Mav is a creative tagger who can find the ball but also shut down his opponent – it’s exciting to see.
RELATED: Weller signs on for two more years
VIDEO: Mav's debut
Jason HolmesJason was exposed to footy for the first time this year and development extremely well. He was very close to being picked towards the end of the season and did a fantastic job towards the end of the year for Sandringham in the VFL. We only know he is only 18 months into an AFL career and he has an appetite to work hard which will hold him in good stead. Holmesy has all the right attributes so we are excited to see how that develops.
SCHNEIDERMAN: Jason Holmes
