St Kilda leader Jarryn Geary has won the 2016 Lenny Hayes Player Trademark Award at Thursday night’s Trevor Barker Award, following an outstanding season by the small defender.
Geary played in all but one game this season and is tipped to finish high in the best and fairest after another ultra-consistent year.
While he doesn’t receive the external plaudits his team-first game deserves, Geary is one the most highly rated players inside the four walls of the football club.
St Kilda Assistant Coach Adam Kingsley believes Geary epitomises what it is to play ‘Saintsman’ football, due to not only his performance each weekend in winter, but also the way he prepares for each game throughout the week.
“The trademark is around being aggressive, doing the right thing and playing your role and I think more than any other player on our list he epitomises that with the way he goes about it, not only during the game but Monday to Friday,” Kingsley told saints.com.au.
“He trains extremely hard; he leaves no stone unturned in terms of his preparation and that’s why he is able to be a really strong, consistent performer for us on game day because he’s able to take that preparation and then apply it during a game."
Kingsley said that Geary has the full trust of the coaching staff and of his teammates when he is assigned a role each week on the opposition’s most dangerous small forward.
“We’re really confident when we place his magnet next to an opposition player’s magnet that he’ll get that job done. He has full trust from his teammates and from his coaches to get the job done.
“We love the way he plays and his teammates love the way he plays too. He’s a really valued teammate and a really strong leader of the club. He plays tough, he plays aggressive, he plays on the best small forwards every week and beats them.”
Lenny Hayes Players Trademark Award
When you mention the name Lenny Hayes, you immediately think of tough, courageous, selfless, team first and this is exactly what this award stands for. Each week the playing group present the game ball to a player who has stood tough for the team culminating with this award being presented to a player who has up held the values of the ‘Saintsman’ trademark.
