Newly crowned triple Trevor Barker Award winner Jack Steven joined rare company last Thursday night when he became just the tenth player in St Kilda’s history to win the coveted best and fairest on three occasions.
The star midfielder, who won his second consecutive Trevor Barker Award and third in four years, admitted he was ecstatic to win the accolade following a season where the Saints took significant strides forward.
“It’s huge. I’m pretty pumped at the moment; I’m not sure what to say. It was a really good night with all the boys so I’m pretty stoked,” Steven told saints.com.au at Crown Palladium.
“It’s obviously really exciting. The last few years have been pretty depressing, but this year’s been really good and all the boys are right behind ‘Richo’, so where really excited about the future.”
Steven polled in all but three games in 2016, to win the award on 172 votes, ahead of small defender Jarryn Geary (157) and six-time winner Nick Riewoldt (153).
The 26-year-old featured heavily in the votes in Round 1 v Port Adelaide (13 votes), Round 3 v Collingwood (12), Round 9 v Essendon (15), Round 12 v Carlton (15), Round 14 v Geelong (13), Round 16 v Essendon (16), Round 18 v Western Bulldogs (14) and Round 23 v Brisbane (12).
Typically humble and reluctant to talk about himself, Steven attributed his consistency to the work the Saints medical department do behind the scenes to get him up for the each game.
“You’d have to ask the physios (where the consistency comes from). I’m always sooking about how sore I am. They do a great job and always look after me so I’d like to thank them,” Steven said.
St Kilda’s improvement in 2016 has come from a series of career-best seasons from the next generation coming through the ranks at Linen House Centre, particularly in the midfield where Steven identified a few players who have stepped up in 2016.
“It starts with Tom Hickey in the ruck, he’s had a terrific year and he obviously helped me out heaps. But definitely Seb Ross, ‘Newnesy’, I could go on and on – all those boys are going really well,” he said.
With a well-earned break now ahead of him, Steven said he will return home to the Victorian coastal town of Lorne, and then spend time abroad before he has to report for another pre-season in November.
“I’ll head back to Lorne, back home for a bit, see all my friends and family and then I’ll go overseas with a few of the boys for a surf trip and then go away with the girlfriend for a little bit as well,” he said.
Limited Edition History Book: Celebrating 50 Years 1966-2016 The Archives Edition
