St Kilda midfielder Eli Templeton may have been starved of senior opportunities in 2016, but he made strong progress with his development at VFL level this season.
The Tasmanian earned a spot in the senior side for the trip to Adelaide in Round 1, but only managed one other game at AFL level for the year against Hawthorn in Tasmania in Round 4.
Despite limited exposure to senior football, the Tasmanian excelled at state league level, finishing fifth in Monday night’s J.J Liston Trophy to underline his class.
Templeton averaged over 26 disposals, five inside 50s and four tackles across 17 games in his third season at Linen House Centre.
He collected 30 or more disposals on seven occasions in 2016 to demonstrate his ball-winning ability, and he was named as a senior emergency on a handful of occasions in the second half of the season, without being able to force his way back into the team due to St Kilda’s improved midfield depth this year.
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Alan Richardson’s Views:
“Eli didn’t play as much senior footy as he would have expected or as we would have expected, but I think he’s had a positive year; he’s had a learning year; he’s really grown as a footballer. You don’t always get the opportunity to improve and grow in the AFL team and that’s been Eli’s year. His gone from being a low 20 possession at VFL level to a low 30 possession player. He’s improved his work in the contest. We love when Eli’s got the ball in his hands because he makes really good decisions and he executes well.
“It’s been a frustrating year for him, but it’s been a real positive for us that even though he’s been disappointed with non-selection, because people in his position have performed strongly and the team’s been going well, he didn’t drop his bundle at any stage. He continued to play really strong footy at VFL level, so he demonstrated his character.
“He needs to go another level with his endurance and he needs to get stronger and put on a bit more size in the gym – that will enable him to be able to cope with the bigger bodies in there at AFL level. He’s ok in that area but he doesn’t want to be ok and we don’t want him to be just ok in that area. That’s probably his greatest opportunity for growth.”
The Numbers:
AFL:
2 games
9.5 disposals
three tackles
VFL:
17 games
26.4 disposals
five inside 50s
four tackles
