Young rebounding defender Brandon White says his decision to re-sign with St Kilda for a further two years was a ‘no-brainer’, after he committed his future to the club on Monday.
On the same day the Saints secured the future of half-back flanker Daniel McKenzie, the 20-year-old extended his time at St Kilda until at least the end of 2019.
“It was a no-brainer really; I love being down here,” White told saints.com.au on Monday afternoon.
After being nursed through his first pre-season, the Saints second pick in the 2015 National Draft admits his workload has escalated in his second summer at Linen House Centre, which has left him feeling better prepared than ever before.
“The intensity has picked up a fair bit – we’re doing more of the drills compared to last year where we got pulled out early on, so we’ve pretty much done a full pre-season us second-year players,” White said.
“My fitness is good; it’s obviously one of my weaknesses so it’s one of the key things I’ve been trying to work on over my first two pre-seasons. I’m feeling pretty good and I’m feeling confident in the body.”
In his debut season, White was forced to bide his time at Sandringham in the VFL before earning a final round debut against Brisbane.
After playing 13 games for the Zebras, White made an encouraging start to his AFL career in Round 23, collecting 13 disposals across half-back to build some momentum into the summer.
“(It gave me) heaps of confidence that I can play at that level. Just being able to get out there with the boys, wear the red, black and white was awesome,” he said.
Regardless of what jumper he wears in 2017, White expects to spend the bulk of the season playing across half-back, where he hopes to find a spot in Alan Richardson’s side.
“Yeah half-back definitely, a bit on the wing as well, but predominantly at half-back as a running defender,” he said.
“It’s very competitive for spots all over the list; forward, back, midfield. It’s good for the list and good for the clubs.”
