The injection of off-season acquisition Koby Stevens will add spark to a midfield that was beaten at the coal face in the second half of last week’s loss against Geelong, says St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson.
After an impressive midfield performance in the first half at Etihad Stadium, St Kilda nosedived after the main break, with the Cats, led by Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield, amassing 36 more contested possessions in the second half.
With star inside midfielder David Armitage set to miss at least the next month with a groin injury, Richardson will be hoping former Western Bulldogs and West Coast midfielder Stevens provides some grunt against the Hawks in Tasmania.
“We haven’t been great in contest, certainly the periods we’ve been beaten we’ve been beaten at clearance and centre bounce,” Richardson told reporters at a press conference before St Kilda boarded a flight to Launceston on Friday morning.
“We’re not going to have Dave who is a really aggressive player for a little while now. We think Koby Stevens will certainly help us there; that’s why we got Koby to the club. We think he can add a bit of depth and a bit of life.”
Three-time Trevor Barker Award winner Jack Steven made a blistering return from a punctured lung last Sunday, amassing 21 disposals in the first half before finishing with 30 for the game, and Richardson is confident the star will be better for the hitout.
“Jack Steven will be better for the run; that was his first game last week. He was really promising in the first half and not unlike the team he drifted out of it a little bit after that. We think we’ll be stronger with those guys in there.
After five rounds of 2017, St Kilda is ranked No. 12 for contested possessions (140.0 per game), losing the count in all but one game so far this season.
Richardson said budding key forward Paddy McCartin is closing in on a return to the senior side after his strong performance for Sandringham last weekend, but won’t return until he is ready.
McCartin booted 3.1 from 16 possessions and seven marks against Richmond at Trevor Barker Beach Oval in his second game back at VFL level.
“It’s not just about kicking goals for Paddy it’s just about playing strong footy, leading when it’s the right time to lead, being strong in contest, which is a strength of Paddy’s,” Richardson said.
“We think Paddy is going well, we don’t think it will be too long before we see Paddy back in the senior side.
“We like what he’s doing at VFL and we’ll bring him back in when a) it’s good for the team and b) when we think Paddy’s ready and that’s getting close.”
