Seb Ross is amid a career-best purple patch that has prompted some experts to suggest he has entered the elite bracket. But the St Kilda midfielder doesn’t believe he is there yet, suggesting he has taken his time getting to this point.
If you think Gary Ablett has had a breathtaking month since early season hysteria surrounding his decline, Ross has produced an almost equally as impressive patch.
Across the last four games, the 24-year-old is ranked No. 8 in the midfield rankings by Champion Data (109.5 points), on the back of averaging 33.0 disposals (No. 4), 6.8 clearances (No. 10) and 5.5 inside 50s (No. 3).
When asked by a journalist on Tuesday if he thought he’d entered the elite bracket after his dazzling display against Greater Western Sydney on Friday night, Ross disagreed but said he felt pressure to perform last year after not making much of an impact up to that point of his career.
On the back of a breakout 2016, where the North Ballarat product played every game and finished sixth in the Trevor Barker Award, Ross has gone to a different level in 2017.
“I wouldn’t say elite, there’s plenty of guys still in front of me. I’ve been pretty slow to be honest; I’m in my sixth year so it’s taken me a while,” Ross told reporters at a press conference at Linen House Centre on Tuesday.
Monday Wash-Up: Round 7 v Greater Western Sydney
“I played all 22 games last year and was able to perform reasonably strongly. Off the back of that, coming into this pre-season I had really great belief in myself and what I could do.”
“I think 2015 I had a really strong pre-season but was struck down with that hamstring injury so I was out for 10 weeks there and that sort of put me back a little bit.
“2016 I sort of had to perform; I’d been hanging around for five years without really doing too much. I soaked up that pressure if you will and took it on.”
Ross attributed St Kilda’s improved midfield depth for his strong season to date, indicating that the arrival of Koby Stevens and Jack Steele has allowed him to become more aggressive on the outside, with those two shouldering some of the load at the coal face.
“Most teams have pretty elite midfields so it probably just helps having guys like Stevens and Steele come in,” Ross said after collecting nine coaches votes for his performance against the Giants.
“The opposition tends to put a fair bit of work into Jack Steven each week. So having those guys around the ball, the opposition can’t take care of everyone.”
