It didn’t happen overnight, but through hard work and a high level of professionalism, Jake Carlisle has earned the trust of the playing group, says St Kilda skipper Jarryn Geary.
After arriving at Linen House Centre as a marquee signing at the end of 2015, the former Essendon
But after a poor start and after serving a 12 month WADA suspension for his involvement in the Bombers’ supplement saga, Carlisle has put his head down and built trust through his work on the track and his performances on the ground.
“He’s had a pretty challenging 18 months with all that’s gone down with the Essendon saga and when he first came to the club he came in in pretty trying circumstances,” Geary told saints.com.au ahead of Carlisle’s first game against his old side on Friday night.
“But ever since he’s come back in the door after his time away his work ethic and his professionalism stood out and he has quickly earned the respect of the playing group. And he did that through the way he went about his pre-season.
“There was somewhat of a perception when he was external from the club that he
“He’s had some feedback from the group that we really love playing with him now, we respect him highly. The stuff he does on game day is really important for us.”
While last Saturday night was dominated by the second edition of Maddie’s Match, Carlisle reached the 100-game milestone quietly with little fanfare, adding 15 games in red, white and black to the 85 he played at Essendon in his first six seasons in the AFL.
Geary, who has worked closely alongside Carlisle in St Kilda’s defence this season, said the 25-year-old should be proud of how he has overcome adversity in recent years and come out the other side.
“100 games is something he has been wanting to achieve for probably a long time; he was pretty close before he got suspended so it’s been a long time coming for him,” Geary said.
“It’s something he should be proud of because he’s faced adversity over the last couple of years.”
After finding his feet in the first couple of months this season, Carlisle has come on in leaps and bounds in the last couple of months as he has acclimatised to the pace of the game.
With seven games of the home and away season to come, plus a potential return to September, Geary believes the tall backman is going to reach new heights as the whips start cracking and the Saints fight for a finals berth.
“I think he’s just touching the surface in terms of where he can go,” he said.
“I think a year is a long time to have off, but he is now finding his feet a bit more; I think in the back end of the year you’re going to see significant growth compared to what he has already done this year, which has been pretty impressive.”
