There is no escaping St Kilda’s disappointing fortnight, but the only way to make amends is by responding against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, says star
After poor performances against Sydney and Essendon, St Kilda has tumbled out of the eight and fallen to 11th, level on points with three other teams but the lowest of the four due to a poor percentage.
Three-time Trevor Barker Award winner Steven, who will play his 150th game on the weekend after originally being drafted with pick No. 42 in 2007, said the Saints know they are capable of producing high-quality performances, they just need to find consistency.
“We were pretty disappointed with how we performed,” Steven told reporters at a press conference at Linen House Centre on Tuesday morning.
“We went through the review yesterday and today and will look to rectify it for sure.
“We’ve proven we can do it, it’s just about consistency, the last two weeks have been pretty average and obviously against Richmond we were pretty good.
“So it’s just about bridging the gap (between our best and worst).”
Monday Wash-Up: Round 18 v Sydney
While he hasn’t quite reached the heights he set in the last couple of years where he teetered on the brink of All-Australian selection, Steven has continued to be one of St Kilda’s best players in 2017.
The 27-year-old has averaged 26.5 possessions (10.9 contested), 5.1 clearances, 4.7 tackles and 4.1 inside
Steven described his campaign as ‘a bit of a mixed bag’. He’s had best on ground performances, a punctured lung early in the year, been tagged heavily and played other roles in the engine room.
“(My year has) been OK, a bit up and down like the teams. I’ve had a few tags, a few bad games, a few good ones, so it’s been a bit of a mixed bag,” Steven said.
The Lorne product admits coping with close attention from taggers has been difficult to come to grips with at times, but he has worked closely with Senior Assistant Coach, Adam Kingsley, to develop methods to break a tag and contribute in other ways.
“It’s tough, but I think there’s a lot of ways you can go about it,” he said.
“As long as you’re helping the team win I don’t think it’s necessarily how many possessions you get or whether you beat the tag or not.
“I’m always working with Adam Kingsley our midfield coach and I think I’m getting a lot better at it.”
