In a year where he took over the captaincy from Nick Riewoldt, St Kilda skipper Jarryn Geary also entrenched himself as one of the premier small defenders in the competition.
The 29-year-old, who finished second in last year’s Trevor Barker Award after finishing fifth the year before, played every game in 2017 and is set for another high finish in next month’s best and fairest count.
With Riewoldt, Leigh Montagna and Sean Dempster all stepping out of the leadership group at the start of the season, Geary took control of a new era at St Kilda, which included three new leaders in Seb Ross, Dylan
The unassuming and underrated
With no Riewoldt, Montagna or Dempster at the club going forward, Geary becomes even more important for the Saints as they look to step back onto the September stage after a six-year finals hiatus.
Performance of the year:
Round 4 v Collingwood at Etihad Stadium: 17 disposals, nine spoils, seven contested possessions and five tackles + five coaches votes.
Alan Richardson’s views:
“I was really impressed with ‘Gears’ and how he went about it in his first year as captain,” Richardson said.
“Most importantly, he continued to be Jarryn Geary, he didn’t try to morph into Nick Riewoldt, which is challenging when you’re following in the footsteps of someone like ‘Rooey’.
“He found a really good balance between challenging his mates and supporting them. His ability to drive the standards away from
“He’s had a couple of really positive years now with respect to his own footy, and I was really pleased that we continued to play at a really high level and lead from the front with his performances.
“It’s interesting at this time of year when you
The numbers:
22 games
16.1 disposals
2.8 spoils
2.6 tackles
2.5 rebound 50s
