St Kilda forward Maverick Weller didn’t quite reach the heights he has set in his first three years at Linen House Centre, but he still continued to be one of the clubs most important leaders in 2017.
Hampered by ankle and accuracy issues throughout the winter, Weller played 18 games this season and fought his way back into the team late in the year after being dropped following the win over Fremantle in Round 15.
The former Gold Coast midfielder was impressive against the Brisbane Lions in Round 3, before producing his finest performance of the year down in his home state of Tasmania a few weeks later, where he amassed a career-high 28 touches and kicked two goals.
Weller, 25, finished the season
Performance of the year:
Round 6 v Hawthorn at
Alan Richardson's views:
“Mav had a really positive start to the year and continued on from his strong form last year as a forward,” Richardson said.
“Unfortunately he injured his ankle and it took him a while to get going after that and ended up finding himself out of the team.
“I thought he built back towards his best form in the second half of the season but he didn’t quite get to where we know he can.
“We think Mav can be one of the more dynamic, aggressive, team forwards in the game because he has such a team-oriented mindset when he is at his best.
“We expect him to come back at the start of pre-season determined to respond given he is not only an important player for us, but he’s also an important leader for us.”
The numbers:
18 games
11 goals
16.5 disposals
4.1 marks
3.1 inside 50s
