At the midpoint of the season, it almost appeared certain that Jack Steele would dip out on a third consecutive Trevor Barker Award.
Surgery on his AC joint following the Saints’ pulsating victory over Geelong in Round 9 came complete with a six-to-eight-week prognosis on the sidelines, before the skipper – against all odds – slashed his return time to put his name back on the radar.
Although there’s another Jack who is leading the race for the club’s most coveted honour this time around, there’s absolutely no way you can put a line through the skipper, even with less games to his name.
Despite his absence either side of the mid-season bye, Steele nevertheless finished the season as one of the Saints’ leading players on the stats sheet.
The No. 9 only attained the highest ranking for the one major metric – defensive half pressure acts (252) – but still managed to finish just behind Brad Crouch for total tackles (129), clearances (93), pressure acts (471) and contested possessions (201); all of which he had comprehensively topped in his two All-Australian seasons.
In the votes
Prior to his injury against the Cats, Steele is unlikely to have a game which doesn’t see him in the votes.
Even when brought down just prior to half-time, the Saints leader played out the remainder of the game with a heavily strapped shoulder, spending the bulk of the time deep in attack but also floating into the middle to help his team.
Steele’s courage in staying out on the ground and helping his side from a rotations perspective is bound to earn him votes, as will the series of commanding performances in the early half of the year.
Successive influential outings against Richmond (32 disposals, nine inside-50s), Hawthorn (33 disposals, one goal), Gold Coast (27 disposals) and GWS (29 disposals, 16 contested) are sure to have him jettison to an early lead before falling out of action from Rounds 10-14.
Steele broke the 40-disposal barrier for the first time in Round 19 against West Coast – and added to his glistening afternoon with an additional 10 clearaces – which could prove handy towards the backend of the count.
