OUT THERE and have a crack. It's a simple football philosophy and one that St Kilda supporters would thoroughly endorse after what has been an up and down first half of the season.
It is also more or less the advice Saints debutant Robert Eddy received from coach Ross Lyon before running out for his first senior game against Fremantle last Friday night at Telstra Dome.
“Through the whole week Ross was pretty much saying to us that he just wanted us to have a crack”, Eddy told saints.com.au this week.
“He didn’t really say anything too specific; he just said ‘give us a good honest effort’ -- that’s all he asked of us. He didn’t say he wanted us to set the world on fire or anything”.
Eddy found his way into the team after goalsneak Stephen Milne and classy midfielder Nick Dal Santo had been dropped to the VFL, but says the minor media maelstrom surrounding the selection didn’t place any extra pressure on him.
“Especially with the other two boys (ruckman Ben McEvoy and forward Jarryd Allen) debuting as well, it took a little bit of the pressure off us. We were all just excited to get a go and have our opportunity”.
The 20-year-old admits to feeling “goose bumps” as he fulfilled the kid’s dream of running through the banner for the first time, but soon adjusted to the extra intensity of football at the highest level, picking up 17 disposals (including seven contested possessions) in the Saints’ narrow win.
But it was Eddy’s work when he didn’t have the ball that stood out most, running hard into space and tackling with ferocity and commitment. One hit in particular, on Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich, signalled the young Saint’s intention of following his coach’s advice to the letter.
“Actually, it was alright,” Eddy said when asked what it felt like to canon into one of the biggest players in the competition.
“I suppose I thought it would feel a little bit harder when he hit me, but I didn’t feel it was too bad. I thought: geez, if I can tackle Pav, I can tackle anyone in the AFL.”
“That was one of my focuses going into the game; to chase and tackle and try and pressure as much as I could. Hopefully I can keep that in my game as I go on.”
And going on is just what the rookie-listed player will do after being selected in the run-on team for St Kilda’s next match against North Melbourne -- no small achievement in a team that boasts a midfield including Harvey, Ball, Hayes, Montagna and Dal Santo.
“I thought my spot in the team would be a bit of a defensive role, a bit of a tagging role,” Eddy said of his pre-season prospects for cracking it in the seniors. “That was one of my main focuses, to get in the team as a run-with player.
“One of my goals now is to try and hold my spot and do everything I can to keep playing in the seniors. Hopefully, I can keep doing that week in, week out.
With the Saints now sitting just half-a-game behind the eighth-placed Kangaroos, the importance of the clubs’ Gold Coast clash on Saturday night is obvious.
Eddy says the team is geared up for the challenge.
“It’s a bit of a mini-grand final for us this week, everyone knows that.
“We’re just really concentrating on our effort each week and I think we all know if we can just give that effort every week, we’re a real chance to win some games.”
If Eddy’s debut match is anything to go by, the Saints won’t be losing too many for want of effort from the young onballer -- he’s sure to have a crack.
