The 22-year-old from the coastal town of Lorne in Victoria concedes the routine of a professional footballer took some time getting used to.
“I obviously started young, and didn’t have a clue about professional footy, so that took a while to get used to, but I’m getting there,” said Steven.
“I was a 17-year-old boy and all I had to worry about was getting to school on time. So it was a bit of a shock early, but it’s fine now.”
After being recruited in 2007 from the Geelong Falcons, Steven didn’t make his AFL debut until almost two years later, playing one game in 2009 against the Hawks.
The teenager stuck at it and eventually earned himself a NAB Rising Star award in 2011, becoming the first St Kilda player in three years to win the accolade.
This year, Steven has become a regular in the midfield rotation, starting alongside the likes of Hayes, Dal Santo and McEvoy in the first choice centre square lineup.
“I’m more focused on my drop away now, because your not going to play good every week, but I was hitting really low lows at one stage so now I try to minimize that,” he said.
“Even if I’m not getting a kick, just getting a few tackles and trying to help the team in some way.”
Steven is now focused on honing his football skills with consistency, and says trying hard is what it comes down to.
“I’m pretty good at trying hard, that’s my main thing. If I’m trying hard, at least that’s all I can do and if it’s not good enough, it’s not good enough.”
Steven is part of an emerging group of midfielders, which also includes David Armitage, which Senior Coach Scott Watters classes as a barometer of the Saints performance each week.
That sort of praise is what keeps Jack Steven on his game, although he says a lot of effort goes into giving himself the best chance.
“There’s a lot more to (football) these days than just footy training two nights a week and playing on the weekends. You’ve got to do stuff everyday, you’ve got to make sure you’re on time for everything and doing all the right things; eating right, getting a good sleep, not going out too much. It’s a 24 hour job pretty much.”
