Senior Jack Steele

Remove this Banner Ad


Spin the magnets: The players at every AFL clubs set for new roles in 2020

"And after developing into one of the AFL’s best taggers, Jack Steele is set to be released from that role and become a traditional inside on-baller in St Kilda’s new-look midfield next year."
 
Last edited:

Jack Steele will remain on restricted duties this week as the Saints step up their preparations for Round 2.The midfielder underwent an arthroscope on Monday to address a bone spur causing pain in his right wrist.While the tackling machine will be forced to watch on form the sidelines as the Saints enter full contact drills for the first time, the procedure isn’t expected to halt his preparations for Round 2.



Steele will complete a running session later this week before resuming normal duties in next week’s major sessions.

**No pain for Jack = more pain for opposition players.
 
Think we all knew what Ratts was thinking, so now it’s official.

St Kilda’s Head of Football Program David Rath believes Jack Steele is ready to let loose as a fully-fledged midfielder ahead of the season restart.
The fierce combatant was deployed predominantly as a tagger in 2019 and helped nullify some of the league’s biggest game-breakers week-on-week.
But in line with Brett Ratten’s philosophy of developing a gameplan that plays to players’ strengths, Rath believes the 24-year-old can reach new heights when set free.
READ: Rath on Ratten's coaching philosophy
“What we’ve seen with Jack over the pre-season and towards the end of last year, is that he established himself as a quality midfielder,” Rath told SEN.
“I think Ratts’ approach we’ve seen so far in the pre-season and Round 1 was to let him off the leash a little bit.


"He’s a big-bodied mid in the classic type and his ability to break free and get through a contest is really strong, so we’re hopeful to see some more offensive output from Jack, for sure.”
Steele (151 votes) polled third in last year’s Trevor Barker Award behind Rowan Marshall (152) and Seb Ross (170) and topped the league’s tackle count with 164 tackles in 2019.
While a minor wrist injury has temporarily halted the plan, the No. 9 is on track to rubberstamp his prowess next Sunday against the Western Bulldogs.
 

Log in to remove this ad.


Judging by this interview/story one can see a future leader in Steele, would make a great captain & maybe has been earmarked for the next job. Need to get his contract sorted, which should be a formality & as you can tell he bleeds Red, White & Black.
 

Judging by this interview/story one can see a future leader in Steele, would make a great captain & maybe has been earmarked for the next job. Need to get his contract sorted, which should be a formality & as you can tell he bleeds Red, White & Black.

Always thought Steele could make a good captain. Be great to see him step up this year - which it looks like he's doing. On field probably top 3 in our B&f.

Article 2 posts above seems to have come pretty good as well!
 
The fans have spoken, and as voted by you, Jack Steele is the Round 7 Dare Iced Coffee Sainter of the Round.

Steele was incredible in Monday night’s affair, racking up 26 disposals (20 contested), 13 clearances and a goal to wrestle the Saints over the line against the Crows for the first time since 2011.


The performance smashed a personal-best clearance count for Steele (previously 10) and equalled his record contested possessions tally. Both figures came from Round 20, 2017 against West Coast.

A perfect 10 votes from the AFL Coaches’ Association – his second for the year – also saw him leap into second place in the League behind Brisbane’s Lachie Neale.

Steele was vital in the Saints’ triumph, particularly when the Crows threatened to spoil the celebrations with a second-half resurgence.


The No. 9 strong-armed the red, white and black on top of the midfield alongside Zak Jones and Paddy Ryder, and also added to the scoreboard with a classy stoppage goal on the opposite boot in the second term.

After the first seven games of 2020, Steele leads the Saints for disposals (149), contested possessions (75), tackles (42), clearances (33) and pressure acts (159).

Steele’s three-vote performance also moves him into top spot on the Sainter of the Round leaderboard, with Steele joining Dan Butler in notching up two fan-voted best-on-ground performances in 2020.
 
Two votes go to Jack Steele, whose remarkable season has barely skipped a beat.

The uncompromising Saint brought his trademark grit through the midfield, amassing 21 disposals (six contested), eight marks and two goals to lead the Saints’ engine room.

Steele was accompanied by Suns Hugh Greenwood and David Swallow at different stages of the match, but continued to get the job done despite the added attention.
 


Sainter of the Round: Red-hot Steele stands tall

The fans have spoken, and as voted by you, Jack Steele is the Round 11 Dare Iced Coffee Sainter of the Round.

The remarkable individual season continues to gather speed for the No. 9, who amassed a team-high 25 disposals (13 contested), five clearances and five inside-50s to lead the Saints' midfield brigade.

Steele's unrelenting efforts at the coalface and damaging ball-use made for yet another mature display, with the Saints determined to secure the rising young gun's signature.
The red-hot midfielder has polled votes in eight of a possible 11 games so far in 2020, with his latest three-vote haul extending his lead on top of the Sainter of the Round leaderboard.
 
'I love this club': Steele wants in on Saints' future,
Jack Steele has confirmed his management is in negotiations with the Saints.


Jack Steele has confirmed his management is in negotiations with St Kilda for a new contract and that he wants to be part of the club's future.
  • The 24-year-old is enjoying a superb season "off the leash" and is receiving league-wide recognition for his performances.
  • Steele joined St Kilda at the end of Season 2016 after two seasons with Greater Western Sydney.
In-form St Kilda onballer Jack Steele has confirmed his management is in negotiations with the Saints on what looms as a lucrative new contract for him – and he wants to hang around.

Steele has finished third in the club's best and fairest award in each of the past two years as one of the AFL's top taggers, but he's enjoying one of the best seasons of any midfielder in 2020.

He's sitting fifth in the AFL Coaches' Association AFL Champion Player Award, behind only Brisbane's Lachie Neale – who he could go head to head with on Sunday – Demon Christian Petracca, Port Adelaide's Travis Boak and Magpie Taylor Adams
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Congratulations Jack, a great season had by you with AA selection, Trevor Barker Award for B&F & now a top 3 finish in the Brownlow. 👏👏

Steele earns podium finish at 2020 Brownlow Medal
Jack Steele's tremendous 2020 campaign has been capped off with a podium finish at this year's Brownlow Medal.

 
Congratulations Jack Steele joint captain for 2021 “Up, up and Away” St Kilda’s future looking super & in safe hands.


 
Plenty said about that tackle & other than one umpire, the rest of the footballing fraternity thought it was fair.


“The 25-year-old wrapped his arms around Hopper and drove his opponent into the turf, resulting in a brief fisticuffs.
But the Channel 7 commentary team were unimpressed with the umpire’s decision to award the Giants a free kick for a dangerous tackle.
“That’s not dangerous,” Geelong great Jimmy Bartel said.
“It would’ve hurt, but it was a totally legal tackle there by Steele.”

36C7E0B5-E142-4904-9267-0875965E30E9.jpeg
 
Another top class performance by Jack against the Eagles . Might be an early favourite for the brownlow already . Hard to believe we all thought he was just a tagger only a couple years ago . Acting captain with Gears injury and I would argue he is now an A Grade midfielder.
 
Jack played what these days is just a standard game for him . 27 disposals, 13 contested, 8 tackles , 7 marks and 2 goals . The only down side was his DE which was way down at 51% which is most unlike him . However he lead the team well against GC and has really stood up since Gears got injured . No doubt he will be the full time captain when Gears hangs up the boots .
 
Have been a bit slack this year & have only just come across this article from April, sorry guys.


‘It’s OK to be different’: How Saints skipper Steele found his niche
By Sam McClure
April 14, 2021 — 4.40pm

Jack Steele isn’t your regular AFL skipper.
An introvert, the Saints co-captain never saw himself in that role. But after a career-best year in 2020, when he won St Kilda’s best and fairest, made his first All-Australian team and finished equal third in the Brownlow Medal, Steele was elected to lead alongside Jarryn Geary.
“I have always struggled with self-belief,” Steele told The Age.
Jack Steele (right) with co-captain Jarryn Geary earlier this year.

Jack Steele (right) with co-captain Jarryn Geary earlier this year.CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES
But one person who has always believed in Steele? His co-captain.

The older, more vocal of the two captains knew Steele was something special when he kicked his first AFL goal on Geary during his time at GWS.
It was an early afternoon game on a Sunday, in front of less than 10,000 people at the venue then known as the Sydney Showgrounds, when Steele drifted forward.
Geary, as he so often does, rose above the pack and threw his fist at the footy. But he couldn’t get through the hands of Steele.
“He reckons he got a good piece of it as well,” Steele laughed. “Since then I think he’s had quite a bit of faith in me.”
It hasn’t been smooth sailing this season for the Saints. And since Geary broke his leg in the pre-season and having recently suffered complications, Steele is essentially the skipper on his own.

Things weren’t looking good for the Saints after being thrashed by Essendon, with just one win from their first three games.
“Initially ‘Gears’ was going to be out for three weeks, then it went to six weeks – or something along those lines. When things weren’t going well I thought, ‘s**t, I need him back’. Just to take a bit of load off me, but at the end of the day he’s still there,” Steele said.
“I felt responsible [for the losses]. He’s played a lot of footy, so just to get that calm leader back out there was something we really needed. I felt a bit under the pump last week.”

But what Steele quickly worked out is that he didn’t need Geary on the field to be kind of captain he wanted to be.

The pair has been catching up regularly away from the club, at cafes such as Jerry’s Milkbar in Elwood – a local of Steele’s – to talk about leadership and life.
The Canberran is far more introverted than Geary, but it’s Geary himself who has moulded Steele into the leader he is today.
“I never thought about [being captain], just because of how quiet I am,” Steele reflected.
“I’m not a big talker. Whereas ‘Gears’ is a talker, Rooey [Nick Riewoldt] was a talker and Phil Davis at GWS was a talker. So I pigeon-holed a captain as being someone who is loud and articulate, so I never thought I’d be in that position.
“But as the years went on and I started playing better footy, people started telling me more and more how much they respected me.”

It was Geary who told Steele to embrace the person he was and not to try to lead like he was someone else.
“He said: ‘it’s OK to be different,’” Steele said. “He always showed a lot of faith in me, not just in my leadership but in my ability. For a lot of my career, I have had belief issues in myself. He’s been one constant person and teammate that’s believed in me since I got to the club.”
The advice has clearly worked. Not only is Steele now playing and leading tremendously well, he’s also found himself at the centre of a booming art collection.
‘He always showed a lot of faith in me, not just in my leadership but in my ability.’Talented young Melbourne artist Dom Gauci, at just 27, has partnered with the AFL to create her latest collection of hand-drawn sketches of some of footy’s biggest stars.The range includes the likes of Patrick Cripps, Marcus Bontempelli and Scott Pendlebury and in the case of Steele, she trawled through nearly 4000 images before finding the perfect snap.“Look at him, he’s in the moment. For me, this is about capturing the player in their glory or in a moment of significance so that way whoever buys it and puts it on their wall can relive it,” Gauci said.Steele has been a fan of Gauci’s ever since he bought a large portrait of former rapper Mac Miller and hung on it on his bedroom wall.Perhaps Miller OUT, Steele IN at his house in Brighton? “It’s not like I’m going to put up a portrait of myself!” (This one will be going to his parents.)
St Kilda co-captain Jack Steele with artist Dom Gauci and her artwork of him.
St Kilda co-captain Jack Steele with artist Dom Gauci and her artwork of him.CREDIT:pENNY STEPHENSWhile a dramatic come-from-behind victory against West Coasthelped put the Saints’ season back on track, Steele’s side now faces the daunting prospect of Richmond on Thursday night, who will have a sting in their tail after consecutive defeats.Steele admits while it’s only one game, a victory over the reigning premiers could be the launch pad the Saints are looking for.“We’re still trying to prove a lot of people wrong who had written us off after our loss to Essendon. That commentary is hard to avoid. For me, I used it as motivation,” he said.“In a way, it was almost a free hit. If you lose, you’re in the same position as you were in before. If you win, you get some people back on your side.“I think [a win over Richmond] would give the group so much faith in what we are trying to do and the system we are trying to implement.”So after such a stellar individual year in which St Kilda finally won a final, what drives Steele now?
A premiership, he says, is the obvious answer. But he wants more.
“I was watching [Geelong captain] Joel Selwood the other day, and they said that of his 14- or 15-year career, he’s not missed finals once. It would be pretty cool to be a player like that, to not so much will my team over the line but just be a constant finals contender.
“Last year was good for us and we were happy with our year, but we need to go again. It can’t just be a one-off”.
 



HEART OF STEELE

I feel like I use basically the same pun every time I write about the Saints but frankly it’s just too obvious not to use. Jack Steele is the heart and soul of his football side. For a player they got for a price far too low for a player of his quality from the Giants, Steele has become one of the starsof the competition over the last few seasons. Today he was typically bullocking. His efforts early in the first quarter, including two crunching tackles inside his side’s forward half inside the first ten minutes, really set the tone for his side in a win that put them, somehow, just half a game outside the top eight.

Steele’s efforts without ball in hand are perhaps his most notable, and most valuable to his side. In the first half, when the game was really on the line and Collingwood seemed to actually be trying, the Saints’ skipper laid 11 tackles. He finished the game with 14, in addition to a game high 36 touches. In a game that featured a number of genuine midfield stars, Steele shone brightest, with 14 contested touches, six inside 50s, eight clearances and seven score involvements. It’s not inaccurate to suggest the Saints would be rooted without their skipper, and they most likely would have lost without the best player on the ground leading from the front.

It was, perhaps, the score involvements from Steele that were most impressive. His hands out of the pack to set the ball into space for Membrey for the game’s opener contrasted heavily with the rest of the first quarter, when the Saints managed to lock the ball inside forward 50 for little reward. After just one mark inside forward 50 in the first half, Steele put that hoodoo to bed, too, by hitting up Max King close to goal. Ratten’s side may well lack polish, although Brad Hill, as will be discussed later, was very solid in this one, but they could not be accused of lacking grit.


 
Just look how Jacks overall averages are up as Captain, with a bit of help from others in the centre.

Jack Steele Career
SeasonNumMTTeamKAvgHAvgDAvgMAvgHOAvgTAvgFFFAGAvgBSCRatAvg
2021915St Kilda20713.82101441727.8614.1001268.4242390.64581741116.1
2020919St Kilda20410.721311.241721.9713.7001025.42513110.6268171390.2
2019920St Kilda1959.824312.243821.9804001638.2223030.2624191996
2018921St Kilda2079.928613.649323.583430.11406.7212970.3244198394.4
2017920St Kilda1527.628914.544122.1653.3001587.9172260.3844185692.8
20161110GWS Giants818.1747.415515.5414.100414.16680.825071671.6
2015387GWS Giants304.3699.99914.1162.3111.6405.75310.12845164.4
Totals 112 10769.6138412.42460224173.7140.17706.9120126450.426
 

Saints' Man of Steele might be the best leader in the comp
Although his team has been the epitome of a rollercoaster ride in 2021, Jack Steele has been consistently magnificent, but the St Kilda skipper took things to a new level against Brisbane on Saturday night. With the game still in the balance at the final change, and the Saints' making a habit of fourth quarter fade-outs, Steele simply took over, racking up 15 disposals, five marks, four clearances and kicking two goals to slam the door shut on the Lions. There's not many better captains in the competition at the moment. - Michael Whiting
 
Must apologise for minimal write ups on this great man over the season, but I think each and everyone of you just know how good he is.
Would like to congratulate Jack on making the All Australian Squad for the second season running, well bloody done.




Steele named in 2021 Therabody All Australian Squad
Jack Steele is in the running to receive his second consecutive All-Australian blazer after being named in this year’s 40-person Therabody All Australian Squad.

P
51106500984_1bef1c13dc_o.jpg
-->

Jack Steele is in the running to receive his second consecutive All Australian blazer after being named in this year’s 40-person Therabody All Australian Squad.
The co-captain flourished in the follow-up to his sterling 2020 campaign, cementing himself as one of the competition’s premier midfielders through his prolific ball-winning skills and consistency amid a challenging season.
Steele averaged a career-best 29 disposals, 14 contested possessions, eight tackles and six clearances throughout Season 2021 – all of which were ranked as elite – and topped the club in all key statistical metrics.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top