Retired Jake Carlisle

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ST KILDA defender Jake Carlisle says he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders as he prepares to return to full training next month and put a season-long suspension behind him.

Carlisle, whose first year with the Saints was wiped out because of his involvement in the Essendon supplements scandal, is back at Seaford with the club's first-to-fourth-year players.

He is being eased into the pre-season, however, after struggling with long-term knee problems and a hip injury during his 2016 hiatus.

"I'm on track to get back mid-December. I'm a lot stronger and everything has got better, so I can't wait to get back out there with the boys," Carlisle said on Wednesday.

"It's progressed really well.

"I've managed to fix up some weaknesses in my game and I've done a lot of leg and glute stuff with the fitness guys to get that nice and strong for the pre-season.

"I'll get back out there in about a month."

Carlisle didn't join his teammates on the track on Wednesday and was restricted to an anti-gravity treadmill as he waits for the green light to start a full running program.

Young teammate Hugh Goddard, whose 2016 season was ended by an Achilles injury, was also restricted to jogging laps as he prepares to complete a 38km duathlon for charity on Sunday.

Carlisle said he had taken opportunities to catch up with Goddard during 2016 as he prepares to form a long on-field partnership with the young defender.

"We had a couple of coffees and I'm looking forward to playing with Hughey,"Carlisle said.

"We've got a good pre-season ahead of us. We're both on the sidelines now, but encouraging each other to get better and better every day.

"I think 'Browny' (ex-Collingwood defender Nathan Brown) coming in as well is going to be very handy for the club."

Carlisle used his season-long suspension to gain experience working in the construction industry and said the break had reaffirmed his love for the game.

He described the season as "tough at times" but said he enjoyed the change of pace.

"I think mentally it opened up different aspects of life and I feel like I cherish footy a lot more … it was a good experience for me," he said.

"Here we are getting back into it and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

"I'm at a new club now with the Saints and it's very exciting … I think I've got a bit to offer the footy club and I owe them a lot with everything that's happened."

While keen to move on from the Essendon supplements saga, Carlisle threw his support behind his former captain Jobe Watson, who handed back his 2012 Brownlow Medal last week.

"It was tough, 'Jobey' is an excellent man and I sent him a text just to let him know I'm thinking of him," Carlisle said.

"What's done is done and there's not much we can do. I do feel sorry for him, but at the same time I'm excited for him to get out there next year and hopefully have a really good year."
 

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The Jack Pack said:
He's looking fantastic this pre-season, isn't he? Can't wait to see the giant man down back.
Click to expand...
He's certainly a favorite for the photographers! By all accounts he is feeling good and working hard. He seems to be on a modified pre-season and I think that may be about managing the hip. But to answer your question he is looking very good indeed. And I think the players are as excited about having him running around as we supporters are! Sean Dempster sure would be.
 

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Jake Carlisle more mature and primed for big return AFL season with St Kilda, says Leigh Montagna
January 12, 201712:48pm

ST KILDA veteran Leigh Montagna believes key defender Jake Carlisle is a changed man and primed to reassert his influence on the AFL in his highly-anticipated return season.

Carlisle is set to make his long-awaited Saints debut after being sidelined for the entire 2016 season.

Following his trade from Essendon to St Kilda in October 2015, Carlisle was one of 34 past and present Bombers players hit with one-year doping bans for their involvement in the 2012 injection program. The bans came three months after Carlisle had also received a first strike under the AFL’s illicit drugs code.

Carlisle received a two-match ban as a result of his strike, but was then permitted to serve it concurrently with his CAS-imposed suspension, meaning he’s available for selection in Round 1.

Montagna said Carlisle had grown up significantly during his year away from the Saints, in which he addressed knee and hip niggles, as well as took up part-time work with a construction company and got to know his new teammates outside of the footy club environment.

“I think I’ve noticed a bit of maturity in him over the last 12 months from when he came to pre-season a year ago,” Montagna told SEN.

“He’s really fitted in with the group really well this time round. He’s training well, he’s a hard worker and he’s just a big unit.”

Carlisle, who has been on a modified training program throughout most of the pre-season, will add much-needed size and versatility to a backline that will be without Sam Fisher for the first time in 13 years.

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Jake Carlisle was happy to show off what he’s made of at a recent St Kilda training session. Picture: Wayne LudbeySource:News Corp Australia

Montagna, who is set to play off half-back again this season, said Carlisle was well-prepared to push into the competition’s top echelon of key defenders.

“I’ve done some work with him in the back-half and he’s certainly going to be a great asset to us the way he goes about his footy,” Montagna said.

“He knows what he’s doing and he’s got his body in good shape, which is really important.”

The Saints have still yet to appoint a captain for the 2017 season following champion forward Nick Riewoldt’s decision to relinquish the role after 11 seasons.

Montagna revealed that he and the rest of his St Kilda teammates would submit their votes for the club’s leadership group in “the next week or two”, with a captain to then emerge from that team.

The veteran added that unheralded defender Jarryn Geary was “probably the front-runner at this stage” as he is highly regarded internally.

“We’ve got a lot of these younger guys who are ready to take the step … Jack Steven has come along in leaps and bounds and Mav Weller is a terrific leader and David Armitage,” Montagna said.

“We have a few options, but ‘Gears’ is probably the front-runner.

“Gears is really highly rated amongst the football club. (He’s) probably not as well known outside the footy club, but certainly internally we rate him really highly.”

Montagna said he was “fit and healthy” heading into his 16th season on St Kilda’s list, but added that recruit Jack Steele, who underwent foot surgery just before he was traded from the Giants, was progressing slowly.

“He did some drills with us (on Wednesday) and he’ll gradually build up over the next few weeks. But he’s a great kid, I really like him. He’s a hard worker,” Montagna said.

“Hopefully he can slot into the midfield and a bit more grunt.”

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/st...a/news-story/45f11ccbfcf930331962ea78bb28c833
 
http://www.saints.com.au/news/2017-01-20/carlisle-back-to-full-fitness

Carlisle back to full fitness

St Kilda key defender Jake Carlisle has returned to full training for the first time since his return to the club, after the former Bomber completed his rehabilitation from the hip surgery he underwent in the middle of last year.

The 25-year-old has gradually been integrated back into the main group this summer, before taking a significant step forward this week.

With off-season acquisition, Nathan Brown, making an impact in his first pre-season at Linen House Centre, a fully fit Carlisle is a significant puzzle piece in the Saints’ new-look backline.

St Kilda GM of Football Performance, Jamie Cox, said the highly rated key position star has already shown how valuable he will be for the Saints going forward.

“He’s now in full training and really showing us what we’ve missed in the past, which is another big body to help look after some of those big monsters up forward,” Cox told Melbourne radio station SEN.

“He’s obviously a really talented footballer, irrespective of his size, we know he’ll be a really good player for us. Jake’s been recruited for a purpose that we’re really excited about.”

Before the arrival of Brown and the return of Carlisle, the Saints have previously asked Sam Fisher and Sean Dempster to play above their weight class, even sometimes requiring Sam Gilbert and Dylan Roberton to play on key forwards.

With the pairs impending inclusion this season, Cox said the club was thrilled to be able to release players like Dempster and Roberton to more suitable match-ups and roles, which should help the Saints become better defensively and better at transitioning the ball from defence to offence.

“He fills a post that we desperately needed, we needed to be able to release some of our terrific soldiers in Dempster and Roberton and guys who have had to play above their weight division if you like,” Cox said.

“It’s probably just as exciting as getting Browny to take care of those bigger bodied full forwards to free up smaller bodies so that they can go back to playing roles that they’re better suited to.

“Both Jake and Nathan are training stronger and we’re excited for both of them.”

By Josh Gabelich
 
Just like to post a couple of observations re Jake following yesterday's intraclub.
Like everyone I'm keenly interested in his performance this year and hoping that he'll prove a valuable contributor.
For what it's worth, I was not so much interested in his football yesterday rather more interested in getting to know him.
Recognising he only played the first half:

1. Before the start of play in the first both he and N Brown were jogging to their starting positions - full back and back pocket respectively. Brown was back pedalling and facing the centre, Carlisle was behind him facing Brown and the goal. They're talking when Carlisle essentially grabs Brown's shoulders with both hands, squeezes them, almost gives him a bear hug and then taps his head. To then jog off to man his opponent. Both are smiling. From the beachside HFF, this is my translation: "Mate, fantastic. Back to playing footy. Been looking forward to this. Brilliant!!". From this I get the feeling that as both are newcomers, both experienced, and both playing linked roles, there is already a degree of trust and camaraderie between them. That is a huge positive

2. Carlisle's opponent is Rowan Marshall. The new rookie ruckman from last year. Remember we queried why we would rookie another ruckman when we already have four? Remember the answer being that Bain etc saw different attributes to his game than ruck work? Well, it soon becomes clear what those attributes are: he will most likely be playing as one of three forwards. Not only is he mobile, he is a natural. AND, if possible, is a bigger unit than Carlisle. A perfect matchup to test Carlisle (and by the way, a quite exciting acquisition). So from a purely football perspective, this was no gimme for Carlisle.

3. Carlisle shirt fronts Holmes. To be honest: it was a soft shirtfront otherwise he would have killed him. A right shoulder from the front as both attacked the ball from opposite directions. Hard enough to hear the thwack. But clearly with intent. Both are knocked to the ground, both get up and jog toward the goal together. Carlisle taps Holmes on the palm of his right hand, Holmes returns the compliment. (And my admiration for Holmes and how much he has learned rocketed. Holmes kicked his goal shortly afterward).

4. Following on from that I watched Carlisle's behaviour, leadership and body language. Here was a man revelling in his first passion. Here was a man clearly enjoying himself. Here was a man who seemed to be constantly talking, encouraging teammates and smiling.

Don't ask me about his footy skills: I wasn't looking at them and nothing jarred so they must have been okay. And I guess they're not that important at this stage anyway.

But that other stuff........

I think this recruit may just have a point to prove.
 
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Well we finally got to see big Jake run around in his first official hit out for the Saints. Not a bad showing 7 kicks, 4 Handballs 3 tackles and 6 marks from 66% time on ground. I thought Jake showed that his inclusion changes the dynamic of the team and really gives players like Roberton some real freedom to rebound. Like everybody else, Jake was rusty, and fell of tackles and missed some marks. But he seems to be running freely and completely unaffected by his hip. He showed great agility in a number of contests and was seen to be corralling Sam Gray on a number of occasions which suggests that the smalls won't be able to run around him so easily.
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Jake must have been wondering how he wasn't awarded this mark!

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488599.jpg


Well we finally got to see big Jake run around in his first official hit out for the Saints. Not a bad showing 7 kicks, 4 Handballs 3 tackles and 6 marks from 66% time on ground. I thought Jake showed that his inclusion changes the dynamic of the team and really gives players like Roberton some real freedom to rebound. Like everybody else, Jake was rusty, and fell of tackles and missed some marks. But he seems to be running freely and completely unaffected by his hip. He showed great agility in a number of contests and was seen to be corralling Sam Gray on a number of occasions which suggests that the smalls won't be able to run around him so easily.
488608.jpg


Jake must have been wondering how he wasn't awarded this mark!

488633.jpg

488612.jpg
 
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