Delisted Sam Alabakis

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US College basketball giant Sam Alabakis has joined St Kilda as a Category B rookie.

At 211cm,
the 21-year-old will equal Fremantle stalwart Aaron Sandilands and Collingwood big-man Mason Cox
as the tallest player on an AFL list ever.

The Perth native has been playing and studying at the University of Louisiana Monroe
for the past three years but will now join the Saints in the pre-season.

http://www.saints.com.au/news/2018-10-18/sam-alabakis-is-with-st-kilda
 

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Sep 25, 2017
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5,361
AFL Club
St Kilda
Apologies for the lack of updates guys. Not much going on with Sam atm. Think he's injured. I spoke to him at the sponsors event in April and he said he was spending the entire year getting accustomed to playing the game and improving his basic skills. I'll try to catch a Frankston game when he's playing and give a proper update then.
 
Sam Alabakis
Age: 22
Height: 211cm
Weight: 105kg
Position: Ruckman

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He’s the tallest man on St Kilda’s list, and Sam Alabakis could reach even loftier heights through his untapped – and raw – potential.
The worldly Saint and former college basketballer traded in the round ball for an oval one last season, coming to Moorabbin after three years at the University of Louisiana Monroe.
Alabakis played just the five games for Frankston following injury, but used his height to his advantage in the ruck.
It’s a well-known footy cliché that ruckmen take a lot longer to develop, and while he's still got a lot to learn, the No. 45’s athleticism could fast-track that process.
 
Sam Alabakis
"Sal had a good battle coming up against two rucks Tristan Xerri and Tom Campbell. Tom’s a really good ruckman who’s been in the AFL system for a long time, so Sal would have learned a fair bit off him but he competed really well.

"He’s still learning, but he’s just going to get better from playing. At the moment he’s our No. 1 ruck so we’re going to give him as many minutes as we can to help him develop and build a connection with the mids and the rest of the team.
"Sal's massive, so the more we can use his side and his running ability as well the better he’ll be.

"He can run at high speed for long periods of time, it’s just the knowledge of where and when to run. It’s not the main priority of a ruck, but if you get the ruck craft down-pat then you can start to add that to your game."
 
Sam Alabakis
"Because Jake was ruck, Sal played a bit more forward and was our go-to key position player down the line.

"He was a bit inconsistent in getting to the right spots, but he’s only played footy for two years and (he’s normally in) a different role to playing forward.

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Sam Alabakis. Photo: AFL Photos.
"He’s got a great work ethic, so he’ll definitely want to keep working on those patterns. If we get some bigger players coming in, he’ll have to make sure he can play not just in the ruck. but up forward as well.

"The more minutes we can get into him, the better he’ll be. The big focus is obviously his ruckwork, but down the line and contested work will be pretty important to his development too."
 
 

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