AFL 2020: Brett Ratten backs stars to fire as defender leaves the hub
ST KILDA coach Brett Ratten says a monster game from is just around the corner for under fire midfielders Bradley Hill and Seb Ross as the club sent Nathan Brown back to Melbourne with their full support.
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ST KILDA coach Brett Ratten says a monster game from is just around the corner for under fire midfielders Bradley Hill and Seb Ross.
Hill, who arrived at the Saints on a big money deal from Fremantle at the end of last season, has showed glimpses this yeaR. But his last three games have been well below par.
The triple premiership Hawthorn wingman has averaged just 15 disposals per match in 2020, 10 fewer than last year and his lowest tally since his debut season in 2012.
Over summer many tipped the 27-year-old to be one of the recruits of the year, but ahead of Saturday‘s clash with ladder leaders Port in Adelaide, Ratten urged critics to steer away from judging his men purely on numbers.
“It‘s interesting, everybody looks at the stats and (uses them to analyse) how everybody’s going,” Ratten said ahead of Saturday’s clash with ladder leaders Port Adelaide.
“I feel that ‘Hilly’ is about the break a game open, he’s not far off it.
“His running numbers were really good last week, and he was a bit stiff not to get the ball when he was in a really good position.
“I think he‘s about to turn the corner.”
Ross (17 possessions per game in 2020) has also struggled to produce the kind of footy that saw him average 26+ disposals in each of his past four seasons, but Ratten believes he‘s also been unfairly targeted.
“I think Seb has done some really important roles for us this year and people haven‘t actually acknowledged that,” he said.
“Internally, we know that he‘s done some really good jobs that people haven’t noticed.
“People can say he should be having 25 or 30 possessions, but if he gets 12 or 13 and does what he has to do for the team we‘re really happy about that.
“He had a downer against Fremantle (in round six) but some of the criticism has been a bit harsh.”
Ratten confirmed the club had no issues with veteran defender Nathan Brown who departed the club's hub in Noosa and returned to Melbourne to be with his wife and daughters on Thursday.
Ratten said Brown's decision didn't come as a shock and he has the full support of everyone at St Kilda.
"We've said to all our players if they want to go home, footy is a big part of their life, but it's not their life, families are," he said.
"He wanted to be around his girls, he's a star and such a good person and that was his desire.
"We said 'no worries mate, if you need to do that for yourself that’s fine', so he's headed home.
"He'll be on the (text) messages and we'll get him on Zoom, he'll still play a big part in the year."
Originally published as AFL 2020: Brett Ratten backs stars to fire as defender leaves the hub