Dan Hannebery and gun draftee Max King among reasons St Kilda should be excited for season 2019
St Kilda is coming off a horror season, winning just four games and finishing sixteenth but there’s still much to look forward to in 2019. From seeing what Dan Hannebery can bring to Max King to the return of two key players, there’s a lot to get excited about.
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St Kilda is coming off a horror season where it won just four games and finished sixteenth on the ladder but there’s still a lot to look forward to in 2019.
From the inclusion of Sydney Swans premiership play Dan Hannebery to getting the likes of Josh Bruce and Dylan Roberton back from injury and illness and the buzz around prized No.4 draft pick Max King, there’s a lot to get excited about.
In a new Herald Sun series to run across the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at reasons your club should be looking forward to the 2019 season.
First up, it’s the Saints.
GUN RECRUIT: SAINTS TO MONITOR HANNEBERY AFTER INJURY SCARE
TOP DRAFTEE: MAX KING TO WEAR FAMOUS NO.12
2019 SEASON: SEE WHO EVERY CLUB PLAYS TWICE
EIGHT REASONS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT ST KILDA
HANNEBERY FACTOR
There will be plenty of focus on how recruit Dan Hannebery performs on the field next season but the Saints already believe they have a winner. The Sydney premiership player has set the standard at pre-season training so far, his leadership and talk out on the track impressing his new teammates and coaches alike. There were fears that Hannebery was ‘bashed up’ and wasn’t getting any better but the man himself says he is in good shape and managing his body well after being restricted to 15 games by groin, calf and knee complaints last season. Hannebery, who turns 28 in February, averaged 30.9 disposals and kicked 13 goals during a career-best 2016 season and if he can return somewhere close to that level his new club will be over the moon.
FAVOURABLE FIXTURE
Alan Richardson and the Saints have been given a free-kick with the best fixture they could have hoped for in 2019. After having the fifth-hardest draw in the competition according to Champion Data last season, St Kilda has what has been judged as the easiest draw next season. The club’s double-up matches are against Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Gold Coast and Cartlon. The Demons were the only one of those five sides which played finals in 2018 while the Suns and Blues won just six games between them.
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NEW ASSISTANT: RATTEN’S VISION FOR ST KILDA
RATTEN FACTOR
Former Essendon captain and St Kilda coach Tim Watson believes the Saints’ biggest recruit of the off-season is an off-field one — new assistant coach Brett Ratten. The one-time Carlton coach has spent the past six seasons working under Alastair Clarkson at Hawthorn, which won three premierships during that time. Ratten has been quick to make an impression on the playing group and Watson believes the Saints will set up a little differently as a result of his arrival, which will also deliver the club invaluable intelligence about how Clarkson and the Hawks operate.
PADDY McCARTIN
The No.1 draft pick from 2014, key forward Paddy McCartin hasn’t had a good run at his football career to date largely due to a series of concussions. Entering his fifth season, the 22-year-old has just 35 AFL games under his belt, during which he has kicked 34 goals. However, there were some increasingly positive signs shown by McCartin at stages last season and the Saints clearly see him as part of the future as they refused to put him on the trade table. McCartin has since slimmed down and those in the know say the 194cm big man has been tearing up the track so far this pre-season, meaning a breakout 2019 could be on the cards if he can avoid further concussions.
BRUCE BACK
While he has his knockers, Josh Bruce is a more than handy key forward for the Saints when he’s at his best. The 26-year-old booted 50 goals from 22 games in 2015 before going on to record tallies of 38 and 36 goals respectively the following two seasons. He also took 100 or more marks in each of those three seasons ranking him among the top seven players at the club each year. However, the 26-year-old managed just three games in 2018, kicking four goals, before a back stress fracture and a broken leg ruined the rest of his campaign. The Saints will be hoping hot competition for spots brings out the best in Bruce again next season, with Tim Membrey, McCartin, Rowan Marshall and Max King also set to be vying for key forward spots in 2019.
HEART SCARE: ROBERTON OPENS UP ON SCARY COLLAPSE
ROBERTON RETURN
Vision of St Kilda defender Dylan Roberton collapsing behind play against Geelong in Round 4 was among the most shocking on-field incidents of 2018. The collapse was put down to an irregular heartbeat, with Roberton missing the rest of the season. It was a massive blow for the Saints, with the 27-year-old having finished second in the club’s best and fairest in 2017 after averaging 23.1 disposals and 6.2 marks a game. His return across the backline will be very much welcomed, especially given the off-season departures of experienced pair Maverick Weller and Sam Gilbert.
RISING STARS
Lowly finishes in recent years have delivered St Kilda some juicy draft picks and the club appears to have nailed quite a few of those first-rounders. Small forward Jade Gresham was one of the standouts last season, kicking 35 goals in just his third season as his star continues to rise. The Saints also got a few games into 2017 top-10 draft picks Hunter Clark and Nick Coffield last season, who played 15 and 10 games respectively. Coffield has bulked up over the off-season and improved his running as he eyes a more permanent midfield role, while Clark is also said to be well advanced on this time last year.
THE NEW NO.12
As if there wasn’t enough pressure on being picked at No.4 in the 2018 draft, Max King has now been handed St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt’s number 12 jumper to wear next year. Ahead of the draft, King was labelled one of the “most special tall forwards in years” and turned heads when he logged eight goals and nine marks for Sandringham Dragons in the opening round of the 2018 TAC Cup season. While still recovering from a ruptured ACL suffered in April, Saints fans should expect to see the 204cm giant later in the season.
WHAT CHAMPION DATA SAYS: The Saints have the equal fewest players under the age of 21, but have the most players between the age of 21-24. This group ranks seventh for quality, which should excite fans. It’s led by Jade Gresham, who is the club’s only elite player.
TAB ODDS
Premiership: $67
Top-8: $5
Most losses: $9
TRAJECTORY
2014: 18th (4-18)
2015: 14th (6-1-15)
2016: 9th (12-10)
2017: 11th (11-11)
2018: 16th (4-1-17)
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