St Kilda leaders out to ‘create legacy’ after enlightening Top End trip

IN the tropical, monsoonal climate of the Top End, St Kilda took the first step to ensuring it capitalises in 2018, with forward Josh Bruce confident this is the team that can break the team’s premiership drought.

Josh Bruce said he is “privileged” to hold a leadership position at St Kilda. Picture: Michael Klein

IN the tropical, monsoonal climate of the Top End, St Kilda’s leaders took the first step to ensure they capitalise in 2018.

It was 35 degrees and “90 per cent humidity”, forward Josh Bruce explains. Uncomfortable.

But club leaders spoke comfortably and “organically” on a recent trip to Tiwi Islands to lay out part of the road map for 2018.

“We knuckled down with a bit of the way it looks from here on out for the Saints with a relatively young list and getting us in the right direction to make the finals,” Bruce said.

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“It happened very organically. We had a few pretty casual chats and were going out for dinner and had some chats among the boys.

“We wanted to really take control of the direction of the club and the culture and that kind of thing and create a real legacy.

“It was something that happened pretty casually. Richo (coach Alan Richardson) had a few things that he’d been thinking about over the off-season to talk about a bit more formally.”

How it looks from here is incomplete — just how Bruce wants it.

St Kilda leadership group players at the Michael Long Academy during a recent trip to the Northern Territory. Picture: Instagram

When he and fellow club leaders in skipper Jarryn Geary, Seb Ross, Jack Newnes, Jack Steven, Dylan Roberton and David Armitage — plus Richardson, assistant coach Danny Sexton and club officials including board members — returned from the trip led by Tiwi traditional owner and young Saint Ben Long, the team launched into preseason training.

Getting the input of the rest of the outfit, including new additions from trade period and draft, will all be part of the formula.

“We didn’t drill down too much into what we want the finished product to look like, because we want a lot of buy-in from the young guys as well,” the forward said.

“We really want that to happen as a group so that everybody is responsible and accountable for what we come up with.

“Basically it was just working out what direction we want to head in with it and to capitalise on a young list, energetic list and try and make the most of that in a way that can help us win more games and be inspirational to each other.”

There was fishing, history and football, led by Long and his family members, too.

Then Tiwi, where Bruce was left stunned by the skills on show from the young local talent.

“I’ve never been up there before, and we escorted some of the kids from one of the islands to one of the other islands where they go to school for a week. It was awesome,” he said.

“We learned a lot about Tiwi culture, ran into (ex-Saint) Ross Tungatalum up there so caught up with him. We learned a lot about their culture and how they live.

St Kilda leadership group players Jack Newnes, Jarryn Geary, Dylan Roberton, Josh Bruce, Ben Long, Seb Ross and Maverick Weller at Tiwi College during a recent trip to the Tiwi Islands. Picture: Instagram

“They were unbelievable. Their skills were so good — including the girls. They were hitting us on the chest with both left and right foots, sending bullets down. We couldn’t believe it.

“They were barefoot in the red dirt — it was a classic.”

One of the Saints’ biggest shortfalls of 2017 was its goalkicking, with Ben Dixon now on board on a part-time basis to address the team’s accuracy.

Bruce kicked 36 goals this season and said the need to be more fruitful has already been addressed in the early weeks of this preseason.

“We’ve already put the plans in place to implement what we’ve spoken about,” he said.

“One of the major things for us is getting better shots on goal ... getting shots more central and easier shots to kick. It was one of those things that filtered through the group a little bit when it all came up and we’ve got to be better than that.

“We’ve got to be stronger than that as individuals and as a team. Say there is a run of bad goalkicking, that we can arrest it and other than that we’re just trying to get fitter, trying to get stronger and trying to get better.”

The Saints need to be smarter in front of goal, according to forward Josh Bruce. Picture: Michael Klein

It was a busy off-season for Bruce.

There was a trip to America, surfing in Byron Bay, a spring carnival ambassadorial role with JDRF Australia and a question to ask, with the 25-year-old now engaged to fiancee Pip Marques.

He has enjoyed adding leadership to his portfolio, and said this group of “young, energetic” Saints has what it takes to end the league’s second-longest premiership drought after the Western Bulldogs and Richmond tasted glory over the last two seasons.

“(Having a leadership role) is a privilege and a responsibility that I’m proud to be a part of,” Bruce said.

“I take great pride in the St Kilda footy club and I want to be a part of that next group that bring us to the finals and ultimately to our next flag.

“Absolutely (we have what it takes). I think so. Surely it’s our turn for a fairytale.”