St Kilda skipper Jarryn Geary inspired to correct last year’s ‘aberration’
St Kilda captain Jarryn geary calls last season’s campaign an “aberration” that has inspired him to continue captaining the Saints for a third season in a bid to make amends.
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St Kilda’s disappointing 2018 campaign was an “aberration” that motivated Jarryn Geary to not let go of the reins.
The Saints won just four games in a year that Geary described as “tough for everyone”, but one that inspired his determination to take action ahead of a season he is adamant will be a different story.
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“We are a better football club and a better team than what we dished up last year,” Geary said.
“For two years we were tracking in the right direction and last year was obviously very disappointing.
“Last year was tough … it was tough for everyone. It inspired me to want to do something about it.
“It was an ordinary year, and it wouldn’t have been a something I wanted to leave on and hand over to someone else and say ‘it’s your responsibility’.
“It’s something I want to do something about … it’s a bit of a challenge that I want to take on and do something about what we dished up last year.”
Geary, who will captain the Saints for a third season, said the team had “let our fans down”.
“We let each other down and we have got to do something about it,” he said.
“I am sure last year was an aberration, but in saying that we have got to do something about it.”
The team had improved “in all areas”, he said, and that “actions have got to speak louder than our words”.
Geary’s leadership group includes vice-captain Seb Ross and recruit Dan Hannebery, who admitted the nod from his new teammates had come as a surprise after his trade from Sydney at the end of last season.
“I was a bit surprised, to be honest initially,” Hannebery said.
“I thought I just wanted to come here and try and do my best to train hard and set a good example in that regard.
“But it was certainly something that I’m pretty humbled by and excited and looking forward to leading the group this year.”
Hannebery, 27, is confident that he will play in Round 1 but said he won’t be taking any shortcuts to get there after suffering “hamstring awareness” since Christmas.
He described the complaint as tightness and discomfort that would need time and conditioning to get right.
“I’ve done a pretty solid block of running now and I think I’ll just keep trying to build the k’s up rather than rushing it,” he said.
“Being this time of the year and a long year … in the past, at different stages I’ve probably rushed things and the club are taking the approach of being really cautious and making sure I get a certain amount of conditioning and leg weights and all that sort of stuff in.
“I think it’s the right call to do, especially with Round 1 still five or six weeks away.”
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