‘Ross-isms’: Saints captain says Lyon ‘needed to change’

Saints skipper Jack Steele has revealed what Ross Lyon is really like behind the scenes after all the stories that have surrounded the coach.

St Kilda co-captain Jack Steele (left) and senior coach Ross Lyon.

Ross Lyon’s return to Moorabbin has been an unmitigated success, with the Saints becoming the surprise packet of 2023.

The Saints won their first four games of the season and have emerged as one of the most dangerous sides in the competition, but it hasn’t come without changes.

Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Saints captain and Kayo ambassador, Jack Steele, says Lyon recognised he “probably had to change in today’s game”, with the former Fremantle coach infamous for the tough love treatment he gave his charges over the years.

“We’ve all heard stories of Ross from his younger days and what he was like to play under and some of the sprays he gave,” said Steele.

“But he’s been very, very measured as a coach which is good.

“I think he understands that he needed to probably change in today’s game, in today’s world, but I suppose he’s been strict but fair.

“He definitely hasn’t been the cuddly Ross that everyone’s talking about, he definitely challenges his leaders and his players quite a bit behind closed doors, which is a good thing.

“It keeps us accountable and I suppose it is the reason why we’re playing the way we are this year – it’s why we’re six and three.

“He’s been demanding quite a lot of us as players, and getting us to put in effort each week in every contest we do, and he’s getting results, so we’re starting to see the reward for it as well, so he’s been good.

“He’s quite a smart coach.”

Lyon had a prickly reputation as a coach before this year. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Asked about some of Lyon’s quirks, Steele said he often had phrases that “most people wouldn’t say”, dubbed “Ross-isms” by the playing group.

“I was talking the other day with (development coach) Brendon Goddard, he sort of sits up the back in the meetings, and every time that Ross says something that’s like a little bit funny or a little bit different, I sort of just peer over the back and have a look at BJ and he sort of just giggles to himself,” he said.

“We call them Ross-isms – things that most people wouldn’t say. It makes sense, but most people probably wouldn’t think to say it.”

Despite Lyon’s new-found cuddly reputation, the spectre of his past still haunts the players, and Steele says no one tries to draw the coach’s ire.

“That’s the hardest thing, he might say something funny and you’ll have your giggle in the meeting, but you’ve got to make sure you get rid of the smile and the giggle pretty quickly because you don’t know when it can turn on you.”

Asked about his knee, having injured it during the loss to Adelaide and sitting out the remainder of the game, Steele says he is “day-by-day”.

“The knee’s feeling okay. It’s definitely not feeling great, but yeah a small, little strain in the MCL (medial collateral ligament), so just got to take it day-by-day. I’ve been icing up plenty and we’ll test it out tomorrow at the club, just have a little jog around on it and see how it feels and probably go from there,” he said.

Jack Steele (right) has led the Saints alongside Lyon to a 6-3 record so far this season. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Steele said it remained to be seen whether he would miss the Saints’ next fixture against the Giants, which alongside Round 11 against Hawthorn, are exclusive to Fox Footy and available on Kayo Sports.

“It’s still probably up in the air, so touch-and-go at this point,” he said.

“I’ll have a little run around tomorrow and if it feels all right, I’ll (join the) main train on Friday. If I get through that, then I’ll put my hand up for selection. If there’s no pain and I’m not restricted, I should be okay, but it’s hard to say at this point.

“I’ve never really had an injury like this, so I don’t really know what to expect, but the doctors and physios have spoken me through it and just said (that) you can’t really think too far ahead with it, you’ve just got to see how it pulls up each morning when you wake up and ice the hell out of it.

“That’s what I’ve been doing.”

On the Saints’ losses to contenders Adelaide and Collingwood, both of whom relied on fast ball movement to slice through the Saints’ elite defensive zone, Steele was philosophical about what St Kilda needed to change.

“Adelaide really tested us out, that’s for sure, they came to play,” he said.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised, because I knew they were a really good team, but they were bloody hard to play against.

“The way they moved their ball, they were quick, but they were also pretty measured, and we found it hard to defend. We were probably a little bit off defensively.

“I think around the ground, we won our fair share of clearance and whatnot, but they were always the ones to be first over there, outnumber us at the source, so they were able to really generate their offence through that.

“We just couldn’t really defend it. I think our effort was there, I think that’s one thing that’s been great for us this year is everyone sort of being able to crack in and walk off the field saying that they’ve given everything they’ve had.

“I think we definitely tried our hardest, but just didn’t quite get it done on the day and missed out on our opportunities as well.

“There’s definitely things we did right, but there’s also a lot to improve on.”

Steele has starred for the Saints this season, averaging 24 disposals a game. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Pressed on how the Saints would change their defensive plans moving forward against teams that move the ball quickly, Steele identified on-ball pressure as a concern.

“Pressure on the ball wasn’t there to start with, it might have been there, but it probably wasn’t as hard and as in their faces as what it needed to be, so they were able to have time to look at the game and really pick their options.

“I think we were just a little bit slow defensively and probably weren’t aggressive enough.”

Turning the conversation off-field to his sport watching habits, the Canberran native described himself as a “straight shooter”, and said he enjoyed watching the Raiders on Kayo Sports along with golf, but there was one sport he’s a new-found fan of that would surprise fans.

“I have once, when there was completely nothing on, and the only reason I tuned into it was because I saw it was in Canberra at my local oval, was the frisbee, the frisbee World Cup or something,” he said.

“It was bizarre.

“Maybe it wasn’t the World Cup, maybe it was qualification, I don’t know, but it was quite interesting to watch.

“Just two teams throwing a frisbee around – it actually looked really fun to play, I wish I had a chance to play that as a kid.

“But it was bizarre, just clicking onto there and watching – that’s probably the weirdest thing I’ve sat back and watched on.”