St Kilda captain Jack Steele reveals early frustrations with coach Ross Lyon

Jack Steele and Ross Lyon managed to lead St Kilda to a finals series in 2023, but the Saints captain reveals it took a while for his coach to win him over.

Jack Steele. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Jack Steele has revealed his initial frustration at Ross Lyon for the St Kilda coach’s unwillingness to credit the Saints skipper’s achievements at the club before Lyon’s return to the role.

But the dual All-Australian and two-time best and fairest says he is now thankful for Lyon’s tough love in which Steele effectively had to prove his worth as a player all over again.

The midfielder is entering his third season as standalone captain of the Saints after sharing the role with Jarryn Geary in 2021.

Steele said he had wondered whether Lyon would want him to continue in the role once he arrived however was now confident the veteran coach had backed him in.

It had been a confronting start to their working relationship, with Lyon pushing Steele to lift his game by stripping weight as St Kilda shifted towards a high-octane running style of play following the exit of Brett Ratten.

The challenge was amplified when Steele hurt his shoulder during an early-season win against the Western Bulldogs, setting the tone for what would be a year of indifferent form for the captain.

Steele took a while to be won over by Ross Lyon. Picture: Getty Images

“He set the bar pretty high when it came to the standards that needed to be set and he came to the top with his leaders and it pushed me along,” Steele told this masthead of his relationship with Lyon.

“At times it was pretty hard to swallow. I probably wasn’t where I wanted to be in terms of my body and my performance a lot of the time throughout the year so yeah, he never really sort of wavered with that message that he first came in with. So yeah, he just pushed me along and it’s probably the best thing for me to be honest. So really grateful of the way he’s come in and not played favourites. I suppose treat everyone as equals, it really challenged me so I feel like I’m a better captain and a better player and person because of it.”

Steele said there had been moments when he’d felt Lyon had not appreciated the onballer’s circumstances or what he had brought to the table in earlier years at Moorabbin.

“Maybe him just not completely understanding my situation at times. That’s what frustrated me, but at the same time he was just being honest with what he saw and what he believed in and what he was trying to do at the club,” Steele said.

The Saints had a strong first season under Lyon. Picture: Michael Klein

“So I respect that and at the end of the day so I think he’s been a great change for our club and someone that I’m looking forward to working with in the years to come.

“I suppose knowing the body of work I’ve done in the in the years before, I suppose yeah. I thought I was a fairly established player at the club, and he didn’t really care or see it as that which was probably a good thing.”

Yet Steele feels he eventually won Lyon’s respect and trust outright, rather than relying on past deeds or reputation. It has provided the Canberra product with greater satisfaction.

“(It) gives me confidence in the fact that I’ve had to you know, pretty much earn it again, and earn his respect and and I suppose the respect of the players,” Steele said.

“When he first got there, I wasn’t sure whether he would want to start fresh with a new captain, whether he really saw me as being the captain. But then over the last couple of weeks when I suppose the captaincy was decided. He told me pretty early that he didn’t expect there to be much change, which gave me a lot of confidence to go about my business and focus on my role. So yeah, so it’s good to know that now he really backs me and supports me.”

Originally published as St Kilda captain Jack Steele reveals early frustrations with coach Ross Lyon