Seb Ross has compared Jack Steele to some of the AFL’s great modern-day leaders after having a front-row seat to St Kilda’s captain willing his side to a come-from-behind victory over Richmond.
The Saints dramatically flipped the script to turn a 22-point half-time deficit into an ultimately match-winning eight-point three-quarter-time lead via a concerted effort to turn the open-corridor clash into a closed-circuit contested battle.
Steele was at the forefront of the resurgence,producing a gilt-edged captain’s quarter of clearance and contested ball-winning industriousness from the centre-square.
Ross believes his on-ball partner-in-crime and skipper is back in the form that earned him successive All-Australian jackets in 2020-21.
“He’s a similar sort of player to Joel Selwood,Trent Cotchin... a player who can really lift his side with the way he attacks the man and wins the ball at contest.
“He’s so tough,he’s had a huge summer and it’s great to see him healthy. With the footy he’s playing at the moment he’s getting back to his All-Australian form.
“For a few years it was like ‘If he doesn’t perform,are we going to win?’
“He lifted us today but if we can all do our bit and take the pressure off him,he’ll blossom even more.“
The seeds of Steele’s third-quarter virtuoso were sowed during a mid-week conversation with Ross.
“It’s funny I said to him during the week,the way Richmond like to play - they like to build the ball up,then take the long,quick contest - he should just plant himself at the fall of the ball because he’s such a good,clean player in that space.
“From there,he can feed it out to our runners like Riley Bonner,‘Naz’ (Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera),‘Hilly’ (Brad Hill). He was the one who got us going,Steeley. He turned the game for us - he was enormous.”
Ross and the Saints are also thankful to have a fit-and-firing Max King in their goalmouth.
King missed two set shots in the blustery conditions towards The Parade end in St Kilda’s vapid opening half before conjuring a miracle goal from the scoreboard pocket deep into the third stanza.
King’s incredible finish from an impossible angle gave the Saints their first lead of the afternoon,which they did not cede thereafter.
After enduring a wretched injury run,undergoing three shoulder operations inside 12 months,King’s return from suspension straightened St Kilda up and kept the Tigers backmen on their toes.
“Maxy is such an important player and key cog in what we do,” Ross said.
“He’s had a tumultuous few years with injury. To just have him out on the park,he’s only going to grow from here.”