ST KILDA coach Alan Richardson will expect Tom Curren, Maverick Weller and Clint Jones to all play various roles on Gold Coast superstar Gary Ablett this Sunday.

While the Suns skipper remains an incredibly dangerous midfielder, part of the reason he’s so hard to tag is because of his goal-kicking qualities, according to the first-year coach.

“They are really well lead. He’s a fair player, their skipper,” Richardson said in his Friday morning press conference.

“He presents a headache whether he is on the ball or forward – he’s a fantastic player… We have got a couple of options.”

PREVIEW: St Kilda vs Gold Coast

In round 22 last year, Jones did a good job on the dual Brownlow medallist, limiting to just seven kicks for the game. While he did finish with 21 handballs, Jones’ pressure nullified Ablett’s ability to find space.

Despite this performance, the left-footer is no certainty to get the role this Sunday.

“[Tom] Curren has done a pretty good job for us, Jonesy has done some reasonable work and Mav Weller has obviously played that role for us, predominantly at VFL level, but he’s a chance to get a crack at him as well,” Richardson said.

Weller on Ablett is an interesting prospect given the fact they were teammates and midfield partners for three seasons at the Suns.

Weller’s elevation to the senior list followed an excellent run of form for Sandringham in which the Tasmanian tagged the opposition’s best midfielder and never lowered his colours.

In his two AFL games since, Weller has collected 16 disposals against Hawthorn and six touches after coming on as the sub on Monday night.



For most of 2014, Curren has been Richardson’s number one go-to man in nullifying the opposition’s best ball-winner. Already the former rookie has claimed the scalps of Dyson Heppell, Bernie Vince, Patrick Dangerfield and Adam Treloar.

Fellow midfielder Jack Steven has been assessed this week and will play against the Suns, according to Richardson.

“After fairly heavy consultation with Jack and the medicos, he’s right to go,” he said.

“He hasn’t had the ideal preparation given that he missed six weeks with his injury. We’ve asked really meaningful roles of Jack and his conditioning has not been ideal but he’s building.”

Steven missed the first three weeks of the season with a foot injury, and is averaging 23.6 touches since his return.