Just like other St Kilda tackling machines, Lenny Hayes and David Armitage, Jack Steele was born and bred in a place where rugby is woven into the fabric of the city and where tackles are worth their weight in gold.
In his first game back in the senior team after being dropped a fortnight ago, the Canberra product demonstrated how desperate he is to stay in St Kilda’s engine room.
Steele, 21, equalled Armitage’s club record of 17 tackles in St Kilda’s nine-point win over Fremantle at Domain Stadium.
The former Greater Western Sydney midfielder also registered a whopping 100.5 pressure points – 14.8 more than any other player in Round 15 and 30 more than any other player on the ground.
“Well he comes from a rugby state – he’s a Canberra boy and his tackles are real tackles. Lenny Hayes, (who was) a New South Wales boy, was very similar,” Richardson said in his post-game press conference on Sunday night.
“When he tackles they stay in the tackle, very rarely do they get rid of the footy.
“He’s an aggressive kid, he’s a really good size and we needed a bit of that today given [David] Mundy and [Nat] Fyfe were going through the (Fremantle) midfield. It was a good strong performance.
“He probably had more tackles than possessions; I haven’t looked at the numbers, but that doesn’t happen often when you have those sort of numbers.”
Richardson also praised St Kilda’s other off-season midfield acquisition Koby Stevens, after the 25-year-old bull made an impact at his former home.
Stevens collected 28 disposals - the fourth time he has had that number this season - seven tackles and five clearances, and then limited the influence of Michael Walters late in the game, after the Fremantle gun had torn the game apart.
“A little bit like Steele, he is a real aggressive player; he throws everything he can at the ball and at the man,” Richardson said.
“He had Walters in the midfield in the last quarter and did a really good job – he was quite impressive in there.
“Koby is a ball winner and we need that from him. He would have got a few clearances and certainly first possession for us in the last quarter.
“He’s a big body aggressive player that’s been an acquisition in that group, particularly in the absence of Dave Armitage.”
St Kilda all-time tackles record
1. Jack Steele v Fremantle – Round 15, 2017 (17 tackles)
David Armitage v Fremantle – Round 10, 2016 (17 tackles)
3. Luke Ball v Geelong – Round 18, 2004 (15 tackles)
Koby Stevens v Gold Coast – Round 14, 2017 (15 tackles)
5. Lenny Hayes v Geelong – Round 13, 2010 (14 tackles)
Lenny Hayes v Collingwood – 2010 Grand Final Replay (14 tackles)
