Running machine Darcy Wilson has taken out St Kilda’s pre-season time-trial for the second time in as many seasons, crossing the line of the three-kilometre run well clear of the next best Saint.
The 19-year-old finished comfortably ahead of podium finishers Bradley Hill and Hugo Garcia who battled it out to the end, with Mattaes Phillipou and Jack Steele completing the testing pre-season staple shortly after.
It’s a healthy endorsement for the club’s running game going to another level in 2025 with the club’s top-five runners all part of the midfield group.
Twenty-nine Saints took part in this morning’s run at G.R. Bricker Reserve in drizzly conditions, however it did little to deter the leading Wilson.
Wilson held a near-50-metre lead for majority of the run, which only grew as he put the foot down in the final lap to be totally unchallenged along the final straight.
Hill and Garcia — side-by-side for the entirety of the run — were only separated in the last few yards in a sprint to the finish line of which the former came out on top, with Phillipou and Steele tailing only a few metres behind.
Callum Wilkie pipped Rowan Marshall on the final lap of a separate two-kilometre run, with untried defender/forward Isaac Keeler rounding out the podium of that group.
Draftees Tobie Travaglia, Alix Tauru, James Barrat, Alex Dodson and Patrick Said did not take part in this morning’s time-trial, with Max King (knee), Marcus Windhager (hamstring) and Liam Stocker (groin) among the players to sit out as they complete their respective recoveries.
