St Kilda’s crop of draftees from 2011 already appears one of the clubs best in the past 15 years, with a Trevor Barker Award winner, a senior leader and a hard-nosed half-back amongst the bunch picked six years ago.
In a year where the inclusion of Greater Western Sydney dramatically affected the draft, with the games newest franchise holding 11 of the first 14 picks, including the first five picks, the Saints have unearthed a bona fide star of the competition in this year's best and fairest winner Seb Ross.
After playing every game in 2016 to emerge as one of the most improved players at Linen House Centre, Ross leapt to new heights in 2017.
The North Ballarat Rebels product earned a spot in the All-Australian squad following a stunning year where he not only won his first Trevor Barker
12 selections below Ross - at the same pick the Saints used on champion midfielder Leigh Montagna a decade earlier - was a gut running midfielder from the Northern Knights called Jack Newnes, who has quickly become one of the best leaders at the club.
After playing seven games in his debut season, Newnes has played all but four games since then in a remarkable run that includes the last 88 games straight – the 6th longest current streak. The 24-year-old has raced to 113 appearances - the seventh most of any player from the class of 2011.
At pick No. 42, St Kilda selected a hard-nosed rebounding defender in Jimmy Webster from Glenorchy in the south of Tasmania.
Webster has established himself as a permanent fixture in St Kilda’s back six across the past few seasons, with his precise left-foot and fearless attack on the ball making him one of the first picked every week.
While Daniel Markworth (No. 35) and Jay Lever (No. 60) didn’t pan out, the Saints revived the career of former West Coast rookie Beau Maister (No. 68) after he starred for Claremont in the WAFL in 2011, transforming from a defender to a forward midway through the year.
St Kilda squeezed 21 games out of Maister over a couple of seasons before he retired from the game.
St Kilda’s picks in the 2011 AFL Draft:
25. Seb Ross (North Ballarat Rebels) - 81 games
35. Daniel Markworth (Calder Cannons) - 0 games
37. Jack Newnes (Northern Knights) - 113 games
42. Jimmy Webster (Glenorchy) - 68 games
60. Jay Lever (Geelong Falcons) - 0 games
68. Beau Maister (Claremont) - 21 games
76. Jason Blake (St Kilda redrafted) - 20 games