St Kilda defender Brandon White capped off a strong first year at Linen House Centre by breaking through for a senior debut in the final game of the season, after an impressive season at Sandringham.

The 19-year-old landed at the Saints last November as a lightly framed half-back renowned for his penetrating left-foot, joining fellow Victorian’s Jade Gresham and Bailey Rice as part of the club's draft class.

White found his feet in the pre-season and gradually worked his way into some form in the VFL before beating down the selection door in the second half of the year. Zebras Coach Paul Hudson named White in his best players in seven of 13 games, including four of the last five games he played in.

By Round 23, Alan Richardson and the match committee had no alternative but to play the Dandenong Stingrays product, who had impressed with his strong development in year one.

Within the opening minute of his debut against Brisbane, White had already got his hands on the footy and pumped it long down the line in what could be a sample of things to come in the future.

He finished with 13 possessions, three rebound 50s and a goal, with all but one of his touches hitting the target to underline his polished use.

Alan Richardson’s Views:

“‘Whitey’ was a skinny little kid when he walked in the door and I reckon I could have beaten him around the running track when he first started; he was a fair way off the pace. But he really applied himself, he’s a tough kid and that’s pretty important when you’re trying to win the respect of your teammates – he did that. He had some really dominant performances at VFL level and we were trying to get him into the side much earlier, to be frank, the players in his position were performing strongly so he just didn’t get an opportunity. We liked what we saw at VFL level, he ended up being a really strong performer at that level; he was one of the better players every week.

“Then we liked what we saw in Round 23 against Brisbane; he was able to push forward and kick a goal, he’s a really good ball user, but really importantly for all the Saints fans out there, they are going to love watching him because of how tough he is; he likes hitting bodies and he likes helping his teammates; for a young guy he was able to pick up how we defend as a team really quickly, to come forward and look to support – he did that really well.

“I’m really excited about where ‘Whitey’ is heading. We think he’s going to be able to play at half-back and on the wing and we’re going to continue to foster his ability play midfield and down back. He needs to improve his endurance, but that will come. He’s got really good speed and power, so at this stage, he is more suited to defence, but as he grows and becomes a better endurance athlete then we’ve got no doubt that he’ll be able to rotate through half-back and the wing and that gives our team more flexibility."

The Numbers:

AFL

One game
13.0 disposals
92.3 per cent efficiency
3.0 rebound 50s

VFL

13 games
14.5 disposals
3.5 marks
2.9 tackles

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