A typically humble Jack Steven was pleased to atone following a down performance against Gold Coast last weekend, after the reigning Trevor Barker Award winner produced one of the finest performances of his decorated career on Sunday.
Steven, 26, continued his breathtaking season against Essendon, amassing a whopping 41 possessions (22 contested), 12 clearances, 12 tackles, nine inside 50s and 714 metres gained, to firm as a Brownlow medal contender according to the bookmakers.
“Obviously last week I was pretty disappointed, I had a pretty poor performance. So it was good just to contribute again,” Steven told saints.com.au following St Kilda’s 11-point win on Sunday night.
“I just thought my run was off (against Gold Coast), my aggression was off, I thought they bullied me a little bit so I had to stand up and I think I did that.”
While still nowhere near the level produced a fortnight ago against Geelong at the same venue, Steven said the Saints ability to find a way to win was indicative of the clubs progress this season.
“In previous years we probably would have rolled over there. We didn’t play our best footy but glad that we won in the end,” Steven said.
“It was definitely important (to get the in after the loss against Gold Coast), but it was just more about how we went about it. So we’ve probably still got a bit of work to do there.”
After 16 rounds, Steven is averaging 28.3 possessions (ranked No. 11 in the AFL), 12.3 contested possessions, 6.1 clearances (No. 10), 6.3 tackles and 5.9 inside 50s (No. 2) per game.
He's elite #SainterOfTheDay #AFLDonsSaints pic.twitter.com/ltCvGQ0f4K
— St Kilda FC (@stkildafc) July 10, 2016