Injuries interrupted his final season at the Western Bulldogs and illness halted his first pre-season at St Kilda, but now Koby Stevens is in Alan Richardson’s 22 and off to a flying start.
Stevens, 25, was one of the Saints’ best against Hawthorn at University of Tasmania Stadium, finishing with 28 possessions (12 contested), six clearances (four centre clearances), 36.1 pressure points and two goals.
The former Western Bulldogs and West Coast midfielder admits it was frustrating to suffer a bout of food poisoning on the eve of the season, especially after an injury riddled 2016, but now he is determined to stay on the park in his first season at St Kilda.
“Obviously the first four or five weeks were pretty frustrating, so to get back out there with the boys was so good,” Stevens told saints.com.au after St Kilda’s 75-point win on Saturday.
“It was frustrating; I got through a full pre-season and then spent a week in hospital and lost about eight kilos. It took me a few weeks to get up and going, finally I feel like I’m running really well now.
“The plan (going forward) is just to keep my body healthy, do everything I can to do that, stay out on the park and hopefully just help the boys make a run to finals this year.”
A week after St Kilda was dismantled around the ball by Geelong, the Saints responded in emphatic fashion down south, easily winning the contested ball count + 32, on top of tackles (+ 17) and inside 50s (+ 12).
Stevens said the midfield had focused heavily on their contest work in the lead up to Saturday’s clash with Hawthorn, who hadn’t lost at the ground in 19 games.
“We had a big emphasis on the contest this week and at training we did a lot of that. To come out and absolutely dominate in there was really good,” he said.
Six months into his time at Linen House Centre, Stevens said three-time Trevor Barker Award winner Jack Steven hadn’t surprised him with his work on the weekends, but had with his form during the week.
“Jack Steven is one that I’ve always played against and I knew he was a good player and really hard to play against, but the way he trains is top level and elite. Just to see the way he plays as well, he’s a bit of a freak,” he said.
