St Kilda sensation Jack Steele has backed himself to successfully juggle the weight of expectation with the burden of captaincy as he attempts to back up a stellar 2020 AFL season.
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The Saints officially turned to AFL co-captaincy for the first time in 14 years by elevating Steele to the top job alongside incumbent Jarryn Geary, who will miss the opening rounds of his fifth season as skipper due to a broken leg.
Steele, 25, takes on the role after a standout 2020 season, where he was named All-Australian and won the Saints best and fairest in the club's return to finals football.
"I haven't really thought about that (the expectation) too much just yet but I'm pretty confident about it all - just with 'Gears' next to me," Steele said.
"I know he won't be around for the first part of the season, but he will sort of guide me through that as it comes, and the rest of the playing group and the leadership group and leadership team we have.
"So I'm sure it'll be a challenge but I'm looking forward to it."
Geary - who suffered a fractured fibula on January 29 - said a move to co-captains was on the cards for the Saints even before his injury.
Meanwhile St Kilda's players have opted to take a seven per cent pay cut across the board in the wake of the AFL slashing the salary cap by nine per cent.
The clubs are taking individual approaches to their respective pay models but Geary said St Kilda's showed the Saints' maturity and determination to keep a strong squad together.
"We didn't think as a playing group it was fair that some players were going to have to take a nine per cent pay cut and others were going to take a 3.5 per cent pay cut," Geary said on Friday.
"We felt it was right to bring it in line and everyone took the same whack, which ended up being seven per cent. It probably puts us in a better position going forward as a football club.
"It probably means we don't have to juggle as much money next year and beyond so we'll be able to keep the group that we have worked so hard to keep together.
"It would have been a shame if we put ourselves under pressure with the salary cap and lost some of the players we have got here now.
"Every good team has to make sacrifices at some stage and for us that maybe came a little bit earlier than we expected but we are really happy with the result and the maturity of the group to do that for the footy club."
Australian Associated Press
