Dan Hannebery’s first season at Moorabbin was ruined by injuries and a lack of fitness, but he will be ready to go for the start of the 2020 season.
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten outlined the plan for the star midfielder across the remainder of the pre-season and Marsh Community Series.
“He will probably miss the Marsh one game against the Hawks and then probably the second one against the Hawks he’ll be right for and with that the Collingwood game which is Marsh two he’ll be available,” Ratten told SEN’s Whateley.
“He looks like he just needs a few games under his belt and a good run at it and hopefully he is right to go for Round 1.
“That’s our plan with Dan. He’ll play two games and be ready for Round 1 at AFL level.”
Similarly, Max King’s first season at the club was spent rehabbing a torn ACL.
Ratten is hoping to get him in the team early in the year.
“He’s pretty likely (to play at the start of the season),” he said.
“We want to get some games into Max. We’re not just going to give him games, but he is part of our future and where we are going as a club and we would like to get some games into him.
“If he is not ready to play then we won’t play him, but the signs are that he is playing down there Tim (Membery), Paddy (Ryder) and Rowan Marshall through these game scenarios that we have and he is playing pretty well.
“He’s having an influence whether he marks it or doesn’t mark the ball. He’s doing everything we’re after.
“He’s a young man and he might play the first five (games) and need a rest or he might play three or he might play the whole year, but we want to get some footy into him and he’s going to be a focal point for many, many years.”
Young St Kilda midfielder Jack Bytel, who was taken with pick 41 in the 2018 National Draft, will also be pushing for senior selection early in the season.
“He has (caught my eye). He had a back operation last year so he didn’t get to do much out there on the track until the last three weeks of the season where he was out doing a bit of training,” he said.
“He’s an inside mid, he’s very, very tough and he’s going to give himself a chance to play senior footy at some stage this year, whether it’s at the start or somewhere through the year, he’s a player who can find the ball and has really good hands and was a real leader through his junior days.
“His body work inside has been very good and has really matched it with (Luke) Dunstan, (Jack) Steele, (Hunter) Clark and these types around the ball.”
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