New St Kilda co-captain Jack Steele can’t hide his excitement at working with star recruit Brad Crouch, who joined the club as a restricted free agent at the end of last year.
Crouch, who made the move from Adelaide after eight seasons and 95 games, is expected to significantly bolster an area where the Saints have been exposed during recent seasons.
Steele admitted inside midfield was an area where the side “probably lacked”, saying he was looking forward to seeing how he fared during upcoming pre-season matches.
“(Brad Crouch's) obviously going to try take a bit of the load (in midfield) off me,” he said on Sportsday.
“With Zak Jones in there, (the likes of) Dan Hannebery and Seb Ross that are all going to get a lot more game time in the midfield this year alongside Jade Gresham, who didn’t play a lot last year.
“We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do during the intra-club and practise matches, it’s exciting to have him on board and (he) gives us a lot more depth in midfield.
“It’s something we probably lacked in the last few years so it’s good to have some options.”
St Kilda had another busy off-season, recruiting small forward Jack Higgins from Richmond, as well as prising James Frawley out of retirement after his departure from Hawthorn.
Steele said he was looking forward to seeing Higgins develop further in 2021, while praising the defensive experience Frawley will bring to the side.
“We’ve only seen bits and pieces of what (Jack Higgins) can do,” he said.
“He’s just quite an exciting year player and adds quite a lot of depth to our list, much like (new recruit James Frawley) who has slotted in really nicely down back.
“He’s probably looking likely playing a lot more down (in defence to start the season), especially losing Jake Carlisle (through injury) in the back of last year (exposed our defensive depth).
“A bit of experience and a premiership player, you can’t say no to that. It’s great to have him on board.”