Liam Stocker needs to prove to the Saints that he’s still got the fire in the belly to play AFL football if he is to win a list spot.
The ex-Blue is currently training with St Kilda in the hopes of winning a pre-season supplemental selection spot. Stocker was surprisingly cut from Carlton’s list in early September after 28 games for the club, and allegations have since flown that he wasn’t fit enough for a full-time midfield spot in the AFL.
Stocker and former Bomber Josh Eyre have been invited to train with St Kilda and have until February 15 – when the SSP window closes – to continue their AFL dreams.
St Kilda footy boss Geoff Walsh was asked on SEN’s The Run Home what Stocker would need to do with the Saints to prove he deserves a list spot.
“I suppose his training form in terms of his levels of fitness, how he’s performing in the gym, those sort of markers are part and parcel of it,” Walsh began in his response.
“But I think in general, a guy who’s looking for a second opportunity, and when players accept those train-on chances, that’s obviously up the front of their mind... you just want to see a hunger and a determination that you prove your previous club wrong by letting you go.
“He’s certainly young enough and strong enough, I’ve seen him play really strong over the ball, a really good contested player.
“Basically, you just want to see that that fire’s burning really strongly, which I think it is.”
St Kilda’s senior players returned for pre-season on Monday, alongside Stocker and Eyre, two weeks after the club’s first to fourth-year players began.
Stocker was predominantly used as a half back by the Blues but only managed six games in 2022. That was alongside 12 VFL games this year, with the 21-year-old unable to break into Michael Voss’ side regularly.
It contrasted Stocker’s 2021 campaign where he played 17 times under David Teague.
While his running power has been questioned, Stocker told SEN in October the notion he wasn’t fit enough for a midfield spot was “rubbish.”
“From that point of view, if that’s my main weakness, I’ve got it to a point where it’s not as standout as it used to be,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Eyre played 18 VFL games for the Bombers across a variety of positions in 2022, but did not crack the AFL team in two years at the club.