Ready to rumble
The Age
Saturday March 6, 2010
Now in his fourth season, young Saint David Armitage knows it is time to deliver. Rohan Connolly writes. IN THE immediate aftermath of St Kilda's very narrow failure to pull off a second premiership last September, there was scope for plenty of "ifs" and "buts", and the odd bit of finger-pointing as well.There was that catalogue of missed shots on goal that would have made the difference. Stephen Milne, Raph Clarke, Justin Koschitzke and a few others copped a critical whack. Not to mention a bloke who wasn't even playing.In his Monday morning analysis of the grand final, respected commentator Gerard Healy had a fair old boot up the backside for young St Kilda on-baller David Armitage, who'd been an emergency for the big game."The inability of David Armitage to develop enough to hold his place in the side has hurt and is looming as a miscued first-round draft pick that has had consequences at the pointiest end of the year," Healy wrote. "Next season will be pivotal for Armitage."With just 19 senior games to his name spread over three seasons since being taken at No. 9 in the 2006 national draft, the latter part of that comment has become the popular view. Even more so after the departure of Luke Ball to Collingwood and the misfired recruiting gamble on Andrew Lovett.But the 21-year-old from Morningside in Queensland doesn't need the critical barbs to drive home the extent of the opportunity that now presents itself."It's more that I want to improve myself, not because anyone else is telling me I've got to do it," he says. "That might be an external thing, but it's not internal. I don't feel any pressure, no one's putting pressure on me, I'm training harder than I ever have, so things are going along pretty well."It's not just about me, but everyone. Anyone can fill it [a vacant midfield spot]. As a midfield we all want to get better, and all I want to do is help out the blokes in there like Lenny Hayes and Nick Dal Santo. That's all I can do."So far, the results have been encouraging. Armitage has produced a series of personal bests in training over summer, starred in St Kilda's opening round NAB Cup win over Collingwood with a team-high 26 disposals and seven tackles, and has held his spot for the subsequent win over Sydney and for tonight's semi-final against Fremantle."I probably did more in our eight weeks off, worked really hard with running, just getting out and doing it, and I came back ready to go," Armitage says. "I ran the best 'three-k'er' I'd done, and then we had another one and I beat it again. It's probably been my best pre-season so far."Armitage has felt his confidence rise as his fitness has increased. And a solid NAB Cup has given it another shot. "I'm pretty happy just to be playing my role for the team, which is to tackle and go in hard. Hopefully, that can be my trademark, to be a hard player and a fierce tackler."That does sound more than a little like the description of a senior midfielder and former skipper the Saints have lost. And while the club is loath to cast the scenario simply as Out: Ball. In: Armitage, coach Ross Lyon concedes the youngster does offer plenty of what Ball once did."I think there are some similarities," he says. "Certainly, when he was drafted, a lot of people rated him an inside midfielder and clearance specialist. Even last week, when the game was up for grabs, he was playing on 'Kirky' [Swans' skipper Brett Kirk] and I felt really competed fiercely. We think he's in good form. He just needs to stay injury free and work hard."Not that Armitage hasn't had to already, even before he arrived at Moorabbin. Mackay, where he grew up, is a rugby league stronghold, far from a town living and breathing AFL. Armitage's talent for the game was obvious early, playing senior football in Mackay at the age of 14, and for Morningside in an AFLQ grand final at just 17.But chances with St Kilda have been few and far between. He played three games in 2007, Lyon's first year as coach, 13 in 2008, but just three again last season as the Saints' midfield group proved remarkably durable and consistent."He's been trying to break into a team that's played in a preliminary final and a grand final," says Lyon. "Maybe on a developing list, he would have played regardless. But he's really had to earn his games."You couldn't even argue Armitage didn't take those opportunities when they came around, either. Certainly in his first game of 2009, when, as a swag of senior faces were rested, he came in against Hawthorn in Launceston, and proceeded to win the three Brownlow Medal votes with 22 disposals and 10 tackles.Armitage would play the following two games, racking up another 18 touches and no fewer than 13 tackles in the narrow loss to North Melbourne, yet still had to make way as the absent faces returned. On grand final day, he would be named as an emergency for the 11th time in the season."I warmed up with the side. Then the boys ran out. I ran up to the top of the race with them and had a look at the crowd, went back down and got changed," he recalls. "I just hoped that they gave it their best shot, which they did, and that hopefully I could continue to improve and next year have a crack at it."Where does he need to improve? "Probably just understanding how hard you do have to work out there, that's the main one," he says. "I feel like I'm starting to get it."And that is a process, says Lyon, which can often be underestimated. "It takes a while to bang that in," says the coach. "You get to Melbourne, it's a big town, you're a young bloke and you're enjoying yourself, and it's easy to lose sight of why you're here and what's important, and understanding the gap you've got to bridge to the pros. That's what he's had to work on. We've never doubted his footy talent."He seems to be on track. He's really accepting of advice and becoming consistent with what we ask him to do. All our measures tell us he's consistently doing the right thing and should be able to get the most out of himself."He really loves hitting in, he's got a good tank, great endurance, so he's got some good attributes. We're optimistic he'll have a solid year."So is Armitage. And that, despite being in the second-year of a two-year deal with St Kilda and imminent arrival in the AFL of a new team from his home state, he won't be going anywhere at season's end."I haven't even thought about it," he says. "I'd be stupid to go. I've made great friendships, the coaching staff are great. We're a real tight unit, and I love it."Armitage will love it even more if he can make 2010 the year he finally earns that regular senior spot. But no one at Moorabbin these days, stars or fringe players, takes too much for granted.Says Lyon: "We think there's a great opportunity for him, and that he's going to be able to grab it, but in saying that, he's going to have fight a few for a spot . . . I don't gift anyone a game."A comment which won't faze Armitage. After all, perhaps no one on the St Kilda list knows better than he that his coach means exactly what he says.
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