Saint dons the halo

By Paul Pickering
STEVEN Gaertner had prepared himself for the worst ahead of Tuesday’s AFL Rookie Draft – and who could blame him.
The Dandenong Stingrays key position star knows the agony of draft day better than most, having been overlooked while many of his less-credentialled peers found their way onto AFL lists over the past two years.
But Gaertner’s fortune finally changed on Tuesday morning, when St Kilda chose him with pick 58 – its fourth rookie selection.
The new Saint was ecstatic.
“I started playing footy when I was eight years old, so to finally get the chance that I’ve wanted all my life is just unbelievable,” the 18-year-old beamed.
“I was pretty shattered last year, because I was told that I was going to go and I kind of believed the hype.
“This was my last chance, if I didn’t get picked up then that might’ve been it.”
Until Tuesday, Gaertner’s inability to find an AFL home had been something of a mystery in TAC Cup circles.
His speed and endurance almost defy his 199cm frame, making him as equally comfortable in the ruck as he is in a key defensive post or up forward.
But the AIS-AFL Academy graduate and Vic Metro representative seemed to lose his way after the disappointment of last year’s draft.
After being cut from the Vic Metro squad early this season, he decided on a change of philosophy.
“I think I was putting too much pressure on myself,” he reflected.
“So in the second half of the year I thought, ‘I’m not enjoying this’, so I just tried to get back to having fun and I started to play better.”
The mobile big man recaptured his best form in the last month of the home-and-away season and played a starring role in Dandenong surge deep into the finals.
While Gaertner is determined to prove himself at senior level, he has vowed not to forget the relaxed attitude that turned his TAC Cup career around.
“I’m just going to go out there and enjoy it,” he said.
“It’s going to be hard work and everything, but it’s still fun at the same time.”
The Aspendale Gardens resident has been training with St Kilda for the past fortnight and says he could not have asked for a warmer reception.
“All the guys have been so nice and welcoming,” he said.
“I felt at home straight away and I wasn’t even a player there, so it’s just great.”
Stingrays coach Graeme Yeats said Gaertner had earned his opportunity at AFL level.
“Steve deserves a lot of credit, because he worked hard to improve the areas that he needed to. I thought he took a huge leap forward in his footy this year,” Yeats said.
“I’m excited for him, but at the same time I’m disappointed for the other boys who didn’t get a chance.”
Fellow Stingrays draft hopefuls Aaron Purves, Chris Doria, Levi Casboult and Matt Clark all missed out on securing a rookie berth and will look to kick-start their senior careers in the VFL next season.
Meanwhile, former Stingray and Port Adelaide utility Greg Bentley is headed to Princes Park after being picked up as an over-age rookie with Carlton’s third-round selection (37).