Greater Western Sydney midfielder Jack Steele "just wants to be playing footy" and thinks St Kilda is his best chance of doing that.
And his manger felt while his young charge might be leaving one emerging AFL force, he could be joining another.
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Steele met with Giants coach Leon Cameron on Saturday morning to let him know he was asking for a trade to the Saints after two seasons with the expansion club. It's understood Steele has been offered a three-year deal at St Kilda. Steele, has played 17 games for the Giants since he was drafted with pick 24 two years ago.
He said it was a tough decision and he didn't want to leave the place he's called home since 2014. But he felt with the plethora of riches in the Giants midfield he would struggle to establish himself over the next few years.
![Wants out: Jack Steele has asked to head to St Kilda.](/web/20161011233557im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/9/f/k/j/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grxu9z.png/1475924513004.jpg)
Steele described St Kilda coach Alan Richardson as a "ripper" and very similar to Cameron. "At the end of the day I just want to be playing footy, I just want to be playing AFL footy. I think I'm a good chance to play there," Steele told Fairfax Media.
Steele's manager, Dave Trotter, said the Saints were the best fit for the youngster. "He wanted to go somewhere where he thinks he's capable of playing regular senior footy, but also that he's going to have some success as well," Trotter said.
"If you look at the Saints, at the way that they've done their rebuild over the last couple of years – they only missed out on finals on percentage – I think most people think, and Jack definitely does, that they're tracking in the right direction.
Trotter said it was a credit to the GWS how hard the decision had been for Steele.
The Giants feel Steele is worth around a second-round pick, meaning a deal could be complicated given the Saints traded their 2016 second-round selection in acquiring Nathan Freeman from Collingwood last year. Canberra product Steele, who can also play forward, was taken by the Giants with pick 24 in the 2014 draft. He joins Caleb Marchbank (Carlton) and Cameron McCarthy (Fremantle) in seeking trades from the Giants.
In a statement on Saturday, St Kilda chief operating officer Ameet Bains said the Saints believed Steele would be "a great addition".
Meanwhile, Essendon look likely to retain their No. 1 draft selection and use a midfielder with the pick. Speaking at the AFL draft combine on Saturday, Bombers list manager Adrian Dodoro said the club was yet to receive a compelling offer for the first selection. "It'll be a midfielder," Dodoro said on Saturday when asked about what the club would do with its prized possession.
Victorian on-baller Hugh McCluggage is favoured to be taken at No.1.
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