Hannebery takes a fresh approach - and less money - at the Saints

St Kilda midfielder Dan Hannebery has decided to enter 2022 on a significantly-reduced contract after renegotiating the final year of his deal, which was guaranteed until the end of next year.

The 30-year-old not only hopes his call helps clear some salary cap space for the Saints but is an acknowledgment from him that, despite everyone’s best efforts, injury has stopped him from delivering what he hoped to in his first three years at the Saints.

Frustrating time: Daniel Hannebery working his way back through the VFL.Credit:AFL Photos

“It has no doubt been the most frustrating two or three years of my career. It has been incredibly challenging,” Hannebery said.

“I just thought it was the right timing and the right thing to do, given the reality of where my situation lies.

“I am very accepting and understanding of the situation. I haven’t played anywhere near the footy that I have wanted to play, and they are in the same boat. They would have wanted me to play a lot more than I have and have more of an impact.”

Unfortunately a series of soft-tissue injuries have restricted him to just 13 games so far at the Saints as his body has acted like a university student’s car, breaking down whenever Hannebery needs it most.

That is nowhere near satisfactory for a competitor who places such high expectations on himself, having arrived at the end of 2018 with a simple purpose: to help the Saints reach finals and, ultimately, win a second flag.

Now he wants to play the last two games of this season, and then have a run at it next season and hopefully, if the recent corner he turned presents less obstacles than those he whizzed around before, the season beyond that.

Dan Hannebery celebrates after scoring a goal during the match between the Saints and the Western Bulldogs in round three last year.Credit:Getty Images

But he wants to do it the right way, with a fresh outlook, on a fair deal that reflects reality, and with an emerging group that is driven to put the Saints in contention.

Used to being hit hard throughout his illustrious career, Hannebery received a shirtfront in about the middle of the year that rocked him more than most and set him on a new path.

The Saints were in Sydney and he was about a week away from returning to play when another soft-tissue hiccup occurred, and his heart sank.

“I had been busting my arse and doing everything and thought ‘this has just been exhausting. I am mentally cooked,’ ” Hannebery said.

Those who know Hannebery suspect he has, if anything, strived too hard to solve the problems his body seemed to attract since his hamstring first went at St Kilda just months after he arrived, having played 201 of Sydney’s previous 220 games, and been a premiership player and three-time All-Australian.

After returning last season to play well in the Saints’ first finals win for a decade, his calf kept getting nicks so minor a snickometer would have struggled to pick them up, derailing this season too.

However, he did not let up. So desperate was he to repay the club and their supporters, who he understood would share his frustration, he searched everywhere for a solution.

“At St Kilda, I have taken it to the next level at different stages,” Hannebery said.

“After training I would try to find other avenues, whether it be yoga, pilates, movement, DNS training (otherwise known as dynamic neuromuscular stabilisation), acupuncture, whatever it is I’ve been trying to work overtime to bridge the gap or find any area I can improve to give myself a chance to get back quick. Whether it be diet or sleep ... all these different things I have been hammering away at for a while.”

“I’m investing 100 per cent. I want to try to finish my career playing some bloody good footy.”

Dan Hannebery

Finally, the mid-year setback forced him to re-evaluate his approach.

“Although spending a lot of your free time working on your body and trying to find ways to get better comes from a really good place, it actually almost creates more stress and anxieties, I guess, because you are trying to do everything you can possibly right,” Hannebery said.

“You put yourself under more pressure and then when things go don’t go to plan and you get setback after setback, it’s incredibly disheartening.”

It’s not only disheartening for him, he hastens to add, but for his dedicated support crew at the Saints that includes Steve Forcone, Andrew Wallis, Marcus Krygger, and Richard Citroen who have tirelessly worked under the bonnet for three seasons.

Work with the club psychologist and a mindset coach helped him realise a balance is what is required, a difficult process for anyone who has found reward through hard work in the past.

At his return to the VFL a few weeks back, the extended Hannebery and O’Sullivan clan (his mum Geraldine is one of 12) all attended, showing not only their love for him but their admiration for the effort he has put in to get back to doing what he does best.

He appreciated their support as he knows they have seen him, in his words, “as flat as a biscuit” during this period as the rollercoaster ride kept going.

The only thing he can continue to be is himself, a charged-up, open book who is giving all he has got to make his involvement with the Saints work. No-one could ask for more.

“I’m investing 100 per cent. I want to try to finish my career playing some bloody good footy,” Hannebery said.

Peter Ryan is a sports reporter with The Age covering AFL, horse racing and other sports.

Share this post