“I’m too old to be playing footy, but I would have loved to have played with him.”
This is as high a praise one can give to a footballer. When it comes from a man with Corey Enright’s standing in the game, it tells you the esteem in which Callum Wilkie is held at St Kilda.
The interceptor: Callum Wilkie is St Kilda’s defensive general.Credit: Getty Images
Enright was regarded by his peers at Geelong as the perfect teammate. The footballer’s footballer. A player who made others better.
This is not about Enright, an integral figure in Geelong’s dynasty and now in charge of the Saints’ defence, but listening to him talk about Wilkie it’s clear he sees a bit of himself in his protégé – even if he is far too modest to say so.
The unheralded Wilkie, a former full-time accountant who graduated from the rookie draft in 2018, is not a household name beyond the St Kilda faithful. That is rapidly changing. An All-Australian nominee last season, the backman would likely be in the team now on his form from the first five rounds.
Teams are struggling to navigate around the Great Wall of Wilkie. He is this year’s intercept mark king. No player has taken more grabs from opposition kicks. When he spoils, the ball is often killed, finds a teammate or triggers a stoppage. His opponents – ranging from a giant like Ben King to the 178-centimetre Jamie Elliott – struggle to touch the ball, let alone score goals. But Wilkie’s value cannot be quantified in kicks, marks and handballs. His most important asset may well be his voice.
As an opposition coach, Enright considered Wilkie to be a “pretty good defensive stopper”. Upon working with him, he realised Wilkie was so much more. Two things quickly stood out to him. Wilkie was a competitor – and a leader.
“He’s quite unassuming,” Enright said. “You could tell he had really good competitive instincts and that’s something that drives him really strongly. He’s pretty laid back off the field but once he got on the field he had this fierce competitive streak, which is what you want in a key defender.
Wilkie launches in a contest with Suns duo Ben King and Joel Jeffery.Credit: AFL Photos
“I saw that early days from him. He was always looking at ways to make it hard for his opposition and beat his opponent and help out his teammates. Right from the get go I noticed that with him.
“The other thing that stood out for me was how vocal he was behind the ball, and how influential he is with his voice and the way he sees the game, and sets teammates out in front of him. There’s no surprise he’s our vice captain.
“For me coming in, not knowing much about him, the thing that stood out was how much influence he had in the group.”
In football, as in life, a lot of talk can be hot air. What sets Wilkie apart is his ability to instruct teammates on what to do, where to stand, where to run. In an era where defensive structures are crucial, Wilkie’s talk is not cheap. Enright regards Wilkie, who hands the captaincy back to Jack Steele this week, as an on-field coach.
“That’s what you want with your leaders, you want them to identify and see and be able to influence,” Enright said. “He does that really well with the guys behind the footy to work together as a team and unit to problem-solve out there.
“He’s forever trying to think about the game, what’s required and what’s next, and also how to help your teammate. He’s such a good leader.”
What he says next will ring a bell with anyone who followed Enright’s career.
“I’m too old to be playing footy, but I would have loved to have played with him because he’s one of those guys you know what you’re going to get every week, also he’s always looking at ways to help his teammate.”
The Blues have spent hours this week plotting against backline general Wilkie. They know if they again resort to the speculative long bombs to Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow, they will, quite literally, play into Wilkie’s hands.
“I think his ability to read the play and his positioning has been really consistent,” Blues forwards coach Ash Hansen said. “Because they’re putting great pressure on the ball, it’s getting him really good looks in the air because a lot of balls are having to be kicked over fingers, so it’s giving him the chance to intercept.
“We certainly look at the way they [interceptors] influence the game. Their ability to counter-attack off that is really powerful when your defence is displaced. So taking away that will be important.”
As early as it may be to discuss life after football for the 27-year-old Wilkie, Enright can see a career in the coaches’ box for him.
“If he wanted to, he would do that,” Enright said. “For Cal, he’s a well-balanced guy. He came in later to the AFL system, so he already had a degree behind him. He’s pretty balanced off the field and super balanced on the field. We’re very lucky to have him as the general in our backline.”
