FOR ALL Jack Steven's individual success – including three St Kilda best and fairests – the man they call 'Stuv' has played just one final among his 147 AFL games.
It's a statistic the star midfielder is all too aware of, and desperate to change.
Steven, 27, played eight senior matches in 2010, but watched from the sidelines as the Saints played off in two Grand Finals against Collingwood that year.
They were good enough to make the finals again the following season, when Steven was entrenched in the line-up, but bowed out in an elimination against Sydney.
Six years on, he is still waiting for another opportunity, one that seems far more likely to come thanks to Saturday night's thumping of Richmond and the club's first four-match winning streak since 2011.
"It would obviously be good (to make the finals) – that's the reason you really play footy – but there's a long time to go," Steven told AFL.com.au.
"It's good to see. I was at the club when we were pretty good, but wasn't really playing and now we're starting to get better again, so it's good.
"But we could lose a couple of games and we'll be on the bottom. It's so tight this year, so we'll obviously just have to take it one week at a time."
Steven was one of the catalysts for the Saints' nine-goals-to-none second term stampede that put paid to the Tigers' challenge.
His involvement in that period? A lazy 14 disposals, including seven contested, three clearances, four inside 50s, two tackles and a wondrous goal, where he fended off Daniel Rioli, wheeled onto his right boot and snapped truly.
"It was nice. I don't really know what happened, but we just got on a roll and just rolled with it," Steven said of St Kilda's stunning opening half.
"I've been kicking a lot of points (5.10 before the weekend) this year, so was pretty happy it went through. I've been copping a bit of stick from the midfield coach (Adam Kingsley)."
Steven's goalkicking is not the only area of his game that has drawn criticism.
Like Adelaide's Rory Sloane, he has become a tagging target for opposition teams and was held to fewer than 20 possessions three times in the past five rounds.
For context, Steven was kept under that mark just twice in each of the past two years. His match-high 33 touches against Richmond was a welcome reminder of his ability.
"I've had a few quieter ones, but it was a real team effort and I think I contributed a little bit better than I have in previous weeks," he said.
"I've been getting tagged a little bit, so it might not look good on the stats, but you've still got to help the team.
"I've sort of just been doing the team sort of roles and not really getting a lot of the ball, but tonight I was lucky to get on the end of a few more."
