He needs no further proof of this than his own housemate Andrew McQualter, who was delisted by the Saints last year before joining Eddy on the rookie list.
But Eddy says even though he and McQualter are now looking for the same opening, there is no rivalry at the house the pair share with Eddy’s sister in Clarinda.
“It’s not too bad. I went to school with Andrew when we were both in the boarding house at Caulfield Grammar,” Eddy said.
“I’ve known him for a few years, so I suppose that makes it a bit easier. We won’t talk about footy too much when we’re home.
“It has been a goal of mine to get on the senior list. It is going to depend on injuries and performance but we’ll see how we go.”
Twenty-year-old Eddy is in his second season as a Saints rookie and is hoping to follow the path set by one of his best friends at the club, Jarryn Geary.
“Jarryn got elevated late last year and that put it in context for me. I was in the same position as him and things can change pretty quick,” he said.
“You’ve got to keep sticking at it and keep working hard like he did and things might open up.”
While Eddy has been given no indications from coach Ross Lyon that he is in line to be promoted, he is doing everything he can to earn a senior spot.
Eddy was one of St Kilda’s best off-season performers, winning a 3km time trial and finishing in the top five of a 1km time trial.
He was rewarded with three NAB Cup games this season, but was dropped for the Grand Final against Adelaide.
Eddy says he learned plenty from the experience, the most crucial lesson coming in the semi-final win over Essendon when he tagged Brent Stanton.
“I think he [Stanton] had 11 touches on me in the first quarter. But you learn a lot from playing on those good players. It’s not often you get a chance to run around on elite players,” Eddy said.
“He did like to get forward and he pushed pretty hard. I had my work cut out but he got on top of me in the first quarter. He’s a pretty good player.”
Eddy has been a part of two clubs since he was rookied – the Saints and the Casey Scorpions.
He said the two are more alike than some may think.
“When it comes to playing footy, the setup is quite similar. We have our things we want to work on at St Kilda. It’s almost a mirror image now down at Casey, which is good. The structures are quite similar too. At the moment we haven’t got many injuries and there are quite a few Saints guys down there,” Eddy said.
“They’ve got Greg Hutchison as senior coach. He’s also a development coach at the Saints which can make communication a lot easier.”
Since arriving at Moorabbin, Eddy has been a sponge for knowledge from senior Saints such as Steven Baker, Lenny Hayes and Nick Dal Santo. But the most senior Saint of all, a man also known for his incredible stamina and endurance, has been a role model for Eddy.
“Robert Harvey has been fantastic,” Eddy said.
“I was only a couple of months old when he started playing, we were working that out the other week. He’s unbelievable, Harves.”
