Cal the bounty hunter: Underrated Saint taking scalps week after week

CALLUM Wilkie could still be punching numbers in an accounting firm and running around for North Adelaide if St Kilda didn’t pull the trigger on him at the end of 2018.  

Instead, the unassuming defender has become a bounty hunter.

Wilkie was overlooked in four drafts and attracted mild interest before the Saints selected him at pick No.3 in the Rookie Draft.

Fast forward four years and Wilkie has emerged as one of the most underrated players in the AFL, claiming high profile scalps on a weekly basis.

At 191cm and 87kg, Wilkie is the ultimate inbetweener. He can play on key forwards, goal sneaks and those who are a bit of both.

Wilkie held Coleman Medallist Jeremy Cameron to one goal from 111 minutes at Marvel Stadium night in a performance that went under the radar again, but not inside RSEA Park.

The South Australian is one of the first players picked each week and has played 72 games in a row – the 10th longest current streak in the AFL – since making his debut at the start of 2019, rising to become a member of St Kilda’s five-man leadership group this season.

Wilkie restricted Melbourne premiership star Bayley Fritsch to just one goal from four touches in 76 minutes in round eight, after holding Hawthorn star Jack Gunston to two disposals and no goals from 75 minutes in round four.

When Greater Western Sydney co-captain Toby Greene returned from suspension in Canberra in round six it was Wilkie who spoiled his party, holding the superstar to a single goal in their match-up.

Out-of-contract Collingwood star Jordan De Goey received the Wilkie treatment when he spent time forward in round one, managing only four disposals and zero goals in 33 minutes.

St Kilda coach Brett Ratten usually likes to use Wilkie on multiple players throughout a game, but knows he has a player capable of playing on anyone, even tricky speedy types like Fremantle's Michael Walters and Richmond's Jason Castagna.

Port Adelaide veteran Robbie Gray is the only player to kick multiple goals on Wilkie this season when the four-time All-Australian kicked two goals in the wet at Cazaly's Stadium a fortnight ago.

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Wilkie has lost just 16.7 per cent of one-on-one contests he has defended this season – the eighth-best percentage in the AFL – and is averaging 15.9 disposals at an efficiency rate of 90.2 per cent and 5.6 spoils per game.

St Kilda has landed big names on big contracts in recent years – Bradley Hill, Brad Crouch, Paddy Ryder, Dougal Howard, Dan Hannebery and others – but it is the accountant who has proven to be the best value for money recruit in that time.