WHEN Fremantle’s Jeff Farmer was left sprawling on the ground in last year’s clash against St Kilda, fingers were pointed at one man.

And while Steven Baker is reluctant to talk about the incident that cost him seven weeks on the sidelines despite any video footage, he admits the inevitable conspiracy theories that followed were a source of annoyance.

“One person would say I swung my arm, which was rubbish. Then I had (player manager) Ricky Nixon come in and he pretty much told them what happened,” Baker told saints.com.au.

“There were a lot of people saying the same story. I pretty much just stopped and propped, and my story was the one they went with ... but I still got done over.”

Done over is one way to put it. Baker’s seven-game suspension is one of the heaviest in recent years and every subsequent major tribunal case that has resulted in a lighter penalty has had Saints fans up in arms.

But Baker does not claim injustice, just frustration at being forced to watch helplessly as his teammates ran around in the opening weeks of 2008.

“It was hard sitting in the stands. When we won a few games it was alright but it was hard not being out there to help the boys when we had a few losses. I’d always be looking at opposition players I could be playing on,” he said.

“Ross [Lyon] has tried to get me to be more controlled with my aggression but I don’t think I’ll change. I’ve been unlucky in the past but I’ll try to keep the same aggression, just a bit more controlled. I won’t go over the top.

“I’ll probably have a few more cameras on me than I used to.”

Baker’s first game back from the suspension was last week’s loss to Port Adelaide. He admits it took him some time to get used to the tempo of the match.

“I was blowing pretty hard after the first half ... but it was a bit of a shock early just how fast the game was,” he said.

“I was pretty sore the next day. The last five or six weeks I’ve just been doing extra running but nothing prepares you for match fitness.”

Baker has long been considered St Kilda’s best run-with player. But with Leigh Fisher, Jason Blake and Sean Dempster all showing their worth in shut-down jobs this year, he is happy to move away from the midfield and take on opposition small forwards.

“Those blokes are good in the role. We’ve struggled for numbers down back with a few injuries. I played the last few games down back last year and I enjoyed it back there, playing on guys like Jason Akermanis and Jeff Farmer,” he said.

Another role Baker is moving away from is that of class clown.

He and close mate Stephen Milne have long been considered the larrikins of St Kilda, a role he says is sadly being stamped out of the AFL system.

“We’re turning into robots these days. You hear about someone urinating on the street and that’s the biggest news of the year,” he said.

“I think most teenagers or young adults have done that sort of stuff at some stage. But if a footballer does it, it is big news.

“If one player does the wrong thing we all get tarnished. It has always been like that which is fair enough when we’re supposed to be role models, but it is sort of getting ridiculous.”

In what was at times a frustrating season for the Saints last year, eagle-eyed fans found one source of comic relief late in several games – Baker standing alone in the middle of the ground, projectile vomiting like he was re-enacting scenes from The Exorcist.

Baker laughs it off, admitting his body does not cope well with the dietary demands of professional sport.

“I was getting used to all the stuff they feed you these days – electrolytes and hydrolytes - all the crap like that,” he said.

“I don’t think my guts like it too much, so in games where I’ve pushed myself I’ll tend to bring it all up. The dietician assures me it is the right thing for me but I’m not sure.”