Saints’ flawed list has them stuck at the AFL crossroads. Lyon’s $2m warchest can drag them out
With just three wins from their first nine games, St Kilda are sitting in the middle of a crossroads – and are now a hitchhiker in desperate need of a driver (or two) to give them a lift towards some elusive success.
Perennially a club that has underperformed since their dominance in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the Saints are now in danger of relapsing into a state of nothingness that they have so desperately tried to avoid across the last decade.
The one thing they do have at their disposal however, is a plethora of money that if used correctly, can go a long way to pulling them back to a brighter reality with other hopeful premiership contenders.
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The amount of money St Kilda have to spend is no secret, with roughly $2 million freed up in their salary cap due to the exit of Nick Coffield and Jade Gresham in last year’s trade period.
Gone are the days also of large payments to Zak Jones and former player Dan Hannebery; both of which were on substantial pay packets since coming across from the Swans.
Nothing will be off the table for Ross Lyon at the trade period this upcoming spring; defenders, midfielders, forwards – even a back-up ruck for Rowan Marshall.
Lyon, who has long held many of the cards at the club during his two separate coaching tenures, will no doubt be the nucleus behind their impending splash in the trade pool.
Their frantic want to recruit to the club comes as a result of winning just one final in 12 years, and already having several competition stars at their disposal; ready and waiting for success in their prime.
Of the 22 players that played in their three-point elimination final win over the Bulldogs in 2020, nine have since left the club through trade, retirement or delisting.
Others, such as Seb Ross and Jones, are at the twilight period of their career – creating an extra focus on ball winners at the club looking ahead to 2025.
On face value, their turnover since that 2020 final tells you that they should still have the core personnel to help boost themselves back into September at the very least.
Boasting a young, burgeoning list, and with solid bookends in place at either end of the ground – such as Max King and Callum Wilkie – the Saints’ time to strike is nigh.
But they don’t quite have the star-factor player between the arcs that they’ve been yearning for, and they won’t be a serious premiership challenger until they have it.
And they can’t afford to let another ship sail this year at the trade table, otherwise it could be too late.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle, Herald Sun journalist Jay Clark asked the simplest of questions that is yet to be answered.
“How are they going to get some quality in this side?” Clark quizzed.
“They are going to throw the kitchen sink at mature players in the free agency market… I think the Saints are going to be prepared to go shopping after recalibrating their cap.”
“The list is not as good as it could be - they’re still two or three years away, seriously… St Kilda is clearly ahead of North significantly, but are you guaranteed success the next five years?” co-panellist and fellow Herald Sun journalist Scotty Gullan replied.
Clark ended his spiel by leaving Saints fans with two hard-hitting questions that Ross Lyon will need to answer come the off-season, with comparisons to a lowly-ranked North Melbourne no doubt hitting the hardest.
“How can you say St Kilda is ahead of North Melbourne - who is the (Harry) Sheezel, who’s going to play the 200-game superstars - who is the A-grader at St Kilda that you can pick out?”
“I think Mason Wood’s been playing great footy, and Jack Sinclair has been an absolute workhorse - but who are you really backing in on that list?”
As it stands, there are 21 players that will be out of contract come the end of 2024 at Moorabbin – leaving Stephen Silvagni and his list committee with plenty of room to pivot should things continue south this season.
The former has since taken a significant pay decrease since, while Hannebery retired at the end of 2022 against his former side.
With all that said, it’s evident that this off-season is the time to utilise the war chest of Silvagni and co.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 at the conclusion of Round 9, Herald Sun’s Chief Football Writer Mark Robinson laid the club’s situation bare.
“They’ve got cash, so they’re going to go out and get midfielders; they can either get them through the draft, which is going to take a long time, or they’re going to go out and try and get some free agents to come into their club,” Robinson said.
“They’re going to spend a lot of money - they need talent in the middle of the ground; they haven’t got enough … their list is in a bit of strife.”
Co-host Gerard Whateley also chimed in with his thoughts on their lack of success, and potentially highlighting a place in their side to start recruiting for.
“The problem with St Kilda is: a) they’re not kicking scores, but they’re not stopping scores - the DNA of Ross Lyon from the moment he started coaching is defence, contest, pressure - that’s falling away,” Whateley explained.
“You look at that St Kilda team, that is not the DNA of a Ross Lyon-coached team … Their front six has fallen so far in their contribution.”
The St Kilda list story of recent years is one of external intrigue and internal frustration.
THE DE GOEY, GOING, GONES OF YESTERYEARS
To give context to the extra intrigue surrounding St Kilda’s list management this year, it’s worth taking a quick look at their past failings to recruit in recent years.
The club has fleeted with the idea of dreaming big and recruiting big before, but to little avail.
In 2022, the Saints were all-chips-in for superstar Collingwood midfielder Jordan De Goey in before he penned a fresh extension at Olympic Park.
Speaking out after eventually signing a five-year extension with the Magpies, the then-26-year-old was very open on how deep he went with St Kilda, before eventually turning his back on the interest.
“Obviously, it’s a bit of a stressful period of time but, at the bottom of my heart, I always wanted to stay at the Pies,” de Goey said.
“We had a lot of interviews, meetings, kind of did all the due protocols I guess just to try and get the best understanding of what it would be like if I went there (St Kilda).”
De Goey continues to remain a painful reminder of a good one that got away; as well as an unanticipated play for Essendon’s Dylan Shiel.
It was an intriguing overture at the time, but it remains a fascinating play in retrospect, considering the club’s evident approach to recruiting speed.
Fast-forwarding to 2024, and Shiel is now stuck in Essendon’s VFL; unable to get a game at senior level due to the Bombers’ recent rise.
Perhaps in hindsight it was a good thing that Shiel’s move didn’t eventuate, perhaps it wasn’t.
Nonetheless, it adds to St Kilda’s list of failed recruitments of yesterday that seems to paint a similar picture to its more recent recruitment attempts.
THE SHIPS ON THE HORIZON
To the original point; the Saints need to capitalise during this year’s player movement window.
There is talent available — Hugh McCluggage, Jacob Weitering and Luke Davies-Uniacke all come to mind — but do St Kilda have the persuasive power to land a big fish?
McCluggage seems settled in Brisbane, and while the Lions have had their challenges this season, he would surely view his current club as more in the premiership frame than Ross Lyon’s Saints.
Plus, there are plenty of clubs in the race for the Lions winger, as reported by Herald Sun’s Jay Clark earlier this month – with two certainly closer to a flag than St Kilda
“Collingwood (and) Geelong you can lock in. St Kilda (is) definitely interested and Essendon as well are the four clubs confirmed into Hugh McCluggage,” Clark said.
Jacob Weitering is much the same, expect unlike McCluggage, he’s already had the cheque book thrown his way for $1.5 million a year across nearly a decade.
Weitering also expected to turn down a lucrative offer with the belief his Blues are also far closer to a flag than Lyon.
Davies-Uniacke could reportedly bring about a contract between $13-15 million across a 10-year period; not dissimilar to Weitering, however it’s hard to believe they can land both players for that price.
McCluggage and Davies-Uniacke are both terrific midfielders, but they’re different players.
McCluggage is more of a smooth link-in-the-chain, while Davies-Uniacke is more of a bash and crash, explosion from stoppage sort.
Weitering would complement Wilkie very well, but is he the man they need to throw such a large amount towards when they already have an All-Australian full-back?
Arguably not – as much as he would be an excellent asset to the side, with Wilkie in the team, there is an case to say he shouldn’t be worth that much money; to the Saints anyway.
GWS’ Harry Perryman is a player who has attracted strong interest from both South Australian clubs, and while not a star like the aforementioned rival trio – may still be worth looking at.
Up forward, Matt Taberner from Fremantle is out of contract at the end of the season – and given his lack of game time at the Dockers due to the rise of Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss, could hold a surprising amount of value to St Kilda as assistance to Max King.
Josh Battle will attract rival interest this off-season; is he worth throwing big money at to keep around, or would his exit see his dough added to the war chest that could be better utilised elsewhere?
North Melbourne, Richmond, Collingwood and Hawthorn have all reportedly shown interest in the defender in recent months, with his hypothetical exit only increasing the price Silvagni can pitch to potential recruits.
RECRUITING COMPLEMENTARY PIECES
Silvagni only joined the Moorabbin fray at the start of last season, but he has been a shrewd decision-maker.
The Saints made targeted recruitments this past off-season, adding Riley Bonner (Pre-Season Draft), Lance Collard (No.28 draft pick), Paddy Dow (trade, Carlton), Hugo Garcia (No.50 draft pick), Angus Hastie (No.33 draft pick), Liam Henry (trade, Fremantle), Liam O’Connell (Category B rookie), Arie Schoenmaker (No.62 draft pick) and Darcy Wilson (No.18 draft pick).
Henry, Wilson and Collard — the headliners of this crop — all have something in common; electricity.
These guys can move.
For outside players in particular, speed is a prerequisite - and these guys have that.
But, while they’ll have their influence this year and in the coming seasons, they’re not currently game-changers, and they’re no certainty to evolve into that.
It just reinforces the need for a true game-disrupter in a similar mould to De Goey.
As it stands right now, the Saints hold picks 5, 34, 50 and 53 in the 2024 AFL Draft – and with little to no willingness for giving up their first-round pick, free agency will be the main method of recruiting.
THE FINAL VERDICT
Down the spine of the team, there is a reasonable level of confidence that Wilkie, ruck Rowan Marshall and forward Max King will play a significant role in any future short-term success the club may have.
Wilkie and Marshall have proven themselves to be stars of the competition, while King still holds a mountain of hope put into him by fans, pundits and club coaching staff.
He’s yet to completely fulfil that hope, but it would be silly to recruit going forward without moulding the attacking half around his presence.
A player like Taberner from the Dockers, if he can stay on the park, would give added support up forward for King and allow him to keep developing his game to a standard where he can tear games apart on his own.
One of Davies-Uniacke or McCluggage would be a commendable get for the Saints, but with Jack Steele playing the role as the side’s main inside ball winner, the Lion might just be the better acquisition.
And the consensus on Weitering?
He’s worth a lot, but maybe not that much when you’ve got Wilkie controlling the defensive half already.
Simply put, St Kilda’s 2024 season is at a crossroads on both the field and trade table.
It’s all well and good to throw dollar signs in front of some of the league’s best, but along with monetary compensation must also come the promise of not-too-distant success.
Some clubs have been able to hold the keys to just the latter, and it has worked before.
But very rarely will just money be enough, which means the Saints will need to act fast at season’s end to ensure their proposed success doesn’t expire before they, inevitably, get their hands on some of the league’s best.