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So was Parker prioritised for inclusion inside as justification for his recruitment? I note he finished fourth and Simpkin fifth. That Daniel finished sixth tells me there might be a bit of a bias towards veteran recruits given the flack he copped in the second half of the year.
Will be a massive issue to lose your fifth best player and captain as a result of trying to justify some misdirected recruiting.
TF is this?.........Obviously you're not a golfer.
It just got interesting. Sam Edmond reporting on SEN that Wilkie had a conversation with Bevo on the weekend.
Wilkie, come on down
EXCLUSIVE: St Kilda star takes call from Luke Beveridge over potential move
By Sam Edmund
Image
Cal Wilkie spoke to Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge at the weekend as the St Kilda star considers his playing future.
SEN can reveal that Wilkie took a phone call from Beveridge, with the pair speaking about a potential future at the Whitten Oval.
Wilkie, 29, is contracted at the Saints until the end of 2027 and is still unlikely to leave Moorabbin, where he stands to inherit the captaincy next season.
But as reported on SEN.com.au last month, Wilkie has been disillusioned with the direction of the club for periods of 2025, particularly over its list management direction.
There is also a feeling that, as an All-Australian and best and fairest winner, Wilkie is underpaid at around $750,000 a season – a figure that 25-game recruit Leek Aleer is close to signing for.
The Dogs are desperate to land a proven, high-calibre key back to support the likes of Rory Lobb and James O’Donnell. They have presented Wilkie with a four-year offer worth around $1.1 million a season.
But the Bulldogs have also made clear that they are prepared to increase that offer should Wilkie show an inclination to move.
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon only last month emphatically denied reports of player unrest.
“There’s a lot of half-baked stories, that’s what I see,” Lyon told Channel 9.
“Callum Wilkie rang me, he goes, 'I've never entertained leaving St Kilda, I love St Kilda, I love what we’re doing’.
“I think that speaks volumes.”
FFC: Established 1883
Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.
I still think the Saints offer him the captaincy and an upgraded contract and he stays. Was definitely worth a shot though.
Reporters don't run with a long-shot throw at the stumps - there is smoke and there is fire. Doesn't mean it is over the line but it is clearly in play, otherwise Sam Edmond would not be putting his name to the story. How can it not - we are offering an instant $500k a season pay rise and an extra 2 years. St Kilda are going to have to get extremely creative to get anywhere near satisfying Wilkie (and more importantly his wife).
He's not an idiot - he's gotten windburn from Aleer and Silvagni scorching past him overnight on bigger contracts. I'm not sure St Kilda can get even in the conversation finance wise. The captaincy is an obvious carrot, but if there is discontent (which there is) the captaincy doesn't hold as much weight as it did - they're about to rissole their current captain, which I'm sure Wilkie has also noted with interest.
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