Tweet
Thanks azabob , and everyone for the support. this is why i was so keen to join WOOF , because im sure there will be differing opinions but unlike some other forums people here disagree but don't resort to the personal attacks , you tend to discuss things in a civil manner, which is quite refreshing coming from another forum which will remain anonymous, so thank you all again .
-
Last edited by NAUGHTY100; 05-01-2025, 11:24 PM. -
Just to keep this thread off track...
Um - he was in the bests a bit that's for sure...he was doing some stuff (under instruction to be fair) that is frowned upon in the champs. WA won the title that year with the prime movers really being:
Dev Robertson - Stuck playing reserves in Brisbane.
Dever Grainger-Barrass - Delisted.
Jeremy Sharp - Delisted
Trent Rivers - Going well at Melbourne (part of the 21 flag winning side).
Luke Jackson - Traded for the moon and stars by Freo after a flag at Melbourne.
Logan Macdonald - Battling at Sydney.
A bottom aged Nathan O'Driscoll played pretty well in the last game won by WA over Country with the last kick of the day.
The champs were really won in the first game played when WA 'blanketed' Rowell (Garcia come on down) and won pretty easily at Lathlain Park.What should I tell her? She's going to ask.Comment
-
Really impressed mjp in your knowledge of the inner workings of our great game , and the detailed analysis of under 18s and junior football , nice to be able to read your thoughts about certain related topics about football , thanks for your efforts. i for one are much wiser for reading them .Comment
-
From Code Sports
St Kilda 2025 season preview: Can Ross Lyon, young guns inspire Saints to take next step?
Are the Saints coming or going?It’s a hard question to answer as Ross Lyon largely banks on youth to rebuild St Kilda into a finals contender.
SURPRISE PACKET OF 2024
Darcy Wilson arrived at St Kilda with plenty of fans, but their expectations of the 18th pick from the 2023 draft were surpassed in a fantastic debut season. The hard running Wilson played all 23 games in his first season at the Saints and in what was a largely forgettable year for St Kilda, he well and truly emerged as a bright spark now and in the future.
INS AND OUTS
IN: Eamonn Armstrong (Category B rookie), James Barrat (No.32 draft pick), Hugh Boxshall (No.45 draft pick), Jack Carroll (delisted free agent), Alex Dodson (No.53 draft pick), Jack Macrae (trade, Western Bulldogs), Patrick Said (No.60 draft pick), Alix Tauru (No.10 draft pick), Tobie Travaglia (No.8 draft pick), Harry Boyd (SSP)
OUT: Matthew Allison (delisted), Josh Battle (free agent, Hawthorn), Riley Bonner (delisted), Tom Campbell (free agent, Melbourne), Brad Crouch (retired), Jack Hayes (delisted), Olli Hotton (delisted), Tim Membrey (delisted), Ben Paton (delisted), Seb Ross (delisted), James Van Es (delisted)
SAINTS 2025 BEST 23
FB: Liam Stocker, Callum Wilkie, Dougal Howard
HB: Jack Sinclair, Arie Schoenmaker, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
C: Mason Wood, Marcus Windhager, Liam Henry
HF: Mitch Owens, Brad Hill, Mattaes Phillipou
FF: Jack Higgins, Max King, Cooper Sharman,
Foll: Rowan Marshall, Jack Macrae, Jack Steele
INT: Darcy Wilson, Hugo Garcia, Ryan Byrnes, Tobie Travaglia, Anthony Caminiti
How is the Saints midfield going to look in 2025? You’d imagine Macrae slots right in there after his move from the Bulldogs but there might be some other players Ross the boss flicks in there. Phillipou is tearing up the track in pre-season so maybe he is one for more time in the engine room while could draftee Tobie Travaglia also get some time there in his debut season? Down back it looks like Arie Schoenmaker is set to get the first crack to replace Josh Battle as the third tall defender.
WHO’S PLAYING FOR A CONTRACT?
There’s few players on the Saints list with as much promise as Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and with Port Adelaide very keen on the smooth South Australian, a good 2025 campaign could see him in line for a very big payday. After moving from the wing to halfback, Wanganeen-Milera has shone with his ability to hit targets from defence, and set-up attacks from back there. The Power still could have a Dan Houston-shaped hole in its defence and the better Wanganeen-Milera plays in 2025, the bigger his contract could be whether that is at the Saints or at another club.
LAST YEAR IN CONTRACT
Angus Hastie, Angus McLennan, Arie Schoenmaker, Dougal Howard, Hugo Garcia, Hunter Clark, Isaac Keeler, Jimmy Webster, Liam O’Connell, Liam Stocker, Marcus Windhager, Mitchito Owens, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Ryan Byrnes, Zaine Cordy, Zak Jones
POSITION THAT NEEDS TO BE FILLED AND WHO CAN FILL IT?
We know about the Saints’ desire to improve their midfield but a pressing matter for St Kilda in 2025 will be filling the Battle-shaped hole in the backline after his move to Hawthorn. Based on pre-season so far it seems as if second-year Schoenmaker will get the first crack at the third defender role but there could be some left-field options available for the Saints. Caminiti could swing from forward to the backline, while Cooper Sharman and the untried Isaac Keeler were used in defence last season. Top 10 draft pick Alix Tauru should eventually fill this position but he is expected top be eased into it as he recovers from a back injury.
COACH STATUS
Ross the boss still has a contract until 2026 and has built up his influence and power off the field significantly at the Saints. But after St Kilda went backwards in 2024, fans will be hoping to see some improvement in 2025. A tough start in 2025 makes this difficult and Lyon could be reaching into his bag of tricks to make sure the pressure doesn’t ramp on him in his second stint at the Saints.
BURNING QUESTION
Can the Saints land a big fish to boost their midfield? St Kilda has a big war chest to use in free agency and the Saints want every rival player and their agents to know this. Despite two high draft picks the Saints midfield is arguably still lacking so you’d expect premier on-ballers such as Luke Davies-Uniacke to be right at the top of St Kilda target list. Yes, we will find out whether the Saints’ strategy will pay off at the end of the 2025 campaign, but as we know the work in executing this plan takes place all year.
Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"Comment
-
St Kilda were absolutely smashed by the injury gods during Monday's session, heaps of injuries and a couple serious. Dougal Howard facing an extended stint on the sidelines.
Phillipou already out for a few weeks. Half their team seems to be in rehab. Macrae is playing FT mid and carving them up.Western Bulldogs: 2016 PremiersComment
-
St Kilda offered Finn Callaghan a deal running “at least 10 years” and “more than $17 million”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.Comment
-
They have been throwing money at everyone.
“They're not going to die wondering”: Unpacking St Kilda's seven multi-million dollar plays for rival stars
GWS midfielder Finn Callaghan is the latest player to reject St Kilda’s war chest and opt to re-sign with his club, signing a four-year extension.
Channel Nine’s Tom Morris reported on Sunday that the Saints offered Callaghan as much as $17 million over 10 years to lure the Bayside local home.
However, he is not the first player St Kilda and list boss Stephen Silvagni have thrown the cheque book at. The Saints have been incredibly proactive in this space over the last 18 months. And these are just the seven we know about, including Callaghan.
They reportedly made bold bids for Carlton key defender Jacob Weitering ($12 million over eight years) and Essendon captain Zach Merrett in 2024, though both felt long odds to make a move.
Mac Andrew was another they reportedly had a big dip at. He signed what was then the richest deal in AFL history to remain at the Suns, worth as much as $14 million.
7AFL’s Ryan Daniels reported in October that Fremantle star Andrew Brayshaw also received a significant offer from the Saints, and he looks likely to be the next to turn his back on those advances.
Brayshaw told SEN in February that he is a certainty to remain a Docker.
St Kilda has been linked to Carlton’s Tom De Koning and North Melbourne’s Luke Davies-Uniacke, with similar money and deals on the table and both have big decisions to make this year.
Morris outlined the situation with Callaghan and St Kilda’s continued ambition to land a big fish.
“There’s a pattern here isn’t there. The offer to Merrett last year, which was about $1.5 million per year, people almost spat out their cornflakes at that as well. What we’ve seen with Tom De Koning at a little bit more than $1.7 million per year, this is in line with that pattern – and then there’s others like Andrew Brayshaw and Luke Davies-Uniacke which have played out behind the scenes as well,” Morris told SEN Breakfast.
“So the Saints are having a swing and they’re having a crack and they’re doing it in a way that isn’t putting a sheet of paper on the table and saying ‘we’re going to pay you this, what do you think’, but there are conversations being had that if that ‘if player X wants to come to the club, we are willing to offer this length of deal’, and in this case Callaghan decided to stay at the Giants.
“It’s not like he’s staying at the Giants for bad money either. Other clubs reckon he’s going to be paid $1 million or maybe a bit more than that at the Giants across four years.
“But it is eye-watering stuff, more than $17 million across 10 or maybe even 11 years. It would’ve been the biggest deal in AFL history had he signed, but he didn’t even look at it that much.
“The Saints are unashamedly ambitious. It doesn’t mean they’re short sighted, they want to improve their list, they want to bring in talent, Callaghan fits that bill because he’s from Bayside, he’s durable, they liked him from the moment he was drafted.
“Where they go next is anyone’s guess, but they’re not going to die wondering. If you’ve got the money to spend, then that’s what you need to do to pry players out of clubs.”
David King wonders whether players rejecting such enormous offers suggests we might already be at the point where star players expect as much as $2 million per season to move clubs.
“What it does say is that $1.7 million per year is not getting it done. There’s a new benchmark. If you can’t get a player for $17 million over 10 years, what are we looking at? Are we at that $2 million mark already? I wonder whether we’re at this point.”
Morris added: “The first $2 million player is probably not far away. This is the new normal and something we need to get used to. There were 25 million-dollar players in the AFL last year, that will double in the coming years.”
Comment
Comment