List Mgmt. 2025 List Management Discussion - Part IV

[Hubnester]

2025 List Management Discussion - Part 4

Now that our season is over, and news is starting to break - it's time for a fresh thread.

This thread is to discuss all things list management - trades, draft, free agency, delistings and more.
As we are now officially in our off-season, we'll be wanting to keep this thread more strictly on-topic than the previous iterations.
Be respectful. You are allowed to disagree with someone - but play the ball, not the man. Repeat offenders will have their posting rights revoked.

Thanks to Lore once again for this incredibly useful spreadsheet.

2025 KEY DATES
Free Agency Period: Friday, October 3rd - Friday, October 10th
Trade Period: Monday, October 6th - Wednesday, October 15th
AFL Draft: Wednesday, November 19th - Thursday, November 20th

See Also:
2025 Year in Review Rumours & Confirmed Movements 2025 Draft Discussion
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[dudeintheswamp]

Can't really see us being interested in Ainsworth, reckon it's someone else

 

[phantom13]

It got cancelled because of Essendon.

We were there & ready to play.

I don’t really care tbh but my recollection was it was cancelled due to the weather conditions, essendon not coming was just a calculated risk they took.

Anyway **** essendon.

 

[austinnn]

Honestly, I’m gonna have to draw the line there for recruiting Carlton players. We’ve maxed out the quota

I agree.

The Blue Six
Stocker
Caminiti
Dow
Carroll
DeKoning
Silvagni

Even if you allow for its cavalcade of spud coaches and a rotten organisation, was this Carlton team that good that its worth bringing in a third of the players?

I like the guys we got but I'm starting to get concerned that the players might be bringing in some Carlton culture on the soles of their shoes.

 

[phantom13]

Marshall, agreed.

But Steele, if we said he can explore other options, then it is our responsibility to let him go for whatever gets offered. We cant push back on what is received when we are the ones who started the trade.

I think (and I stand to be corrected) with Steele he hasn’t requested a trade, he hasn’t nominated a club, it’s all very amicable and in reality both parties seem quite willing for him to stay.

If anything I’d suggest that means we and he would be happy to keep him if a suitable trade can’t be found. He’ll look and if he finds a suitor that he likes than yeh absolutely we shouldn’t demand overs but we’re a fair way off that yet.

If anything I reckon it’s the other way around to what you’re stating.

Marshall wants out with a destination picked and we’ve brought in TDK so I don’t think we can be ridiculous with what we demand for him. Steele is the one we could theoretically ask for more from (noting I don’t think we would).

 

[gringo2011]

Hall to the midfield, that's where he was playing for Box Hill.
I'm sure we picked him up as a mid.
It's great that he's been so good as a H.F., but we need his precise kicking & quick hands in the midfield l reckon
So, Ainsworth, Higgins & Ryan plus Butler as cover & depth, could be an awesome small forward line.
A fit & firing Henry takes Hill's spot on the wing.

He was playing high half forward when I watched them to see him. Maybe stints on ball like he does now. Honestly didn’t think he looked that exciting from the few games I saw. I thought he was another Jack Carrol type of fringe player. Whoever spotted him was a legend

 

[gringo2011]

Amazing times at the Saints. It is interesting to look back on the last few Trade periods when there was so much angst about our relative inactivity. We had little draft capital and were stocking up. I was fine about that. The vitriol some supporters directed towards the club was badly placed.

It has all culminated in us finally having a bit of draft capital and salary cap room. And has resulted in us going hard. Even harder than I ever envisaged.

This idea that we remain towards the pointy end each season for the foreseeable future is starting to be apparent. Our timing of things has historically been poor. The planning and execution this time has us on target. Ahead of most clubs. Hats off.

Now to bring it out on the field. Am very optimistic that the young guys develop further. Even NAS. Can hardly wait for 2026. Might take a little while to bed in. That will be ok. But big preseason coming up. Lots of work for the track watchers!

Haven’t seen too much angst over the last few trade periods. Most thought we were rebuilding via the draft. A lot were confused when we went back to loading up this year

 

[crasha301]

The midfield is really starting to take shape and looks the best it has in a long time.

Macrae, Nas, flanders- starting 3?

Box, hall, Garcia, Sinclair, Windy, Pou, Wilson, Steele* - all to run through at certain times.

 

[The_Steadier]

Can't really see us being interested in Ainsworth, reckon it's someone else

If we are into anyone after flanders- surely it's either:
1. a small lockdown defender.

Webster and paton now gone, stock too slow.

We are paper thin/virtually non existent for blokes to play on the charlie camerons of the world in a cutthroat final.

Or

2. A marking forward (JUH?)
Especially if marshall goes- we are VERY light on for TALL fwd marking targets.

We got killed this year with not being able to take the occasional relieving contested pack mark fwd and/or on the wing. (Marshalls contested marking was terrible this year)

King back will certainly help- but even with him back, it is still a big area of weakness for us (in a cutthroat final).

Owens and sharman aren't tall enough to do it reliably- and caminiti and keeler are still a couple of years off being able to rip balls out of the sky.

 

[Pardon me]

It got cancelled because of Essendon.

We were there & ready to play.

We drove up with 3 bomber mates from Edithvale, heard the news their mob had to turn the plane around and watched the Saints do a scratch match/meet the fans sesssion in the hammering rain.

Stayed in a great motel, sank beers at a very average pub and gave them heaps about how soft their team was that continues to this day.

Good times.

 

[BrutThough]

I think (and I stand to be corrected) with Steele he hasn’t requested a trade, he hasn’t nominated a club, it’s all very amicable and in reality both parties seem quite willing for him to stay.

If anything I’d suggest that means we and he would be happy to keep him if a suitable trade can’t be found. He’ll look and if he finds a suitor that he likes than yeh absolutely we shouldn’t demand overs but we’re a fair way off that yet.

If anything I reckon it’s the other way around to what you’re stating.

Marshall wants out with a destination picked and we’ve brought in TDK so I don’t think we can be ridiculous with what we demand for him. Steele is the one we could theoretically ask for more from (noting I don’t think we would).

If Steele does look around and find a home, we cant then demand a good pick when we were the ones who pushed him out. Or hold him if we dont like what that new club is offering. That wouldn't be fair to Steele who is only looking for a new home at direction of the club.

Whereas with Marshall, we've told him we want to hold him to his contract yet he's nominated a club anyway so we have more right to demand a good return given we have made it clear we want to hold him to his contract.

 

[austinnn]

Gonna be very sad to see Rowan leave. He has been a great warrior for us over the years, well miss his presence.

I know its the right time for a trade and im happy we're not running him down too long and trading him for nix like we've done to so many of our stars, so long as the trade isn't shit, it'll give us another boost.

A new era begins, there wasn't much glory in the the past era but he did give us a few truly great moments. Nas certainly owes him a lot for THAT kick and by extention St Kilda does too!

 

[dudeintheswamp]

Gonna be very sad to see Rowan leave. He has been a great warrior for us over the years, well miss his presence.

I know its the right time for a trade and im happy we're not running him down too long and trading him for nix like we've done to so many of our stars, so long as the trade isn't shit, it'llView attachment 2446744View attachment 2446745View attachment 2446746 give us another boost.

A new era begins, there wasn't much glory in the the past era but he did give us a few truly great moments. Nas certainly owes him a lot for THAT kick and by extention St Kilda does too!

Yep whatever happens with Ro, he'll always be a part of St Kilda folklore with THAT kick

 

[gringo2011]

One thing that I haven’t noticed as much that shows - super clean off the deck, schmick pick ups

He’s going to surprise a few. If he’d been at a Melbourne club he would have been hyped.

 

[The_Steadier]

Gonna be very sad to see Rowan leave. He has been a great warrior for us over the years, well miss his presence.

I know its the right time for a trade and im happy we're not running him down too long and trading him for nix like we've done to so many of our stars, so long as the trade isn't shit, it'llView attachment 2446744View attachment 2446745View attachment 2446746 give us another boost.

A new era begins, there wasn't much glory in the the past era but he did give us a few truly great moments. Nas certainly owes him a lot for THAT kick and by extention St Kilda does too!

My money is on both roma and steele staying for another 12 months.

Steele will stay because he'll back himself in to make himself a decent mid/fwd. (For a year at least)

And I think marshall will stay because the cats will play games and not stump up an offer that we really want.*

*the caveat being that if we have some other deal cooking and we need a first rounder from geelong to do it- we could let him go for an average return.

But if we don't have a specific use for a cats first round pick- then I think roma stays.

We are literally trying to win a flag next year- roma could be very valuable to us in trying to do that.
We won't be letting him go unless the return results in us landing another big new signing I reckon.

 

[Sully111]

He’s going to surprise a few. If he’d been at a Melbourne club he would have been hyped.

The fact we've picked up a mid who uses the ball well and makes good decisions excites me to no end. Exactly what we needed.

 

[_Maximus_12]

I hope we get the Roma deal done before the Cats get the Curnow deal done. You can just see them trade two firsts for Curnow and turning around to tell us all they have to give is 2027 3rd rounder and Shannon Neales toe nail.

 

[Train12]

I hope we get the Roma deal done before the Cats get the Curnow deal done. You can just see them trade two firsts for Curnow and turning around to tell us all they have to give is 2027 3rd rounder and Shannon Neales toe nail.

Do you think though, if they have approached Ro with years to run on his contract, make him want to go, but cannot get the deal done - that’s a bad look for them?

 

[phantom13]

[

If Steele does look around and find a home, we cant then demand a good pick when we were the ones who pushed him out. Or hold him if we dont like what that new club is offering. That wouldn't be fair to Steele who is only looking for a new home at direction of the club.

Whereas with Marshall, we've told him we want to hold him to his contract yet he's nominated a club anyway so we have more right to demand a good return given we have made it clear we want to hold him to his contract.

Have we pushed him out?

We’ve told him he’s welcome to explore his options. From all accounts the eagles asked and he said he’s not interested so we’re not throwing him out the door and he’s not willing to just go anywhere to get away.

To be clear I’m not suggesting we hold him against his will but we can also engage with multiple suitors and as he can and thus get a reasonable deal for him.

I strongly suspect he gets traded and I doubt we’re gonna get overs for him but this idea that we must just take whatever we’re offered cause we’ve forced him out doesn’t at all appear to be the case.

Roma on the other hand we’ve literally brought in a younger guy on double his money in a sport where you only play one ruck. Yeh he’s contracted and yeh we can keep but imo it would be a lot worse to force him to stay when we’ve pushed him out by replacing him and after he’s specifically asked for a trade to another team.

In terms of the relationships with the player, it seems very amicable either way with Steele, Roma actually wants out and clearly doesn’t feel he has a place in this team.

I’d also note we’re both just speculating none of this is “fact”

 

[BrutThough]

[
Have we pushed him out?

We’ve told him he’s welcome to explore his options. From all accounts the eagles asked and he said he’s not interested so we’re not throwing him out the door and he’s not willing to just go anywhere to get away.

To be clear I’m not suggesting we hold him against his will but we can also engage with multiple suitors and as he can and thus get a reasonable deal for him.

I strongly suspect he gets traded and I doubt we’re gonna get overs for him but this idea that we must just take whatever we’re offered cause we’ve forced him out doesn’t at all appear to be the case.

Roma on the other hand we’ve literally brought in a younger guy on double his money in a sport where you only play one ruck. Yeh he’s contracted and yeh we can keep but imo it would be a lot worse to force him to stay when we’ve pushed him out by replacing him and after he’s specifically asked for a trade to another team.

In terms of the relationships with the player, it seems very amicable either way with Steele, Roma actually wants out and clearly doesn’t feel he has a place in this team.

I’d also note we’re both just speculating none of this is “fact”

We sat Steele down and politely encouraged him to looking for another club. How is that not pushing him out?

 

[phantom13]

Do you think though, if they have approached Ro with years to run on his contract, make him want to go, but cannot get the deal done - that’s a bad look for them?

Perception is that we’re hard to deal with, not them.

Perception is also that we’ve forced a loyal servant of the club out the door for a younger model on ridiculous money.

I think the broader afl community values Roma lower than we do (Geelongs first looks about right possibly a little over from my chats with nuetral supporters).

I’d say in terms of who is looks bad for it’ll look worse for it’s gonna look worse for us if it doesn’t happen (if we’re gonna about perception)

 

[phantom13]

We sat Steele down and politely encouraged him to looking for another club. How is that not pushing him out?

Politely encouraged is pushing him out?

It’s a business, he has a contract.

We’ve been clear about the direction of the team and told him he’s welcome to explore his opportunities.

I think we’re just completely misaligned about how the business works, telling him if he can find a better deal he’s welcome to it isn’t pushing him out.

Consider this verses Oliver, that’s pushing someone out. We’ve just given Steele the option to look around, the convo also sounded much more equitable than what you’re saying. He stood down and said he’d like to explore options, we agreed. There’s some semantics here but ultimately we can do a mini bidding war for the trade cause he isn’t wedded to any particular club and doesn’t feel slighted.

 

[Palantine]

He's so clean with quick hands and footy IQ

Knows what he’s going to do with the pill before he gets it. Can see him instantly slotting in and contributing significantly. Reminds me of Daicos but with more contested game.

 

[BrutThough]

Politely encouraged is pushing him out?

It’s a business, he has a contract.

We’ve been clear about the direction of the team and told him he’s welcome to explore his opportunities.

I think we’re just completely misaligned about how the business works, telling him if he can find a better deal he’s welcome to it isn’t pushing him out.

Consider this verses Oliver, that’s pushing someone out. We’ve just given Steele the option to look around, the convo also sounded much more equitable than what you’re saying. He stood down and said he’d like to explore options, we agreed. There’s some semantics here but ultimately we can do a mini bidding war for the trade cause he isn’t wedded to any particular club and doesn’t feel slighted.

Suggesting someone looks for a new club is pushing them out, no matter how you try to dress to up. We may have done it in a much nicer way than Melbourne did with Oliver and left the door for Steele return but it's basically the same thing at its core.

And when you do that, you have to facilitate a trade for whatever is offered.

 

[Saint_Matt]

Could Steele go back to tagging to free up Windy? Or can he not keep up with the premier mids? He made a name for himself as a run with player early on. Might even help him find the ball more. Seeing how effective Dunkley was as negating tough as nails mid makes me think that there’s room for him in there at times. Even starting HFF and pushing up to an opponent.

 

[phantom13]

Suggesting someone looks for a new club is pushing them out, no matter how you try to dress to up. We may have done it in a much nicer way without the baggage that Oliver has but it's the same concept.

And when you do that, you have to facilitate a trade for whatever is offered.

First part I completely disagree with. It’s a new age, allowing a player to explore options when contracted and supporting their ability to do so isn’t at all pushing them out.

Second part of don’t really disagree with but the bit your missing is that we can engage with multiple clubs for him. He may very well come back and say I’m happy with these 3 offers, you guys work it out. Again, we’re not gonna get “overs” for him, I’m not even suggesting we’re gonna get “value” for him but we can deal with more clubs and we can ultimately welcome him back if we can’t make that work.

That’s not the case with Roma, he wants Geelong and it could quite easily get nasty if it doesn’t happen.