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
​

 

[DT_35]

Geelong board:

One poster -
‘St Kilda will have an astonishing $5.7m of next year's $18.3m salary cap tied up in four players - NWM, TDK, King and Flanders (respectively $2m, $1.7m, $1m and $900k according to reports).

They absolutely need to offload Marshall's contract unless their long-term player is to have 8-10 AFL level players surrounded by rookies and VFL level players’

Another poster -
30% of your cap tied up in 4 out of 44 players is wild

lol absolute dumb campaigners

 

[AFaiL]

Two years left it’s this year or nothing would be my bet.

I don’t trust Geelong they’ll find an excuse to drag it out and hope for a pity trade. I reject that outright, it’s not Darwin, people commute everyday.

If you are somebody of the calibre of Ro, you are not commuting from, say, Lorne (mid point) to Moorabbin 4-5 times a week. You don't need to. How far do you commute for work?

 

[_Maximus_12]

Geelong board:

‘St Kilda will have an astonishing $5.7m of next year's $18.3m salary cap tied up in four players - NWM, TDK, King and Flanders (respectively $2m, $1.7m, $1m and $900k according to reports).

They absolutely need to offload Marshall's contract unless their long-term player is to have 8-10 AFL level players surrounded by rookies and VFL level players’

lol absolute dumb campaigners

They forget that we back ended Jack Higgins contract and he's due for $12.7m next season so the rest of the playing list are volunteers

 

[St Neil]

Agree. You don't want to be digging your heels in on every trade otherwise u end up being Essendon.

We want him, if we pay slightly overs it doesn't matter. Get the deal done, shows we mean business. Next.

And if Gubby Allan is to be believed, there are a couple more left to come.

 

[Captain Paddy]

Cam Luke is an atrocious broadcaster. Substandard.

Spends so much time telling us about what he believes to be true instead of just letting pickers explain how all things trades work

 

[Joffaboy]

This is the part I love the most. People's ability to change their tune then justify it is something to behold.

Cognitive Dissonance

 

[CHBench]

Geelong board:

‘St Kilda will have an astonishing $5.7m of next year's $18.3m salary cap tied up in four players - NWM, TDK, King and Flanders (respectively $2m, $1.7m, $1m and $900k according to reports).

They absolutely need to offload Marshall's contract unless their long-term player is to have 8-10 AFL level players surrounded by rookies and VFL level players’

lol absolute dumb campaigners

List management and match committee outsmarted by a Geelong Bigfooty poster.

Damn, log off boys and girls, Saints are done

 

[snails13]

Geelong board:

One poster -
‘St Kilda will have an astonishing $5.7m of next year's $18.3m salary cap tied up in four players - NWM, TDK, King and Flanders (respectively $2m, $1.7m, $1m and $900k according to reports).

They absolutely need to offload Marshall's contract unless their long-term player is to have 8-10 AFL level players surrounded by rookies and VFL level players’

Another poster -
30% of your cap tied up in 4 out of 44 players is wild

lol absolute dumb campaigners

Is our Salary Cap anywhere near that of Cotton On?

 

[BigMonty]

Didn't listen to a heap but that's not the sense of got from The Late Trade. Brad Johnson in particular was absolutely glowing in a segment I listened to, loved our strategy and really had nothing but praise which many on here won't believe. Barret is and always has been a flog, pretends he has inside info and knows what's happening at the saints when in reality no one would be giving him anything.

Jenkins was neither here nor there from what I listened to, was just being more analytical. Both pushed back on Damo's ridiculous narrative he's trying to push that anything less than a prelim next year is a failure

Got to love Purple. Every AFL club has to manage salary cap and draft. It is not like we have gone all in balls and all with a last ditch plan. Why the expectation that we must make a PF or what happens then? We have failed failed at what exactly? Drafted and used the salary cap like every other clubs has had to...yet we fail. Surely you should look at a number of other clubs and judge them? North Ess WCE and Blues to start with. They have the same resources available to them but we are judged on a PF or fail.

Stupid twat....as stupid as Andy Maher saying they just got to get the deal done....why...if it is not in the interests of the club and how they value players and picks not the twat media commentators.

Essendon claim to win the draft and trade period for years and it got them a long nowhere and trading Gresham who was meant to be the last piece of the finals puzzle vindicates how clever Dildoro was....not

Go Saints tell them nothing and take them nowhere...onya Gubby

 

[Banger9798]

I think we won by getting Flanders. Pick 7 seems like a good result for both clubs. We understand Flanders is contracted (Geelong????) and GC didn't ask for the world. It is also sets up a basis for cordial trading with GC in this trade period and maybe going forward.
I am pretty comfortable with this trade TBH.

Exactly, and I think the goodwill component actually counts. If GC find themselves in another trade situation where they need to release another player for Petracca, for instance.

 

[Falchoon]

Nick Daicos is the mystery midfielder!!

 

[nikkig98]

They genuinely have no idea either. I've seen so many posts about us spending 30% of our cap on 4 players and qouting all these inflated figures. What a time to be alive!

The one thing i'm absolutely loving the most is the lack of any semblance of knowledge from oppo supporters over the nature of the salary cap and how we can't pay everyone. Everyones a forensic accountant all of a sudden.

I think a lot of the opposition have underestimated how much they're paying some of their own mediocre players.

People saying we'd have to pass on flanders, offload darcy wilson or wilkie because of TDK and silvagni a few weeks back just to be pissed they picked us is hilarious.

 

[Joffaboy]

Geelong board:

One poster -
‘St Kilda will have an astonishing $5.7m of next year's $18.3m salary cap tied up in four players - NWM, TDK, King and Flanders (respectively $2m, $1.7m, $1m and $900k according to reports).

They absolutely need to offload Marshall's contract unless their long-term player is to have 8-10 AFL level players surrounded by rookies and VFL level players’

Another poster -
30% of your cap tied up in 4 out of 44 players is wild

lol absolute dumb campaigners

This is astonishingly stupid even for a Facebook group let alone Bigfooty where the ability to get somewhat accurate information can easily be obtained.

They hear Edmund parrot Geelong's talking point this morning and it is suddenly fact. I am dumber for reading that.

 

[Mav3rick]

How do we bid on Fincher now should be the question
If we can get a pick/points back from GCS to help with that, then that's what could happen still.

Fincher isn't in any top 30 draft prospect list that I've seen, and given he's an NGA there's every chance he isn't picked until very late. Can't imagine it will be an issue

 

[gringo2011]

Not sure he will make it?

He looks okay. Just needs more time. Although I thought Harry Lemmey looked okay too.

 

[MrFoster]

Nick Daicos is the mystery midfielder!!

Wouldn't be surprised if we also enquired. But can't see how we can get this done without a lot of draft capital unless they accept future 1st round picks.

 

[bergholt]

Got to love Purple. Every AFL club has to manage salary cap and draft. It is not like we have gone all in balls and all with a last ditch plan. Why the expectation that we must make a PF or what happens then? We have failed failed at what exactly? Drafted and used the salary cap like every other clubs has had to...yet we fail. Surely you should look at a number of other clubs and judge them? North Ess WCE and Blues to start with. They have the same resources available to them but we are judged on a PF or fail.

The bit that none of them are thinking about (because they're morons) is - what's the other option?

Just stay meek and go to the draft again, in a weak year where we have zero advantages? Front end even more contracts to get to the base level 95% of the salary cap? Cross our fingers that the kids we have are enough to give us performance over the next couple of years that lets us keep Nas?

They think very surface-level about this stuff unfortunately.

 

[AFaiL]

The bit that none of them are thinking about (because they're morons) is - what's the other option?

Just stay meek and go to the draft again, in a weak year where we have zero advantages? Front end even more contracts to get to the base level 95% of the salary cap? Cross our fingers that the kids we have are enough to give us performance over the next couple of years that lets us keep Nas?

They think very surface-level about this stuff unfortunately.

Duh - no other team uses their salary cap. Just us.

 

[Geezington]

Agreed, stop talking about Cordy before Pencil Case and Tian show up.

I was reading the buku khamis thread and pencil case said something like buku had Charlie Curnow in his back pocket for one of this 35 games, turns out Curnow had 11 shots on goal and kicked 3 goals 7, that guy is that slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 minutes dumbest of dumb campaigners

 

[saxond74]

I could be wrong but doing the sums,

Salary cap 2025 = $15.79m, 2026 = $18.3m, Saints can pay 105% = $19.22m
Carolyn Wilson said we paid 83% to players on our list this year & the other 12% was to former players (eg Crouch, Billings etc) just to get to the 95% min, which we also did in 2024.
So 2025 was approx $13.11m.
Obviously there are some other factors but that would give us approx $6.11m to use this year & pretty sure we can pay 105% next two seasons, so I sort of believe “Gubby”!!

 

[thekizzler]

Matthew Lloyd ranks $1.7m star as free agent to have biggest impact in 2026​

We've seen a number of free agents sign with new clubs already, with the headliners clearly Tom De Koning

12

Tom De Koning

Age

26

Ht

201cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.0

2star

K

3.0

1star

HB

5.0

4star

CL

0.5

2star

HO

1.5

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.0

2star

K

3.0

1star

HB

5.0

4star

CL

0.5

3star

HO

1.5

5star

and Jack Silvagni

1

Jack Silvagni

Age

27

Ht

194cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

D/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.0

3star

K

7.1

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.9

4star

MG

176.9

3star

D

5.3

1star

K

4.0

1star

HB

1.3

1star

M

1.7

2star

T

0.7

1star

MG

91.0

2star

D

9.2

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

3.4

4star

T

2.8

5star

MG

131.4

3star

to St Kilda, Sam Draper to Brisbane, James Worpel

5

James Worpel

Age

26

Ht

186cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

23.5

5star

K

12.2

5star

HB

11.3

5star

M

2.9

3star

T

4.5

5star

CL

5.1

5star

No current season stats available

D

15.6

4star

K

6.2

3star

HB

9.4

5star

M

1.0

1star

T

3.2

5star

CL

1.8

4star

to Geelong and the looming move of Oscar Allen

12

Oscar Allen

Age

26

Ht

196cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.8

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.1

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.6

3star

K

5.8

3star

HB

2.8

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.2

4star

to Brisbane.

Of these, Essendon great Matthew Lloyd believes De Koning is capable of having the most impact on his new club in 2026.

Carlton received pick nine as compensation, with the Saints offering the ruckman a contract worth $1.7m per season.

Rest of article/source: https://www.nine.com.au/sport/afl/n...ng-st-kilda-trade-period-20251007-p5n0n5.html

 

[Mav3rick]

The bit that none of them are thinking about (because they're morons) is - what's the other option?

Just stay meek and go to the draft again, in a weak year where we have zero advantages? Front end even more contracts to get to the base level 95% of the salary cap? Cross our fingers that the kids we have are enough to give us performance over the next couple of years that lets us keep Nas?

They think very surface-level about this stuff unfortunately.

The time to go was always now - it would've been nice if we'd secured Callaghan, LDU or any of the other big fish in the last few years but the fact is we didn't. But that did allow us to heavily front-end contracts, hit the draft hard and essentially save a heap of cash to outbid everyone else on free agents. All unlocked by NAS becoming the most exciting player in the comp and (very publicly) resigning with us.

It's a similar approach to some of the NFL teams where cap manipulation is common practice, and those who do it the best reap the rewards. Is it a bit risky? Yes. Have we overpaid some of these players. Yes, but it's offset by others being underpaid at this point. If we become a contender I fully expect us to do the opposite and start back-ending contracts, which is where the real risk kicks in and the media can have a field day if it doesn't work.

 

[Mystifly]

Wouldn't be surprised if we also enquired. But can't see how we can get this done without a lot of draft capital unless they accept future 1st round picks.

Caminiti and 2 x (future) FRP for N.Daicos. If we had a crack at Harley Reid, we definitely would've had a crack at Nick.

 

[MrFoster]

Caminiti and 2 x (future) FRP for N.Daicos. If we had a crack at Harley Reid, we definitely would've had a crack at Nick.

If we can get Nick Daicos this year, then it'll be truly spectacular. Just don't think it'll happen given our splash so far.

 

[projectv]

Doggies fans are back on the Zak Butters

9

Zak Butters

Age

25

Ht

181cm

Wt

77kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.3

4star

K

7.7

3star

HB

6.7

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.8

3star

D

14.7

4star

K

8.9

4star

HB

5.9

3star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.1

3star

D

17.0

5star

K

9.0

4star

HB

8.0

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.6

4star

CL

0.6

3star

train.

Choo choo.