List Mgmt. 2025 List Management Discussion - Part V

[Hubnester]

2025 List Management Discussion - Part 5

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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[nikkig98]

I love this by us. At least one of these kids will be a gun. Our Irish Academy!

It worked well for Geelong.
Mullin, O'Connor are pretty good contributors for them atm and tuohy was good too

 

[ScrappyDo]

That's a half back if I've ever seen one

Them's some proper wheels on that kid.

 

[BrutThough]

So we beat out another couple of clubs for a signing.
Colin Young has Armstrong as a client plus four of our indigenous players. So much for agents not wanting to deal with us after Aleer.
Like our clubs out of the box thinking. We can't get access to fake northern clubs NGA's so we pick the eyes out of the best Irish players.
Good long term strategy. LOC seems a player, Armstrong is the right size, this kid apparently can play.
Good stuff

Also, encouraging the player to stay back home to finish school before they arrive. Something out of the box to get them signed before anyone else.

 

[akaifu]

 

[Remboy]

So we beat out another couple of clubs for a signing.
Colin Young has Armstrong as a client plus four of our indigenous players. So much for agents not wanting to deal with us after Aleer.
Like our clubs out of the box thinking. We can't get access to fake northern clubs NGA's so we pick the eyes out of the best Irish players.
Good long term strategy. LOC seems a player, Armstrong is the right size, this kid apparently can play.
Good stuff

It looks like our destination club status is extending as far as Ireland.

 

[Murraj1966]

More line breaking speed with the direction the game is going is only a good thing

 

[nikkig98]

That's a half back if I've ever seen one

Sinclair successor? Just gotta change the type of ball he kicks

 

[maanco]

Needs to be paid minimum approx. 68k - not bad for someone still at school.

And apparently for rookies cat a and b base pay is excluded from the salary cap.

 

[SainterinSydney]

That's a half back if I've ever seen one

Can we start trolling Geelong by saying we now have the Irish Daicos?

 

[SaintWrld]

Not a bad idea in such a weak draft to go out and target a draft age Irish lad to develop, seems highly rated over there. Looks like he has some serious wheels

 

[TheJackal]

State of play:

• 36 on the main primary list with Hammer replacing Byrnes as the only guaranteed move prior to the draft - 2 spots free
• LOC to join Hall on rookie list A, 2 spots free
• Kobe to join Armstrong on cat B rookie list.

Our 44 list spots will be 38, 4 & 2.

 

[SaintsofSteel]

State of play:

• 36 on the main primary list with Hammer replacing Byrnes as the only guaranteed move prior to the draft - 2 spots free
• LOC to join Hall on rookie list A, 2 spots free
• Kobe to join Armstrong on cat B rookie list.

Our 44 list spots will be 38, 4 & 2.

I think you will find clubs can have 3 x Cat B's now, plus they can remain Cat B for 3 years. If Im right there will be no need to move LOC this year.

Congrats to young Kobe for winning a 2 year contract and hopefully your time at the Saints if a memorable one.

 

[SaintWrld]

State of play:

• 36 on the main primary list with Hammer replacing Byrnes as the only guaranteed move prior to the draft - 2 spots free
• LOC to join Hall on rookie list A, 2 spots free
• Kobe to join Armstrong on cat B rookie list.

Our 44 list spots will be 38, 4 & 2.

What I find strange is there has been zero official correspondence from the club around the delisting of Byrnes(clubs usually make a statement, even if the player is going to be re listed), the AFL list lodgement deadline was Friday just passed, and the official AFL website doesn’t list Byrnes as a delisting (but lists all the other late delistings).
Has he actually been delisted or are we just taking the word of Jon Ralph as gospel? It doesn’t appear as though he’s actually been delisted..

 

[CursingFijian]

Down the track we may even get some players from Fiji...you just never know!

Plenty of tall, courageous, hard tackling, fast twitch types back home. Positioning and disposal would be build from scratch though. Need some sort of early identification cross over program.

 

[TheJackal]

I think you will find clubs can have 3 x Cat B's now, plus they can remain Cat B for 3 years. If Im right there will be no need to move LOC this year.

Congrats to young Kobe for winning a 2 year contract and hopefully your time at the Saints if a memorable one.

Are you able to post a link to where it says that as I haven't heard of the change back to 3 x cat b's

 

[ScrappyDo]

Are you able to post a link to where it says that as I haven't heard of the change back to 3 x cat b's

Not a change. It's been that way for a while l think.

 

[ThomasR]

Not a change. It's been that way for a while l think.

The official rules doc (Feb 2025) says 2, I believe it has been that way ever since list sizes were reduced to 44

https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/document/2025/02/13/b37f8086-9a25-44de-9c9d-ba7df30004ba/AFL-Rules-effective-14-February-2025-Final-.pdf

-

--

but then the draft guide (Nov 2025) says 3

https://play.afl/sites/default/files/2025-10/2025%20Telstra%20AFL%20Draft%20Booklet.pdf

--

in the absence of any change being communicated, I am more inclined to believe the first document, but who knows?

 

[ScrappyDo]

The official rules doc (Feb 2025) says 2, I believe it has been that way ever since list sizes were reduced to 44

https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/document/2025/02/13/b37f8086-9a25-44de-9c9d-ba7df30004ba/AFL-Rules-effective-14-February-2025-Final-.pdf

View attachment 2469619-

--

but then the draft guide (Nov 2025) says 3

https://play.afl/sites/default/files/2025-10/2025%20Telstra%20AFL%20Draft%20Booklet.pdf

View attachment 2469620

--

in the absence of any change being communicated, I am more inclined to believe the first document, but who knows?

I've looked at those rules every year and at least to my memory they haven't changed.
Interesting to see how it unfolds since 3 cat B's will cost us 1 cat A rookie spot.
Hopefully someone with time can knock up a list with the known movements incorporated? Kildonan

 

[TheJackal]

I've looked at those rules every year and at least to my memory they haven't changed.
Interesting to see how it unfolds since 3 cat B's will cost us 1 cat A rookie spot.
Hopefully someone with time can knock up a list with the known movements incorporated? Kildonan

If 3 Cat B's will cost us 1 Cat A spot regardless of 2 or 3 spots on the Cat B list then is this a futile conversion?

 

[nikkig98]

In a list management sense it makes sense, both in terms of the list profile and salary cap.

A core of young and precociously talented Irish lads, who will be slow burns, and who will be modestly paid for the foreseeable future.

This will partly counterbalance a number of highly paid seasoned players, one or two who MAY be walking in the door at the end of 2026 via free agency.

In a few years, when the Irish lads blossom into the players we hope they become, there will be more room in the salary cap to reward them as the list and demographics of the cap evolve.

And we will have recruited them without burning draft capital.

If our development is elite, and our luck holds, we will hit the jackpot with these lads. If ever a club deserved the luck of the Irish it is St Kilda.

We could end up as a destination club with two groups of potential recruits- indigenous and Irish lads.

I love the vision and direction of this. It’s bold and strategic.

This is perfectly laid out. As our leadership have said, its becoming a 2 speed league unfairly stacked for certain teams. We've complained and laid out our issues with it. But unlike other clubs or previous leadership regimes at this club, we're actually taking multiple avenues to fight against it aside from protesting.

The off-field governance has genuinely never been better and its so heartening to see proactive decision making. Obviously history will use our results to retroactively apply these choices as a success or failure, but we are trying everything in the playbook.

Lowkey need a "toast" thread for Andrew Bassatt and Carl Dilena

 

[St Neil]

So we beat out another couple of clubs for a signing.
Colin Young has Armstrong as a client plus four of our indigenous players. So much for agents not wanting to deal with us after Aleer.
Like our clubs out of the box thinking. We can't get access to fake northern clubs NGA's so we pick the eyes out of the best Irish players.
Good long term strategy. LOC seems a player, Armstrong is the right size, this kid apparently can play.
Good stuff

We are now a club that is attractive to both indigenous and Irish talent.

I think it’s absolutely fantastic.

We’ve carved a recruiting strategy that is strategic, logical but requires limited draft capital.

If it comes up trumps then we have fast tracked our progression.

Patience is required with the Irish lads. It’s a long term investment.

 

[St Neil]

Do you reckon the club is tired of winning this offseason?

It’s an opioid I’m quickly becoming addicted to.

 

[BigMonty]

Was walking around Seaford introducing Ashley Prescott as the new assistant while the board were sacking him.

Watters had alienated more than the senior players, there was going to be a walk out of staff across the club if he had stayed.

An abrasive little turd was how he was described to me.

I was at the Roaring 40s post grand final lunch. When old mate Prez Andrew Plympton announced that Waters was gone.......sent the media types scuttling to their phones. He was premature by 3 days. Waters was told by the board to tow the line and use the reporting lines as set out and then went and did what he wanted without consultation.... 3 days. Think he was just one of those that did what they want when they want without much thought to others.
Thought he was a bit above StKilda said to the players that they hadn't done anything of note...which rankled a few feathers and that was the beginning of the end
One place you cannot lose the players is sadly St Kilda

 

[SainterinSydney]

CaptainRisky any tips for the Cup tomorrow? All of this winning this off season--I'm feeling lucky

 

[stfan]

Another Kobe McDonald will join St Kilda article.

Son of an Irish gun set to join the Saints

St Kilda will welcome a young Irish star next season

www.afl.com.au