Training Saints preseason 2026

[StFly]

Great advice from everyone.
Appreciated

I'd also say look at the Epping area also, as that brings in road hires, trams and direct avenues via other services along with trains also. It's then an "easier" route to escape back to Tullamarine if required as less people and congestions as you can then go back and front ways depending on things.

 

[Falchoon]

good news for fans of ninthscray

 

[Leap of Faith]

Exactly. More broadcast and advertising revenue is pretty much all they care about. If I didn’t have RW&B blood I would have pissed the AFL off out of my life long ago. Love the game. Can’t stand the people who run it and the commercialised bullshit that goes with it. Cricket’s the same.

 

[ScrappyDo]

Exactly. More broadcast and advertising revenue is pretty much all they care about. If I didn’t have RW&B blood I would have pissed the AFL off out of my life long ago. Love the game. Can’t stand the people who run it and the commercialised that goes with it. Cricket’s the same.

Yeah the corporate dollar has fully succeeded in ruining Australian sport.

 

[pebblesofsand]

Exactly. More broadcast and advertising revenue is pretty much all they care about. If I didn’t have RW&B blood I would have pissed the AFL off out of my life long ago. Love the game. Can’t stand the people who run it and the commercialised bullshit that goes with it. Cricket’s the same.

Wildcard round, opening round, gather round - f*** me Its getting more and more like the AFL commission think that australian rules is a really really shite game that no one actually likes.

 

[Diehard Saint]

Very unfair on the teams that finish 7th and 8th. They didn't have much of a chance from there to start with. Now they have to foof around while teams 1st though 6th have a bye to recuperate.
Might as well just run with a final 6.

Ridiculous.
Just drop the bye and continue straight into the finals.
Worked for how many years….?

 

[Saints4ever]

finishing 7th and 8th will now mean you don’t get a bye while the top 6 do.

Why should 7 and 8 have such a disadvantage and also run the risk of getting knocked out of the finals when they earnt the right after 22 games.

I really can’t get around it.

 

[SaintsofSteel]

Wildcard round, opening round, gather round - f*** me Its getting more and more like the AFL commission think that australian rules is a really really shite game that no one actually likes.

Whether we agree with it or not it's all about growing the game commercially.

TV corporations want more content, the AFL are worried about the ground the NRL and other sports are making.

The game is costing more and more to run, so the AFL exec's are looking for ways to make more $$$. The bottom dollar will always win over tradition.

 

[Nutsngum]

finishing 7th and 8th will now mean you don’t get a bye while the top 6 do.

Why should 7 and 8 have such a disadvantage and also run the risk of getting knocked out of the finals when they earnt the right after 22 games.

I really can’t get around it.

I cant believe the clubs are putting up with it either. Dogs showed that it CAN be done from 7th in a super close season but that extra game will basically destroy that opportunity. So we all get to enjoy 7 - 10 having no chance of winning it all rather then 7/8 barely having that chance. Awesome AFL, you ****ing morons.

 

[Saintos The ITK]

Yeah all it’s really done is hand more advantage to the top
I think their plan is to suck in supporters of those of us perennially stuck in the middle tiers due to the inequality of the comp by giving us more false hope for an extra week.
And it will work.

 

[jimmytigs]

track watchers set your alarms?

please give details re wednesday if you can,will try to get along,33 years since i was there for that last game against fitzroy,first entered the place in 1984,so should have enough motivation to get down,along with stopping in at my boys coffee shop in flinders lane on the way there and back,i will even insist on paying for the one on way back

already looking forward to end of march and getting back after i leave thursday,hope they load up the rounds 4- 10/12 fixtures with lots of home games against interstate teams and low drawing vic teams,i like a bit of space at games & also friendly fixturing for the twos,mostly games in victoria please,home or away

 

[stavro#4]

I cant believe the clubs are putting up with it either. Dogs showed that it CAN be done from 7th in a super close season but that extra game will basically destroy that opportunity. So we all get to enjoy 7 - 10 having no chance of winning it all rather then 7/8 barely having that chance. Awesome AFL, you ****ing morons.

They are putting up with it because it removes the dead rubber games that fill up the ass end of a season.

From a Stkilda PoV:



I don’t think any club 7-10 goes on and wins 5 games and gets a flag under this system. But the same people who get excited about end of season wins in a dead season will also be a fan of getting “finals experience” however it’s achieved.

 

[stavro#4]

track watchers set your alarms?

please give details re wednesday if you can,will try to get along,33 years since i was there for that last game against fitzroy,first entered the place in 1984,so should have enough motivation to get down,along with stopping in at my boys coffee shop in flinders lane on the way there and back,i will even insist on paying for the one on way back

already looking forward to end of march and getting back after i leave thursday,hope they load up the rounds 4- 10/12 fixtures with lots of home games against interstate teams and low drawing vic teams,i like a bit of space at games & also friendly fixturing for the twos,mostly games in victoria please,home or away

I’ll be off for the next 12 weeks.

Can’t wait to get down to a few more sessions than usual.

I can’t remember the last time I genuinely didn’t know which player to focus on either. There are so many who I want to know how they are progressing and tracking.

 

[stavro#4]

 

[Pardon me]

Dont like this.
Actually think the whole thing is ridiculous, but this counting as a finals win when its an extra game to get into the finals series is dumb.

 

[Simple Jack]

I don't think it's that nefarious. In an 18 team comp with equalisation that has been completely ****ed we end up with nearly half the league season over and just struggling to the finish line for the last 6 games.

Adding wildcard weekend just keeps the season alive a bit longer.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

They are putting up with it because it removes the dead rubber games that fill up the ass end of a season.

From a Stkilda PoV:



I don’t think any club 7-10 goes on and wins 5 games and gets a flag under this system. But the same people who get excited about end of season wins in a dead season will also be a fan of getting “finals experience” however it’s achieved.

Watch us finish 7th next year, and get knocked out in a wildcard, playing Geelong at Cardinia park.

 

[The Punter]

Watch us finish 7th next year, and get knocked out in a wildcard, playing Geelong at Cardinia park.

I mean, this is fantasy.

I can't wait for the parade of white flag waving "That's So St Kilda" if we lose a first week of finals game after finished 7th or 8th.

 

[BrutThough]

Watch us finish 7th next year, and get knocked out in a wildcard, playing Geelong at Cardinia park.

If we finished 7th, why would we be playing an away game at 10th's home ground?

 

[stavro#4]

Watch us finish 7th next year, and get knocked out in a wildcard, playing Geelong at Cardinia park.

If we finished 7th, we would be playing a home final.

To be honest, it only really sucks for the sides 7-8th who might need a week off or who are significantly better than 9-10th over 23 weeks and then lose in a wild card game.

I do think it will impact the conversations we have as supporters and you will see more overrating of lists going forward because of a few wildcard wins etc.

 

[FraserFridays]

finishing 7th and 8th will now mean you don’t get a bye while the top 6 do.

Why should 7 and 8 have such a disadvantage and also run the risk of getting knocked out of the finals when they earnt the right after 22 games.

I really can’t get around it.

I also dont get that if you win from 10th when you VS the 7th place team that you go from 10th to 7th? How is that fair.

 

[Remboy]

I don't think it's that nefarious. In an 18 team comp with equalisation that has been completely ****ed we end up with nearly half the league season over and just struggling to the finish line for the last 6 games.

Adding wildcard weekend just keeps the season alive a bit longer.

My brother and I were saying there weee only nine teams that could make tye eight with about two months to go. It’s hard to keep supporters of the bottom nine engaged when that’s the case. The AFL want to keep more supporters interested for longer.
At the very least they’ve people talking about footy six weeks before Christmas. Anything that keeps the AFL in the news is a good thing.

 

[Remboy]

I’ll be off for the next 12 weeks.

Can’t wait to get down to a few more sessions than usual.

I can’t remember the last time I genuinely didn’t know which player to focus on either. There are so many who I want to know how they are progressing and tracking.

I can save you the time Stav. They’re all fitter than they’ve ever been and posting PBs.

 

[The Punter]

Here's my view

https://www.theroar.com.au/2025/11/10/counterpoint-afls-progress-is-not-weakness-or-a-wokeness-more-finals-is-a-sign-things-are-getting-better/

 

[stavro#4]

I can save you the time Stav. They’re all fitter than they’ve ever been and posting PBs.

The running stuff bores me mate.

I want to see King and Pou on the track. I want to see structure, Skills and a gameplan that is drilled in to perfection.

I want to see the physical evolution of the likes of Travaglia Tauru Dodson Caminiti Hall etc.

I want to see the immediate impact of JSOS TDK Ryan and Flanders etc.

Does NAS go up another level?
Who goes with him?

Who is the next Hall?

Will we finally see the evolution of Owens as a player?

I have so many questions I need answers to.

In my eyes, this might be our biggest summer of work since Hawthorn belted us in the 08 prelim and we turned into one of the games greatest ever defensive machines in the summer that followed with a side finishing runner up in the next 2 seasons.