Training Saints preseason 2026

[gringo2011]

Yep, impossible to predict at this stage of the year. Difficult to pick from year to year based on personnel. Which team has their tails up and confidence in their structure and game style, which ones get enough luck early to build belief with early wins, injuries - type of player and when - FIXture, and so on.

Personally, I don’t see that Hawthorn, Collingwood, even the Cats have as strong lists as their perpetual win totals suggest! Winners win I guess. All have excellent coaches.

I think Sydney will bounce back into top 4, but as above, I often think talent is not quite as important as usually portrayed. And talent is often perception anyway. Carlton and Essendon always seem to have some perception of “next year”/“next big thing” and generally have been junk. I think this is often linked to fan base size and visibility - big games, Friday night lights. I think the general footy population has a perception that because Kyle Reimers kicked 4 one week (against the bottom team) that that’s their level and the other 15 rubbish games is an aberration. Our junk games aren’t on FTA. As an aside on Sydney they still have a nice collection of top liners anyway - Heeney, Gulden, Lizard, Grundy, Warner, Papley (when not suspended), Tommy McCartin when not injured), Curnow. But usually have the kulcha and the intangibles.

That will be one of the big things for us this year - can we build confidence and improve all the intangibles that others have mentioned in the last day or so: better knowledge of the plan, positioning, stronger leadership onfield, improved team defence, ability to stop run ons, being much harder and tougher.

Sydney are going to be interesting to watch. A few guys are getting older and they let Florrent and Hayward go to get Curnow. Lose Curnow for any period and they are running a bit thin, they need Heeney, Chad and Errol to stay fit too.

 

[SG34]

I think you need to not be a liability kicking the footy in the back half. Owens is a liability in an area you need precision

Is his field kicking bad, or is it the set shot?
(EDIT: I think we desperately need to bolster the defence. For years our defence was solid and the f50 was the problem. Now I think the reverse is the problem)

 

[gringo2011]

Banfield is a beast of an 18 year old.Was right in front of me yesterday and looked 6 foot 3 ,Not knowing exactly but looked bigger than Silvagni
Fincher is a clever player,both sides ,finds space in traffic really well.
Thought he may be a candidate for back pocket but skills say he will play mid one day .

I can barely remember how the old man played but he was always a magnificent specimen. Probably 90% roids but he was jacked AF.

 

[Saintscomemarchingin]

Sydney are going to be interesting to watch. A few guys are getting older and they let Florrent and Hayward go to get Curnow. Lose Curnow for any period and they are running a bit thin, they need Heeney, Chad and Errol to stay fit too.

Hayward at full-forward in Carlton's best 23 on the Afl website.
God, their team on paper, looks damn awful.
Very thin on talls.

 

[The Punter]

IMO

We can't compete with their best: Bris, GC
We should be better than: Carl, Ess, Melb, Rich, WC
I suspect we are better than and should beat: Coll, NM, PA
Whereabouts: Adel, Frem, Geel, GWS, Haw, Syd, WB

 

[Saintscomemarchingin]

I can barely remember how the old man played but he was always a magnificent specimen. Probably 90% roids but he was jacked AF.

Yeah, that team he played in, was the start of roids.

 

[Dard Ball Get]

Is his field kicking bad, or is it the set shot?
(EDIT: I think we desperately need to bolster the defence. For years our defence was solid and the f50 was the problem. Now I think the reverse is the problem)

Desperately is a bit strong no?
In comes Silvagni, Howard should be available at some point, Hammer is a year older and more experienced, as is Tauru. O’Connell will be available, Hastie and Trav maturing. Sincs and Wilkie are elite in their positions, as is Nas when rotated there, Flanders very handy, Carroll untested but sounding promising.

Ross and Co’s system defence leans plug and play, and our midfield and forward lines should be stronger also meaning less oppo clearance and rebound dominance?

 

[stavro#4]

Is his field kicking bad, or is it the set shot?
(EDIT: I think we desperately need to bolster the defence. For years our defence was solid and the f50 was the problem. Now I think the reverse is the problem)

I wouldn't feel comfortable with the ball in Mitchitos hands trying to pick apart a full ground zone. Wilkie for a key back is great ball in hand. Caminiti is comfortably average. Jsos is ok. Howard when everything is kept simple and he doesn't want to pirouette is also okay.

 

[gringo2011]

IMO

We can't compete with their best: Bris, GC
We should be better than: Carl, Ess, Melb, Rich, WC
I suspect we are better than and should beat: Coll, NM, PA
Whereabouts: Adel, Frem, Geel, GWS, Haw, Syd, WB

23 games and we need to win just over half to play finals. Maybe only need to win half if it's an even year and with an extra 2 finals spots.

If we could knock off your middle sides we would have 8 wins. Another 4 from the bottom pile and we probably make it inside the 10.

 

[luca77]

Is his field kicking bad, or is it the set shot?
(EDIT: I think we desperately need to bolster the defence. For years our defence was solid and the f50 was the problem. Now I think the reverse is the problem)

Mitch is ok at snagging a goal when the ball hits the deck or goes over the back. Other than that, I'd be expecting Nas, Hill or Sinclair to be running past for a give-off whenever Mitch has the ball in hand and the play has stopped. If he's in the backline, and that option gets shut down we could really pay the price, over and again - and other teams would be onto that.

Except for that I do think he'd be a really good disruptor and add a lot of pressure down there. Hamill was good when he went bang and crash like that, but he had much safer hands than Mitch imo. Sometimes Mitch's hands are pretty hard, and we can't be dropping easy marks back there either. Don't want to make it sound like I don't rate Mitch, but he's far from the complete player as we all know.

 

[akaifu]

Why is there a want to make Mitchito learn a completely new position to move him back for the same reasons he's so good as a forward, especially after signing Silvagni?

 

[Saintscomemarchingin]

Is his field kicking bad, or is it the set shot?
(EDIT: I think we desperately need to bolster the defence. For years our defence was solid and the f50 was the problem. Now I think the reverse is the problem)

His set shot, really isnt that bad.
Looks awkward, but he often nails them, not from far out though.
Dont get to see much of his field kicking, not something that stands out.
He played on a wing in his last year of juniors, his kicking was mentioned as a concern there.

 

[Sully111]

Anyone know when the captain is announced?

 

[beside the seaside]

Anyone know when the captain is announced?

I think it's already been mentioned but in the team photo Sincs was sitting on the right of Lyon and Wilkie on the left. I was looking back through old team photos of ours and the captain always sits where Sincs was sitting. May also mean he and Wilkie are co-captains.

If the decision has been made you'd think they'd be putting it out soon.

 

[SaintSteele9]

Boy I can’t wait to indulge in some Friday full sim training reports tomorrow night. TIA to those attending!

 

[aussierulesrules]

Getting smashed in a GF usually gives sides a mental battering. I wouldn't be surprised to see Geelong finally seat to wobble a bit.

Definitely, most teams who cop that drop off the following year. Outside of that they look like they’ve improved their squad though, with the addition of Worpel, and return of Bruhn.

They look better balanced on paper now. When Danger hits the wall is the big question.

Pies obviously looking older and shallower.

Yeah I think Collingwood are more likely to drop off from purely a list perspective.

Didn’t add anyone of note, lost Mihocek and some other experienced guys, Hill is AWOL again, the old guys are a year closer to the wall, and they’ve got preseason injuries.

While the only forwards who kicked 20 goals for them last year were Elliott (60), Mihocek (36, gone), Skunk (32), and Hill (20, and AWOL).

They need Elliott to be peak Gaz or Duck.

Crows need to back up with a harder draw and injury biting etc.

They’ll be interesting. Very strong forwardline tho.

To me Freo, Dogs, Saints, Port, Sydney and even Carlton and Essendon are going to improve.

I’m not seeing it with Carlton. They’ve lost so much and they get injuries every year, so if they get a fair amount again they could slide further.

Gone: Curnow (18 games last year), TDK (22), SOSOS (13), Docherty (15), Motlop (23), Durdin (16)

Gain: Hayward, Ainsworth, Newman, Jagga, Kemp, Dean

So it’s not like it’s a net gain, and if they get injuries, especially to McKay, or Pittonet… things could get ugly.

Really only see WCE as a walk over at this point. An even season makes wins a bit more precious. A lot will ride on knocking-off the teams around your level.

West Coast will certainly be interesting. They could be a lot better if Reid has a breakout year and Waterman is back playing every week and firing though. Their fortunes lie in their hands so much.

 

[gringo2011]

Did Squiggle and went pretty conservative. Got us to the GF after finishing 9th. It would be a pretty St Kilda way to do it.

		W	L	D	%
1.	Brisbane Lions	19	4	0	123.6%
2.	Hawthorn	18	5	0	115.4%
3.	Adelaide	17	6	0	116.7%
4.	Fremantle	16	7	0	120.1%
5.	Geelong	16	7	0	107.1%
6.	Gold Coast	15	8	0	113.7%
7.	Sydney	15	8	0	112.4%
8.	GWS	15	8	0	109.6%
9.	St Kilda	14	9	0	110.2%
10.	Western Bulldogs	13	10	0	112.8%
11.	Port Adelaide	13	10	0	98.8%
12.	Collingwood	12	11	0	97.8%
13.	Essendon	7	16	0	87.3%
14.	North Melbourne	6	17	0	89.1%
15.	Carlton	6	17	0	85.4%
16.	Melbourne	3	20	0	78.5%
17.	Richmond	2	21	0	77.5%
18.	West Coast	0	23	0	68.1%

WC1: SYDNEY v Western Bulldogs
WC2: GWS v ST KILDA

QF1: BRISBANE LIONS v Fremantle
QF2: HAWTHORN v Adelaide
EF1: Geelong v ST KILDA
EF2: GOLD COAST v Sydney

SF1: Fremantle v ST KILDA
SF2: Adelaide v GOLD COAST

PF1: BRISBANE LIONS v Gold Coast
PF2: Hawthorn v ST KILDA

GF: BRISBANE LIONS v St Kilda

 

[aussierulesrules]

I feel like our injury list is actually extremely good this year (touch wood) with no actual major injuries at all. Whilst we do have guys in the rehab group they all appear to be managing very mild strains with no actual off feet time, theyre all in running programs and still building towards the practice games.

There is no player who at the moment who isn't putting their hand up for round 0 as far as I know and that's damn good compared to the last several years.

Yeah the promising thing is that at this stage at least there’s no-one out long term, unlike in recent years at this time or soon after.

There was no mention of Maso being sighted yesterday though, so I reckon we can put a line through him for OR now, as well as Clark and Max, and possibly Dougal, so we wouldn’t rant to get too many more between now and then.

 

[SG34]

Why is there a want to make Mitchito learn a completely new position to move him back for the same reasons he's so good as a forward, especially after signing Silvagni?

Played defence as a junior.
Good reader of the paly.
Strong and can bustle (hence stand in ruck role (no one talks about) )

 

[Tyrian Lonestar]

TDK is going to be mostly used in the ruck. Other than knowing who to tap to it's not rocket surgery. JSOS is going to be smart enough to adapt fast, Ryan again he's going to be there to get around his man and shoot for goal. Doesn't need to adapt too much. Flanders is the one that is probably going to need time to adjust to a new system and possibly the one that will take a bit of time to develop a bit of mojo with other mids.

Agree with all of this.... apart from wtaf is rocket surgery?

 

[Mowman]

Did Squiggle and went pretty conservative. Got us to the GF after finishing 9th. It would be a pretty St Kilda way to do it.

		W	L	D	%
1.	Brisbane Lions	19	4	0	123.6%
2.	Hawthorn	18	5	0	115.4%
3.	Adelaide	17	6	0	116.7%
4.	Fremantle	16	7	0	120.1%
5.	Geelong	16	7	0	107.1%
6.	Gold Coast	15	8	0	113.7%
7.	Sydney	15	8	0	112.4%
8.	GWS	15	8	0	109.6%
9.	St Kilda	14	9	0	110.2%
10.	Western Bulldogs	13	10	0	112.8%
11.	Port Adelaide	13	10	0	98.8%
12.	Collingwood	12	11	0	97.8%
13.	Essendon	7	16	0	87.3%
14.	North Melbourne	6	17	0	89.1%
15.	Carlton	6	17	0	85.4%
16.	Melbourne	3	20	0	78.5%
17.	Richmond	2	21	0	77.5%
18.	West Coast	0	23	0	68.1%

WC1: SYDNEY v Western Bulldogs
WC2: GWS v ST KILDA

QF1: BRISBANE LIONS v Fremantle
QF2: HAWTHORN v Adelaide
EF1: Geelong v ST KILDA
EF2: GOLD COAST v Sydney

SF1: Fremantle v ST KILDA
SF2: Adelaide v GOLD COAST

PF1: BRISBANE LIONS v Gold Coast
PF2: Hawthorn v ST KILDA

GF: BRISBANE LIONS v St Kilda

We will finish 6th t end of H&A and win a final

 

[Saintscomemarchingin]

Kinda interesting
Marshall with the most likes/loves on the Saints website new photo-shoot.
Kinda interesting
That l would even notice that

 

[Zzzed]

IMO

We can't compete with their best: Bris, GC
We should be better than: Carl, Ess, Melb, Rich, WC
I suspect we are better than and should beat: Coll, NM, PA
Whereabouts: Adel, Frem, Geel, GWS, Haw, Syd, WB

We may well be on equal pegging with likes of Adelaide, Freo etc on a neutral ground - but we play most them of away, which tips the scales to their advantage.

• ADL away = tough. They belted us last year, and whilst we should do better hard to see us winning there.
• FREO away. Only lost by 12 points there last time and we should be better this year. Winnable ?
• GEEL away. Play there most years it seems and haven't won there since when? As close as we have come over the years to getting a win down there, the Cats always find away. Hard to pick us.
• GWS away + home. Unfortunately play them away early when they will likely be cherry ripe. Both games will be tight.
• HAW home. They probably play Marvel better than most away teams. Tough but winnable.
• SYD away + home. I feel like we go ok at the SCG but that SYD will be the big improver in 2026. Two tough games.
• WB. Had our measure for a few years now. I think we can close the gap but no confident enough to pick us.

Going to need to win more than half those games if we are going to make the 6.

 

[Xxxx66]

Mitch is ok at snagging a goal when the ball hits the deck or goes over the back. Other than that, I'd be expecting Nas, Hill or Sinclair to be running past for a give-off whenever Mitch has the ball in hand and the play has stopped. If he's in the backline, and that option gets shut down we could really pay the price, over and again - and other teams would be onto that.

Except for that I do think he'd be a really good disruptor and add a lot of pressure down there. Hamill was good when he went bang and crash like that, but he had much safer hands than Mitch imo. Sometimes Mitch's hands are pretty hard, and we can't be dropping easy marks back there either. Don't want to make it sound like I don't rate Mitch, but he's far from the complete player as we all know.

Feel like Mitch is going to be an interesting watch. With King, Marshall, Ryan added to the fwd line, I think he:s freed up to go up another level. Great at the contest but hard hands and flakey set shot may see him competing for a spot with any of Sharman, Pou, Box, Banfield, Wood or even a pressure forward depending on match ups.

 

[SG34]

Did Squiggle and went pretty conservative. Got us to the GF after finishing 9th. It would be a pretty St Kilda way to do it.

		W	L	D	%
1.	Brisbane Lions	19	4	0	123.6%
2.	Hawthorn	18	5	0	115.4%
3.	Adelaide	17	6	0	116.7%
4.	Fremantle	16	7	0	120.1%
5.	Geelong	16	7	0	107.1%
6.	Gold Coast	15	8	0	113.7%
7.	Sydney	15	8	0	112.4%
8.	GWS	15	8	0	109.6%
9.	St Kilda	14	9	0	110.2%
10.	Western Bulldogs	13	10	0	112.8%
11.	Port Adelaide	13	10	0	98.8%
12.	Collingwood	12	11	0	97.8%
13.	Essendon	7	16	0	87.3%
14.	North Melbourne	6	17	0	89.1%
15.	Carlton	6	17	0	85.4%
16.	Melbourne	3	20	0	78.5%
17.	Richmond	2	21	0	77.5%
18.	West Coast	0	23	0	68.1%

WC1: SYDNEY v Western Bulldogs
WC2: GWS v ST KILDA

QF1: BRISBANE LIONS v Fremantle
QF2: HAWTHORN v Adelaide
EF1: Geelong v ST KILDA
EF2: GOLD COAST v Sydney

SF1: Fremantle v ST KILDA
SF2: Adelaide v GOLD COAST

PF1: BRISBANE LIONS v Gold Coast
PF2: Hawthorn v ST KILDA

GF: BRISBANE LIONS v St Kilda

My BIG STEAL was bumping off Hawthorn Round 12 at Marvel-lands.