Training Saints preseason 2026

[bergholt]

3 hamstring injuries in 18 months and a current calf injury..

Sounds like he's shot the poor bastard, not even 30 yet.

 

[Joffaboy]

Another list 23

Yet again, lots of variants available.

Have Nas back at hbf coz we look weak without him there

And some fans here seem to be grasping at Carroll or LOC covering that position,
but they have done nothing really substantial to suggest yet, that they can cover that position.

Everybody by now knows, that l dislike having Stocker in the team, let alone in the backline.

If Henry & Pou can show us more consistantly what they have proven in small samples,
Im hoping they can fill Hill & Steele's spots.
Then Flanders just adds the extra dimension to the midfield,
and he could be the main guy to rotate regularly with Nas.

Admittedly this team looks abit tall in the backline.
But, Tauru has already broken the spoils record
& Caminiti played his best football there, so have to have them in.
And Tauru & Wilkie have the capabilities of playing on smaller players.
And reckon Howard's body is near cooked, so he's not trusted being in there.

Flanders & Hall could rotate in their postions too.

With Howard & King being unreliant because of their injury issues.
Have to go with Keeler & Marshall as the two tall options in the forward line,
then we still got Owens, Sharman & Wood off the bench as floating third tall forw. options.

I prefer Hall as a f/t mid. but agree with others, he's very important as a h.f.f
I prefer Wilson as a h.f.f , as he looks lost on a wing for mine.


B. Tauru Caminiti Wilkie

H.B. NWM Jsos Sinclair

C. Henry Macrae Windhager

H.F. Hall Keeler Wilson

F. Higgins Marshall Ryan

Foll. Tdk Pou  Flanders

I/C. Butler, Hill, Owens, Sharman, Wood

Dont know who is 'grasping' regarding LOC and Carroll.
Multiple track watchers have reported their progress, where they have played in match sim drills and their form.
There are possibly two spots, Websters in the backline and NAZ's off a half back.
From what has been reported it would be no surprise if one or both are selected. If you dont want to believe multiple reports, thats up to you.
If you possibly can and I know it is not possible for many, but get down to training and have a look, if you can't fair enough.
I think though it is a bit disrespectful to say multiple reports from multiple people are 'grasping' like they are all making it up.
A few caveats though. 1)It is only preseason ( but that is all we have to go on) form. Matches are very different.
2) I wouldn't trust my reports either.
3) NAZ may stay at hb, Stocker or Trav may be first choice, JSOS may recover in time to take Jimmy's spot etc.

Sincs is running through the mids at the moment not off half back

 

[Joffaboy]

Didn't realise that Howard was injured again. A calf doesn't necessarily rule him out of round zero, but if he isn't available then I think Lyon would be more likely to play Tauru back and Caminiti forward (though I personally think Caminiti has more of a future in defence). If Silvagni also doesn't get up then it'll be Wilkie, Caminiti and Tauru all starting in defence with Keeler probably getting a game up forward.

Was getting coffee with King in red tops when I walked in on Wed. Thought something was up then.

 

[Train12]

Dont know who is 'grasping' regarding LOC and Carroll.
Multiple track watchers have reported their progress, where they have played in match sim drills and their form.
There are possibly two spots, Websters in the backline and NAZ's off a half back.
From what has been reported it would be no surprise if one or both are selected. If you dont want to believe multiple reports, thats up to you.
If you possibly can and I know it is not possible for many, but get down to training and have a look, if you can't fair enough.
I think though it is a bit disrespectful to say multiple reports from multiple people are 'grasping' like they are all making it up.
A few caveats though. 1)It is only preseason ( but that is all we have to go on) form. Matches are very different.
2) I wouldn't trust my reports either.
3) NAZ may stay at hb, Stocker or Trav may be first choice, JSOS may recover in time to take Jimmy's spot etc.

Sincs is running through the mids at the moment not off half back

Agreed mate! Appreciate the reports. Keep them coming!

 

[stfan]

Anyone contemplating going to training, suggesting Friday is the best day to go.

Thank you for the suggestion. What is different about Friday training? More Match Sim than Weds?

We had been thinking of going next Friday as the wife wants to get her 2026 Gear from the Gift Shop. Boys are up in Qld mid week...so will they be back at RSEA next Fri?

 

[stfan]

Another list 23

Yet again, lots of variants available.

Have Nas back at hbf coz we look weak without him there

While Nas is elite at HB, if we want to be a good team in 2026 and going forwards, then we need to have a much better midfield rotation that we have used in recent seasons.

Players that real "hurt" with their ball use in your midfield rotations are vital . Though with Nas it is also his pace, weaving and line breaking runs.

Now yes we have gained Flanders to add to Macrae and have young players like Windy and Garcia who hopefully will step up.

My thinking is that a Nas-less midfield is not going to cut it against the better teams in 2026.

Nas now is a disrupter too..an out and out gun who makes the opposition fret and panic, make mistakes and has them losing their gameplan and patterns. You saw this with Dusty, you saw it with Lockett......I believe you will see this with Nas in 2026. Opposition will be so focussed on Nas that it will disrupt them.

 

[stfan]

I reckon LOC is as good a prospect as any other.

Great athlete with closing speed but as tough as Liam stocker. Love the way he plays.

Yes I have LOC and Stocker in a faceoff for Webster's old position.

 

[Phar Ace]

Try Cairns

Yep, Friday was 35, feels like 48

 

[stavro#4]

Rubbish post

Oh please.

You are allowed to comment on footballers footballing.

The club felt players were going past him and based on that footage he doesn't look any different to that player.

It had nothing to do with the person Steele is and it wasn't an attack.

 

[Zzzed]

Just my opinion but I don't think Nas will be full time mid. I can see him starting quite a few games at hbf and then being inserted into the midfield when needed. Some games he may only go in for a 5 minute burst per quarter. Other games he may well play the whole game in the midfield.
Our midfield options look so much better than this time year.

 

[Windtagger]

Just my opinion but I don't think Nas will be full time mid. I can see him starting quite a few games at hbf and then being inserted into the midfield when needed. Some games he may only go in for a 5 minute burst per quarter. Other games he may well play the whole game in the midfield.
Our midfield options look so much better than this time year.

Seems odd to me that Sinclair is practicing this pre-season as mid - considering how many more decent mid options we have than we do for HBF.

 

[stfan]

Just my opinion but I don't think Nas will be full time mid.

All mids will rotate through positions, some more than others.

I think Lyon will add 00 before Nas's 7 as 007 is going to have a licence to roam rather than just go where instructed by Coaches in-game instructions. You saw that last season when he was also directly other platers where to go. ie One time Windy charged off the bench towards the centre square ball up only to have Nas gesture him to HB with Nas going to the ball-up instead.

Personally I believe in 2026 he will play more midfield time than he averaged over 2025.

Most of his time though I believe will be in the midfield or running through it. But he will play forward and back as he sees the flow the game requires.

Hall I also see as playing midfield in 2026, but he will probably be at a limited number of centre square attendances.

Flanders Mid and Hb.

Macrea? Maybe midfield and bench...with only sometimes pushing forward.

Windy is going to be an interesting watch in 2026. He could play more wing, but he probably wants more genuine midfield time when he is not tagging. Plus can play HB.


Garcia too will be interesting as he looks to be a good emerging mid.

Hunter is probably borderline 23 now, but has the class to play mid or HB. He just lacks the run of most of his competitors.

 

[saintmike65]

Dont know who is 'grasping' regarding LOC and Carroll.
Multiple track watchers have reported their progress, where they have played in match sim drills and their form.
There are possibly two spots, Websters in the backline and NAZ's off a half back.
From what has been reported it would be no surprise if one or both are selected. If you dont want to believe multiple reports, thats up to you.
If you possibly can and I know it is not possible for many, but get down to training and have a look, if you can't fair enough.
I think though it is a bit disrespectful to say multiple reports from multiple people are 'grasping' like they are all making it up.
A few caveats though. 1)It is only preseason ( but that is all we have to go on) form. Matches are very different.
2) I wouldn't trust my reports either.
3) NAZ may stay at hb, Stocker or Trav may be first choice, JSOS may recover in time to take Jimmy's spot etc.

Sincs is running through the mids at the moment not off half back

Don'tworry Joff...i had negative feedback this time last year heaping praise on Hally & saying Boyd was no good..

 

[sammm]

Pretty bloody muggy at the moment!

Yes it is. Ive been here since 14 December, I think yesterday's weather was the worst.

 

[ScrappyDo]

Oh please
it wasn't an attack.

Perhaps just unnecessary

 

[ScrappyDo]

Seems odd to me that Sinclair is practicing this pre-season as mid - considering how many more decent mid options we have than we do for HBF.

He's at the point where it's all the same. Wouldn't worry about it.

 

[beside the seaside]

Just my take, I think the question mark on LOC is going to be can he impact games. He seems to be a great lockdown type but can you just be that in an AFL side these days? I think you need to show that you can win the ball and have some impact in an attacking sense. The positive is that in his last couple of VFL games he showed that he was able to get a few more possessions, going over 20 in the last two games.

Carroll is going to be very close to the AFL team if not in round one. He looks to be in awesome shape. If he's across half back they might be seeing him as a bit of a long term Sincs replacement (best possible outcome). He also had a strong end to the year in the VFL with some really good games.

My prediction at this stage would be Carroll in and LOC just behind Stocker. Great to have competition for spots though and LOC seems like an absolute pro and will stop at nothing to get the most out of himself.

 

[stavro#4]

Just my take, I think the question mark on LOC is going to be can he impact games. He seems to be a great lockdown type but can you just be that in an AFL side these days? I think you need to show that you can win the ball and have some impact in an attacking sense. The positive is that in his last couple of VFL games he showed that he was able to get a few more possessions, going over 20 in the last two games.

Carroll is going to be very close to the AFL team if not in round one. He looks to be in awesome shape. If he's across half back they might be seeing him as a bit of a long term Sincs replacement (best possible outcome). He also had a strong end to the year in the VFL with some really good games.

My prediction at this stage would be Carroll in and LOC just behind Stocker. Great to have competition for spots though and LOC seems like an absolute pro and will stop at nothing to get the most out of himself.

All this internal form is relatively meaningless and we should all be mindful of that.

Before Carroll is anointed that senior half back role, He needs to deliver the performances against the Suns & Injectors in our practice matches. Hall took his opportunities and then went up about 5-6-7 levels beginning from round 1.

Ive also got Pou, Wilson, Garcia & Windy in this category.

Impressive showings at training, but I want them to deliver the first time its against opposition

 

[beside the seaside]

All this internal form is relatively meaningless and we should all be mindful of that.

Before Carroll is anointed that senior half back role, He needs to deliver the performances against the Suns & Injectors in our practice matches. Hall took his opportunities and then went up about 5-6-7 levels beginning from round 1.

Ive also got Pou, Wilson, Garcia & Windy in this category.

Impressive showings at training, but I want them to deliver the first time its against opposition

Totally agree. Ultimately the round 0 team will be dependent on the form in the practice matches.

 

[SainterinSydney]

All this internal form is relatively meaningless and we should all be mindful of that.

Before Carroll is anointed that senior half back role, He needs to deliver the performances against the Suns & Injectors in our practice matches. Hall took his opportunities and then went up about 5-6-7 levels beginning from round 1.

Ive also got Pou, Wilson, Garcia & Windy in this category.

Impressive showings at training, but I want them to deliver the first time its against opposition

Amen.

 

[stevo957]

Don'tworry Joff...i had negative feedback this time last year heaping praise on Hally & saying Boyd was no good..

Sounds like he's shot the poor bastard, not even 30 yet.

Hai guys love reading the reports as I’m up at the central coast and we get nothing up here so I rely heavily on you guys just one thing I have not seen or heard anything about Barrett as Howard is injury prone I was wondering how he was tracking

Sounds like he's shot the poor bastard, not even 30 yet.

 

[Remboy]

Just my opinion but I don't think Nas will be full time mid. I can see him starting quite a few games at hbf and then being inserted into the midfield when needed. Some games he may only go in for a 5 minute burst per quarter. Other games he may well play the whole game in the midfield.
Our midfield options look so much better than this time year.

Ross said last year that he saw NAS as the sort of player who could play all three parts of the ground (mid, forward, back) just as Andrew McLeod did.
I think we'll see him play everywhere.

 

[Remboy]

Don'tworry Joff...i had negative feedback this time last year heaping praise on Hally & saying Boyd was no good..

I wish you'd said something before I forked out my hard earned dollars on a Harry Boyd fridge magnet.
PS if anyone wants a Harry Boyd fridge magnet message me, I might know of one going cheap.

 

[Ads734]

Although it’s only training I’d suggest Naz is 99% chance of starting on the ball and playing majority there.

 

[stfan]

Don'tworry Joff...i had negative feedback this time last year heaping praise on Hally & saying Boyd was no good..

Just on Boyd, personally I have no problems at all in the club picking up Boyd even though I am sure they knew he was not an AFL level ruck. We did not keep TC on our list for as long as we did in the belief that he would come good, but as back up ruck who was also very good around the club.

So yes no good for No1 AFL Ruck, but Ok as a cheap back up ruck in a ruck market which at the time which was barer than "Old Mother Hubbard's Cupboard.

• We needed a back-up "break glass" ruck = That was the role they gained him for.
• Club pulled out of chasing Soldo
• In 2025 we also had Heath
• Ruck market barren on the trade front.
• And rucks for free like Boys was a low quality market as well
• They knew that TDK was a option to be as a FA pursued for 2026 on.
• We needed to preserve draft capital to chase players of need in 2026.
• Good training partner for our young rucks in Dodson and Heath and a great Clubman.
• We were not going to be a genuine threat in 2025

So in Boyd we picked up a one year back up ruck without wasting any resources. While there were other options, I do not believe there was anyone arguably better. Basically he replaced TC our former back-up ruck.

The alternative was say continue with Soldo, consume drafts pick/s and more $$ to get him and no doubt he would have needed at least a 2 year contract and so would be cooling his heels with us in 2026 (or longer).

Having now gained Dodson in the 2025 Draft, and then TDK as a FA our rucks stocks are now all at the quality end. Thin after that, though Keeler can chop out as a relief ruck if required.


2025 IN

Eamonn Armstrong (Category B rookie), James Barrat (No.32 draft pick), Hugh Boxshall (No.45 draft pick), Harry Boyd (SSP), Jack Carroll (delisted free agent), Alex Dodson (No.53 draft pick), Jack Macrae (trade, Western Bulldogs), Patrick Said (No.60 draft pick), Alix Tauru (No.10 draft pick), Tobie Travaglia (No.8 draft pick)

2024 OUT

Matthew Allison (delisted), Josh Battle (free agent, Hawthorn), Riley Bonner (delisted), Tom Campbell (free agent, Melbourne), Brad Crouch (retired), Jack Hayes (delisted), Olli Hotton (delisted), Tim Membrey (delisted), Ben Paton (delisted), Seb Ross (delisted), James Van Es (delisted)

So no Boyd, but say Soldo may have also meant no Macrae, Boxshall, Barrat OR Dodson.