How your club stands ahead of the 2021 draft
The Age takes an in-depth look at each club’s needs ahead of the AFL national draft.www.theage.com.au
ST KILDA
PICKS: 9, 55, 62, 66, 67, 85
KEY DEFENDERS: Dougal Howard, Callum Wilkie, Josh Battle, Tom Highmore, Darragh Joyce.
SMALL/MEDIUM DEFENDERS: Hunter Clark, Nick Coffield, Ben Paton, Jarryn Geary, Ben Long, Jimmy Webster, Daniel McKenzie.
MIDFIELDERS: Jack Steele, Brad Crouch, Zak Jones, Bradley Hill, Ryan Byrnes, Dan Hannebery, Seb Ross, Jack Sinclair, Jack Bytel, Leo Connolly.
KEY FORWARDS: Max King, Tim Membrey, Cooper Sharman, Mason Wood, Matthew Allison.
SMALL/MEDIUM FORWARDS: Jade Gresham, Jack Billings, Dan Butler, Jack Higgins, Dean Kent.
RUCKS: Rowan Marshall, Paddy Ryder, Tom Campbell, Max Heath.
The Saints’ list is an intriguing spot. A promising 2020 was followed by a disappointing 2021, although they did recapture form with a strong finish to their campaign. Delisting Luke Dunstan was a surprising decision given his resurgence in form, but the club’s engine room still appears poised to lead a September charge if Jade Gresham and Jack Billings can impact up the ground. They were the second oldest list behind Geelong in 2021. Josh Sinn is rising back up draft boards after sliding throughout the season – and would make sense, too, with St Kilda likely to look at outside run. Neil Erasmus could be available and provides a point of difference as a tall midfielder, while fellow West Australian product Matthew Johnson is a smart ball-user around the mark. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera offers long-term class on the wing and in time, would complement the Saints’ young inside midfielders like Ryan Byrnes and Jack Bytel. All of St Kilda’s picks to follow will revolve around matching bids for academy pair Mitch Owens and Marcus Windhager. Owens is a possible bolter and there is still a chance he is swooped on by a rival in the top 20. The Saints should be safe with Windhager, who comes from an elite junior basketball background but only resumed full training in February this year after returning from an ACL tear. He is an explosive athlete who could one day prove a draft bargain if he is not bid on until later.
Not a bad write up actually. Not all doom and gloom line certain other media outlets.
Will be interesting to see how far our average age falls by the end of the Draft. Might go from 2nd oldest to bottom 5 youngest.