List Mgmt. 2025 List Management Discussion - Part 3

[Hubnester]

2025 List Management Discussion - Part 3

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
​

 

[dudeintheswamp]

When’s the BnF

Monday September 29 (the Monday after the Grand Final)

Saints Membership | 2025 Trevor Barker Awards

Memberships On Sale Now!

saintsmembership.com.au

 

[Saintbloke]

So….all those people thinking we did the dirty on Ratts to get Ross - are you still thinking the same way?
Because the Blues board keeping Voss has just screwed them spectacularly!

Still out of finals under Rossy after another ordinary season- needn't have wasted all the effort on getting rid of Ratts after all...but that's history. Carlton live in a world of their own (apologies to The Seekers)

 

[BrutThough]

I wonder how the club feels hearing him say this.

As stressful as the wait was, it's also good to hear he's been sure of his decision for a while and it's not something he was debating until the last minute.

 

[Dr Spaceman]

 

[Sully111]

As stressful as the wait was, it's also good to hear he's been sure of his decision for a while and it's not something he was debating until the last minute.

True. I'm not at all surprised by that to be honest.

I wonder where the contract figure was at when he decided to stay.

 

[BrutThough]

True. I'm not at all surprised by that to be honest.

I wonder where the contract figure was at when he decided to stay.

A months take it to roughly the week after the Melbourne win. So that's just as we were upping the offer again so good on him for staying quiet.

Also impressive a bunch of our players knew a few days before it was announced and it stayed quiet. Well done everyone on that.

 

[CaptainRisky]

I wonder how the club feels hearing him say this.

I don't see it as a big deal , Nas works for the club , they don't own him

 

[Leap of Faith]

Shame about Hollands, really thought he was going to be very good player.

Not really a shame. He would have been a very good player for Carlton.

 

[thekizzler]

I wonder how the club feels hearing him say this.

I would love to hear what that Will Faulkner muppet has to say.

Among others of course.

These morons should start reporting the news. Not second hand information from unreliable sources.

 

[Gavinmitchell11]

Now we’re linked to Curnow as well, what a joke surely not true.

 

[Sir Owens]

Nas also said that 10mins after he told Ross, Cal Twomey sent out the tweet that he was staying for 2 years.

Cal obviously has a very good source at the club.

 

[Diehard Saint]

Still out of finals under Rossy after another ordinary season- needn't have wasted all the effort on getting rid of Ratts after all...but that's history. Carlton live in a world of their own (apologies to The Seekers)

If you cannot see the 180 degrees the club has done then I’m sorry.

Just have a Quick Look at the difference in our list from three years ago to now.

We made finals once with a list that was not going to get us to top 4. Improvement is not always linear, but this group is going to spike soon.

We are in a better place now, no question, to springboard into a successful era.

 

[BilboJackins]

Interesting Nas said he told his parents a month ago that he was going to stay

And tony74

 

[Diehard Saint]

I wonder how the club feels hearing him say this.

I wouldn’t think they’d be surprised. They work with managers all the time. Like him or not, this manager played it very well.

It’s hindsight but Many people looking at every blink as his body language missed the fact that he was not playing all those weeks like a guy still wrestling with a decision.

Yet another reason to discount so much waffle in the press.

What he did do, is stress out 10s of 1000s of us, but that’s his right I guess

 

[gringo2011]

Well, that confirms why we got pick 13? as compensation

When players go to a new club they get watched more intently. Battle was always very good. We have missed him. A lot of people underestimated how hard it is to find a replacement.

Tauru has a lot of spectacular moments but as you'd expect from a first year kid, he gets lost at times and gets shaky by foot under pressure. Battle is a pretty unique player with his attacking defender role while being a very good mark and able to to defend one on one when needed.

 

[SaintersUnite]

We've played in 7 draws since 2000.

2000 v West Coast
2002 v Sydney
2007 v Western Bulldogs
2010 v Hawthorn
2010 v Collingwood
2011 v Richmond
2018 v Greater Western Sydney

I think those numbers are incorrect.

We drew with Geelong in the late teens as well didn’t we?

 

[gringo2011]

That kind of aligns with where I'm at too. I'm completely against trading our first this year so that's a reasonable proposition, but you just today said to me Flanders is worth 2 firsts so I'll put that down to contraianism.

If Flanders was at a vic club you'd be talking 2 firsts. Last year he was around Jack Sinclair level and just hit 25. If he was at the Saints we'd absolutely melt if we weren't getting 2 very good picks back. I wanted him from seeing him play VFL. He looked ridiculous, then they started putting him in the side and his value skyrocketed.

You'd find it hard to get two players as close on every stats but Flanders still ahead on nearly every one of them.

Sam Flanders and Jack Sinclair AFL Stats Comparison

Sam Flanders and Jack Sinclair AFL Stats Comparison.

www.footywire.com

 

[thekizzler]

I wouldn’t think they’d be surprised. They work with managers all the time. Like him or not, this manager played it very well.

It’s hindsight but Many people looking at every blink as his body language missed the fact that he was not playing all those weeks like a guy still wrestling with a decision.

Yet another reason to discount so much waffle in the press.

What he did do, is stress out 10s of 1000s of us, but that’s his right I guess

The most commonly used argument for that he was leaving was just assuming he would because he hadn't signed yet.

We can probably put that one to bed permanently now - especially if Windy signs after the season. Times are changing.

I also think, as you pointed out, that the situation of many players who haven't signed late in the season is a lot different to Nas.

De Koning and Allen are glaring examples but if a player has already decided to leave a club by August/September, you generally just know by how they are playing, how they are being used, how their team-mates treat them and by what their coaches are saying.

Nas wasn't really setting off alarm bells in any of these areas. And I go back to this quote after the Melbourne Alice Springs game.

Things can change but it would have been a MASSIVE backflip to say this and change your mind. It can happen but it has always felt - to me- that Nas has plenty of integrity.

"I am happy playing here. I've got great relationships with the boys. I love Ross, I love all the coaching staff. I want to be part of something special here at St Kilda," Wanganeen-Milera told AFL.com.au after passing a SKAT5 test at TIO Traeger Park on Sunday night.

"This is obviously a step towards it. We've got a good young crew. We are all self-driven and want to be the best Saints ever. That's what we are striving for. We know there are going to be ups and downs. We just want to keep sticking at it and getting to work.

"Obviously the media talks, so we just try and concentrate on getting to work on building out our future. I try and let my footy do the talking and try and avoid the stuff. My manager is back in Adelaide so we will talk over there."

 

[CaptainRisky]

Interesting Nas said he told his parents a month ago that he was going to stay

Not the only one he told a month ago is it Brut

 

[beside the seaside]

If Flanders was at a vic club you'd be talking 2 firsts. Last year he was around Jack Sinclair level and just hit 25. If he was at the Saints we'd absolutely melt if we weren't getting 2 very good picks back. I wanted him from seeing him play VFL. He looked ridiculous, then they started putting him in the side and his value skyrocketed.

You'd find it hard to get two players as close on every stats but Flanders still ahead on nearly every one of them.

Sam Flanders and Jack Sinclair AFL Stats Comparison

Sam Flanders and Jack Sinclair AFL Stats Comparison.

www.footywire.com

It sounds like we may have something agreed with the Suns over Flanders. Maybe we swap out first rounders or something like that, although not sure how points work with the Suns having a potential number one pick. Would that make our pick useful to them?

I'm coming round to the fact we probably won't have pick 7 or whatever it ends up. Hopefully a late first and then Fincher.

 

[pebblesofsand]

Been offline - just heard the news. Clearly the higher clanger rate must have tipped the AA vote in favour of Battle.

Callum Wilkie and Josh Battle AFL Stats Comparison

Callum Wilkie and Josh Battle AFL Stats Comparison.

www.footywire.com

 

[gringo2011]

Carlton have told him to explore his options while he’s contracted, not his choice.

He can rot there.

I think that it's probably designed to wake him up. Doubt they can trade him and they'll hope that it's a kick in the pants.

 

[Joffaboy]

He reacts the same as his boss to please him.

Bolton: “Am I doin good boss?”
Lyon: “Yes Brendan, here have another biscuit”

Only coach apart from Lyon you hear at training. Takes a lot of drills and is very vocal.
Seems to gel with the players. Like many a great assistant, maybe not suited to the top job.

 

[LJC05]

Nas also said that 10mins after he told Ross, Cal Twomey sent out the tweet that he was staying for 2 years.

Cal obviously has a very good source at the club.

Reckon that source might be Ben Williams rather than anyone from the club.

 

[gringo2011]

It sounds like we may have something agreed with the Suns over Flanders. Maybe we swap out first rounders or something like that, although not sure how points work with the Suns having a potential number one pick. Would that make our pick useful to them?

I'm coming round to the fact we probably won't have pick 7 or whatever it ends up. Hopefully a late first and then Fincher.

I think it costs a first round pick no matter what. They need draft capital and with later picks adjusted back they need points from better pick more than likely. If Marshall gets us a FRDP perhaps it's that. It gets them enough to take their academy kids without eating into next year.

If we gave 7 maybe we get all their junk time picks to use on other trades.