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
​

 

[Joffaboy]

Booom

Yay, matress guts Mk 2.0

 

[Diehard Saint]

Crunch Time - Merrett wearing thin at Bomberland. Still wants out, doesn't like direction.

Somebody might want to check on Cal Twomey

He’ll be sitting in a corner crying like Andy Maher right now.

 

[Joffaboy]

Saints and GC been talking all year about a Sam Flander trade, on the cards.

Simpson equating 2019 to this spending spree, others saying we have invested in the draft and that there is a better alignment.
Whateley saying Collingwood and Bulldogs got played with JSOS, the Bulldogs deal was a revenge tactic, clubs seen an opportunity and is just testing the waters. Said nothing about him being contract except he signed one.

Still crapping on about 4 mill on two players, as Ross would say, no rigour. Actually more rigour in my post this morning than these so called experts.

 

[projectv]

Booom

Gone.

 

[Diehard Saint]

Article Joffa referenced. Interesting that Caro got the inside word.

Well it certainly shows that the Saints’ member’s survey feedback got some results!
Good to know.

 

[Broski]

 

[gringo2011]

No sorry. Won’t cop that.

What future is mortgaged? At worst case it’s one First round pick and salary cap on TDK.

That isn’t mortgaging the future.

A heap out of contract coming up in couple of years, we need money for them and other clubs will come at ours. TDK and others taking up a big chunk of cap and we are stepping away from drafting for a load up.

It has the potential to end up very similar to the Lethlean patch job if we can't turn it into success on field. Nas probably walks and then we are back to trying to build back at the draft again.

Plenty of risk involved. I'm not unhappy with having crack. This is an ordinary draft and we've loaded up on kids already. It's got heap more chance of working this time but people are entitled to be feeling conflicted or worried.

 

[Winmar2Lockett]

That's why he won't be leaving

And we can play that game too.

 

[Diehard Saint]

It's got heap more chance of working this time but people are entitled to be feeling conflicted or worried.

This is St. Kilda.
We’re always going to worry.
Risk and reward - but as you say, this time we’re starting from a much stronger position.
We all wanted to become a relevant club again - well it’s starting from now
(although obviously planned in the back rooms a year or two before)

 

[gringo2011]

And we can play that game too.

They'd give up SDK before COS. Sam has gone a fair way backwards since being injured. Connor looks like he's already played 100+ games at 20 and cost a top 10 pick.

 

[BrutThough]

Saints and GC been talking all year about a Sam Flander trade, on the cards.

Simpson equating 2019 to this spending spree, others saying we have invested in the draft and that there is a better alignment.
Whateley saying Collingwood and Bulldogs got played with JSOS, the Bulldogs deal was a revenge tactic, clubs seen an opportunity and is just testing the waters. Said nothing about him being contract except he signed one.

Still crapping on about 4 mill on two players, as Ross would say, no rigour. Actually more rigour in my post this morning than these so called experts.

Can't take any figures that Sam Edmund is throwing around seriously. He loves a good exaggeration. One rival clubs says Silvagni is being offered 99k a season with nothing else backing that up but he runs with it as if it's an unbreakable source.

Also claimed the 'Wilkie's disgruntled' stuff has been discussed in the media for two months which we can all fact check as bullshit.

 

[BrutThough]

View attachment 2418332

I'm not sold on him being a difference maker but how good is it having players want to play for us.

 

[Pakenhamsaint]

Article Joffa referenced. Interesting that Caro got the inside word.

St Kildas new motto "**** Everyone Else"

 

[Joffaboy]

A heap come of contracts coming up in couple of years we and need money for them and other clubs will come at ours. TDK and others taking up a big chunk of cap and we are stepping away from drafting for a load up.

It has the potential to end up very similar to the Lethlean patch job if we can't turn it into success on field. Nas probably walks and then we are back to trying to build back at the draft again.

Plenty of risk involved. I'm not unhappy with having crack. This is an ordinary draft and we've loaded up on kids already. It's got heap more chance of working this time but people are entitled to be feeling conflicted or worried.

Look, fair enough points, all could go pear shape, but what players did we lose after getting the five in 2019. Hill and Howard are still important to the team, Maybe Butler, reckon Jones is gone and Ryder has been gone for years.

TDK front end loaded, and wouldn't it be good that other teams are coming for our players, that would mean we are successful.

Anyway would rather this strategy and crash and burn than being the meek little Washington Generals making up numbers.

Chances are it WILL fail, one flag in 150 years would suggest it will, but would rather try than flop around like we have since 2010.
As Diehard Saint said, glad the member end of season reviews are paid attention to. Must have been a groundswell of us all saying we were pissweak and meek. And we all felt it.
You mentioned that loosing NAZ might have helped you kick this ridiculous Saints addiction, I felt exactly the same way. Actually moreso, only had a 3 game membership and went to one game this year. Thought the AFL just didn't care and that the Saints had no avenues to get better. Little did I know we had an up to 6 million warchest and an admin committed to rattling cages and getting players.
You have constantly said during the NGA and FS discussions, that we needed to get better on our own. Well I think you can see we have and are attempting to get better, both off and on the field. Coincidently (or not) the agitating about NGA and FS looks like bringing results.
It may fail, it may go t1ts up, but I am excited that we are sticking to a strategy after being patient and saving a huge warchest. Unfortunately I have fallen off the wagon and gone full on Saints junkie again.

 

[Lightsxo]

To be brutally honest. I’d rather us ****ing going for it and failing then doing nothing and failing.

We’ve made the finals twice since 2011. It’s not like we’re endangering success lmao.

 

[gubby88]

St Kildas new motto "**** Everyone Else"

****ius everyonius elsius?

 

[Sheepey]

Reading between the lines, we've set up our list strategy to be a contender by 2027. Players that are OOC in 2027 include, but are not limited to, NWM, Steele, Sinclair, Wilkie, Hill, Marshall, Hall, Macrae, Tauru, Travaglia, Garcia and Wood. The other big one is Ross Lyon.

If we aren't truly competing for a flag by then, NWM will likely leave, and other senior players will likely follow to win a flag somewhere else. It'll be another disappointing rebuild right when Tasmania is joining. Not appealing. The time is now, and we may as well use our cash if we are flush with it.

The NWM re-signing, even if it was only for two years, was our most pivotal off-season moment this century in terms of our future direction. I strongly believe none of TDK, Silvagni or Ryan would have nominated us if he had left, even with our lucrative offers. After all, how many players had previously knocked us back despite big money offers?

I really hope that Windhager re-signs, because rightly or wrongly, if he leaves then the narrative will be that we are throwing money at external players at the expense of our own. He has terrific synergy with NWM and is often featured in his highlights.

 

[StFly]

TBH, always saw it as austerity prior and it was going to be the Lethers admin for us to do these sort of moves, then of course covid happened to screw everything, we did a review and we now have what we have. With the CBA being what it is we really needed to have that plan coming out in the "new normal" and this is generally where I expected us to be at this point, just not who we might be able to shake loose.

VFL wise we were the joke, we'd lose just because its us and there's nothing that can be done with it.
AFL wise, as you do need all your ducks and eggs in a row when you're dealing with audits and solvency, we come out as us, others fold or merge and others are sanctioned, so it was always a "new' venture that just needed to find its feet again. What we could do better than most though, is adapt.

So I am bullish at what is going on at present, certainly get the trepidation but boy it's exciting to have some competence floating about.

 

[gringo2011]

This is St. Kilda.
We’re always going to worry.
Risk and reward - but as you say, this time we’re starting from a much stronger position.
We all wanted to become a relevant club again - well it’s starting from now
(although obviously planned in the back rooms a year or two before)

I was saying that I thought it was time to load up earlier in the year but I probably would have been more focussed on some cheaper talent to fill holes that the huge contracts and high profile moves. Collingwood have done the same thing with players in FA. If it works it works really well. Only time will tell how much success it yields. At least we should have an exciting 2026 no matter what happens.


We have potential to have Hall, King, Sinclair, Wilkie, Nas, *Marshall, TDK, Flanders as A grade or above. Macrae, Ryan, Snags, Windhager, Owens, *Steele, Wilson, Garcia etc as B plus types, and a massive support cast of Hill, Howard, Dow, Clark, Hammer, Sharman, Keeler, Wood, LOC, Hammer, Butler, Collard, Dodson etc as depth, developing or solid support cast.

It's starting to look like enough to play deep into finals with injury luck. It certainly doesn't look worse than sides like the Hawks, Adelaide , Sydney and maybe even Collingwood. Cats are on paper a list that has a few really high end players and a lot of soldiers. Brisbane, GWS and GC have loads of depth of high end but it only takes you so far. Dogs are a weird mix of high end, youth and thin depth.

 

[Diehard Saint]

Was obviously extremely important to sign Naz, but just as important to now load up around him to ensure the next 2 years will not be in vain.

I’m not too worried about Nas’ choice in 2 years again. Not on the homesick front anyway.
It’s going to be decided on the trajectory of the club. And the time is now. If not now, when?
If we’re going places, he’ll stay. It’s that simple.

 

[BrutThough]

I'd rather fail because we were aggressive while trying to be better then fail because we stayed still as a club and a team just waiting for improvement.

 

[Sir Owens]

I love how this is actually the first time a "war chest" has worked, and the media still tries to spin a negative slant to it.

We can't land players, we're 'irrelevant.' We land players, and we're 'blowing up the cap,' and everyone hates us.

We're having a crack, and this is the best team we've had since 2011.

 

[projectv]

I love how this is actually the first time a "war chest" has worked, and the media still tries to spin a negative slant to it.

We can't land players, we're 'irrelevant.' We land players, and we're 'blowing up the cap,' and everyone hates us.

We're having a crack, and this is the best team we've had since 2011.

It's because small clubs like us shouldn't be able to make moves like this. Players are supposed to leave clubs like Saints, North, Bulldogs etc for big clubs. We're challenging that narrative and they're shitting bricks that it might work.

 

[Jayman15]

Caro’s article in The Age 6/9 you guys are referring to

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archive.vn

 

[_Maximus_12]

If nothing else, these players nominating us sure is fun