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]

I think he looks more pure athlete than pure footballer but if anything that increases the upside.

He looked absolutely ****ing terrified with ball in hand a few times last year, im all about him but hes got some work to do.

Nobody denying that. When he plays on instinct, you can see the natural talent, from his pack marks down back, to the little tap on for Hills goal in the comeback v Dees.
Absolute tonne of work and reckon we have this same convo this time next year. NAZ had only just cut loose in his 4th year. Tauru played half a season with no preseason.
Still I am excited with the players we are accumulating.

 

[phantom13]

just on Henry, it was always going to be a 12 month recovery, once he was fit. what we all saw where he looked a pace behind and has lost his zip apparently was all part of the recovery path. i'm very excited to see how he goes with a proper pre-season under his belt and TBH i think he can get back to his best that we saw before he got injured.

i think he compliments owens and higgins really well. probably does the role we were using Hill for late. HFF.

couldn't agree more on Pou. the kid showed glimpses of how he can really drive games. as you said he looked cooked from a horror season. i'm hoping we can get him fit and just get a full season into him. HF running through the midfield. ideally pushing more into that wing type role Wood can play.

the other i'd add, is Boxshall. he's really impressed me with some of the passages of play. he looks like a genuine inside mid with an overhead game, where he also can find the goals in tight. he's one i'm genuinely excited to see how he goes as he improves his tank. i think he's someone you can build a midfield around.

Henry, Pou and King are all effectively new recruits next year.

Added to TDK, JSOS, Aleer possly Flanders and C-Mac.

I still think its probably too much change but its a good problem to have.

 

[SainterinSydney]

I'm actually glad it is for 4 years. Windy will only get better.

 

[Geezington]

After being rejected by Wilkie the bulldogs have turned their attention to Michael spud burrito

 

[StCicatriz]

i'd prefer JUH over May and i really dont like the idea of JUH

May is an absolute flog of a bloke and team mate

 

[Joffaboy]

Wilkie gets a second paycheck doing some creative book keeping.

Everyone wins

Should offer that to Wilks as well. He is an accountant, he knows where to hide the receipts.

 

[StCicatriz]

Henry, Pou and King are all effectively new recruits next year.

Added to TDK, JSOS, Aleer possly Flanders and C-Mac.

I still think its probably too much change but its a good problem to have.

good point on that last one. theres actually studies that have been done into successful sporting clubs and one of the key indicators is stability within the side. you can't have too much change.

hopefully this forms a base and we can settle from here

 

[sauce_head]

Can’t wait for the first article that says we paid him 900k or something stupid and for Bigfooty to go on about how we are overpaying players to retain.

According to some on here contracts mean nothing. I hope they are still happy though.

 

[Minga]

Gutted.

I reckon a lot of us here underrate him & his potential. I think he’s a genuine asset to the team (elite tagger, 2 way player big bodied, seemed to be involved in a lot of our midfield clearance highlights), and a standard setter.

Mostly gutted because I wanted to keep that core of Windy/Owens/Nas together. He’s a local boy, and represented a bit of the future of the club to me.

Really didn’t think this would eventuate, so perhaps the rumours he isn’t rated internally are true (wasn’t in the best 22 presented to nas still seems bizarre).

Still holding hope we keep him, however, now I’m beginning to think this mystery mid thing is true.

Wondering if we’ve got our eye on one or two players which if eventuates then genuinely no room for windy to play mid. That’s kinda the only thing that would make sense to me as to why we’d let him walk, don’t buy into the idea that his want for money is so high, but perhaps that’s the only other reason I could understand.

If he does leave, I hope most who are vocal on here about not rating him, and the coaches who allegedly don’t rate him so highly are correct in their analysis, because otherwise it’s gonna sting like a bitch to watch him play elsewhere personally.

Fascinating trade period coming up.

Never in doubt

 

[stavro#4]

 

[ScrappyDo]

Ok Windy is signed up so now l need something else to shit on the club about....
Hmmm


Looks like Heath is gonna take a 3 year offer from Melbourne. Another royal ****up by Sos spending all that time developing him only to trade him at the end of it. It's not like we have a excess cover in that position with only 4 other players that could fill in.
Who's with me!!!

 

[stavro#4]

So by my count.

Caminiti & Darcy Wilson are the only ones left without a contract beyond 2026 from the 21-23 crop?

Dodson from the 24 crop.

 

[Sheepey]

I'd be keeping Marshall, he's on a front ended contract for another two years and Geelong won't trade give us a trade that would align with his value.

Wilkie is a redundant conversation. Give him an extra 50k under the table if it puts him at ease. It's not the Saints fault if his player manager negotiated a poor contract.

Steele is the one who can go in my opinion, but happy enough for him to stay. If we could get West Coast's second for him then that would be a very good result. Don't want him leaving to the Pies because they couldn't give us much.

 

[Red White Black]

 

[thekizzler]

What am I making out - that he is better than Boyd and the club should have recognised that. The fact Boyd was the first delisted suggests that is right.

He is always going to be a backup ruck, but just perhaps one day he blossoms like so many ruckman in their mid 20's. That was never going to occur with Boyd.

You are an absolute egotistical sociopath

It's honestly my favourite thing on here.

I'll play along because it's fun.

Boyd was drafted as backup for Marshall, with the club not sure if Heath or Keeler was ready if Marshall went down.

Marshall played every game lol - Heath and Keeler made strides in their development.

If the Saints really wanted to keep Heath, they would have. Keeler wouldn't have been offered new deal.

The fact you keep going on about this is borderline psychotic

You are not some kind of recruiting genius. You are SteeleSaints - a comedian for the Saints Big Footy forum.

 

[akaifu]

How good

 

[TheJackal]

I know Flanders is still young, but he's lived through turmoil at Gold Coast only to want out right when they play finals.

Apart from a relationship with King, I really can't see a world where Demons are a better prospect for him.

• They've sent their best defender packing, he's a knob, but he's still their best defender. - They have a rubbish forwardline, don't try to tell me JVR is a good player.
• They've had Oliver with massive off field issues wanting out for 3 offseasons
• Petracca is into season 2 of wanting out after issues with the club - Ned needs to compare our treatment of Dow to Trac
• They've lost a player due to cocaine use and trafficking
• Viney will be on his last legs
• I really like Langford, Windsor and Lindsay - but they could very easily be in for a world of pain for the foreseeable future with an average list an an expansion team arriving.

 

[SainterinSydney]

I know Flanders is still young, but he's lived through turmoil at Gold Coast only to want out right when they play finals.

Apart from a relationship with King, I really can't see a world where Demons are a better prospect for him.

• They've sent their best defender packing, he's a knob, but he's still their best defender. - They have a rubbish forwardline, don't try to tell me JVR is a good player.
• They've had Oliver with massive off field issues wanting out for 3 offseasons
• Petracca is into season 2 of wanting out after issues with the club - Ned needs to compare our treatment of Dow to Trac
• They've lost a player due to cocaine use and trafficking
• Viney will be on his last legs
• I really like Langford, Windsor and Lindsay - but they could very easily be in for a world of pain for the foreseeable future with an average list an an expansion team arriving.

Come on, Flanders

 

[Joffaboy]

just on Henry, it was always going to be a 12 month recovery, once he was fit. what we all saw where he looked a pace behind and has lost his zip apparently was all part of the recovery path. i'm very excited to see how he goes with a proper pre-season under his belt and TBH i think he can get back to his best that we saw before he got injured.

i think he compliments owens and higgins really well. probably does the role we were using Hill for late. HFF.

couldn't agree more on Pou. the kid showed glimpses of how he can really drive games. as you said he looked cooked from a horror season. i'm hoping we can get him fit and just get a full season into him. HF running through the midfield. ideally pushing more into that wing type role Wood can play.

the other i'd add, is Boxshall. he's really impressed me with some of the passages of play. he looks like a genuine inside mid with an overhead game, where he also can find the goals in tight. he's one i'm genuinely excited to see how he goes as he improves his tank. i think he's someone you can build a midfield around.

EDIT just realised you were talking about tauru. he's incredibly raw but honestly he could be the best of the bunch. has a bit of campaigner in him which you love to see. if we can get him fit and get him playing fwd he could be a bit of a difference.

Yeah don't get me wrong on Henry. As you know, I wonder over to the rehab group at taining. Watched him all preseason struggle with mobility, change of direction etc. Many a time he reached for his knee.
I reckon it was a psychological hurdle he had to get through as well.
Watching him at Sandy then seniors, slowly got better without ever showing his early form.
Reckoned the late seniors game, like Pou were basically a bit of loading for this preseason. 2026 started for those two in July 2025.

 

[Browny2Carlisle]

Damn this exodus is crazy

 

[thekizzler]

I'm not happy - I think supporters are way ahead of themselves if they believe Tauru is going to get to Battles level in the next couple of years. For one Battle is an elite kick and great decision maker.

Tauru has shown a great leap and courage but not much else at this stage. When you think the club want to challenge in the next couple of years Tauru won't be playing key position by then. Battle is playing in a prelim this weekend.

Losing Battle for 850k per year and not having a replacement was really poor list management. We now have an injury prone JSOS, admittedly as free agent on the same coin with no guarantees he plays more the a dozen games per year. Thats not a win in my books...

Tauru is still 18, my man.

You're veering into the comedy areas again.

 

[phantom13]

I know Flanders is still young, but he's lived through turmoil at Gold Coast only to want out right when they play finals.

Apart from a relationship with King, I really can't see a world where Demons are a better prospect for him.

• They've sent their best defender packing, he's a knob, but he's still their best defender. - They have a rubbish forwardline, don't try to tell me JVR is a good player.
• They've had Oliver with massive off field issues wanting out for 3 offseasons
• Petracca is into season 2 of wanting out after issues with the club - Ned needs to compare our treatment of Dow to Trac
• They've lost a player due to cocaine use and trafficking
• Viney will be on his last legs
• I really like Langford, Windsor and Lindsay - but they could very easily be in for a world of pain for the foreseeable future with an average list an an expansion team arriving.

It would be baffling to me to pick the dees over us at this point (especially when its not like hes gonna be behind a stack of stars struggling for game time) but i guess he has his reasons if he does.

I look forward to the articles about how the dees must have coughed up all sorts of crazy cash for him if it happens.

 

[stavro#4]

Damn this exodus is crazy

If Marshall and/or Steele go. You watch people try sell it as just that.

 

[SainterinSydney]

Tauru is still 18, my man.

You're veering into the comedy areas again.

Viking has shown all the attributes that he will be a very special player.

 

[Leap of Faith]

That’s so good. Heart and soul type player. 75 games. Just coming into his prime. Really showed in the back end of the season potential to become an A grader.