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
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[gringo2011]

It's definitely not a premiership winning midfield currently, but I don't see how you could have described it any more negatively lol.

On brand though.

With that midfield you just disparaged, St Kilda was 10th in the AFL for clearances. Above AFL average too.

Seems like a pretty decent building block to me - considering we have got and what we have coming through.

Huh? It's not negative, it's just putting up a list of mids and saying it's thin. How do I add some delusion glitter to make you happy?

If Macrae was injured round one Garcia and Windhager could be our prime drivers. Realistically Dow and Clark play a lot of on ball in that situation. That's super thin.

 

[gringo2011]

Like saying all Saints fans are Carlisle St junkies. Plenty of Dogs fans from other than Footscray.
My whole family are Bulldogs fans and are great football people. Very down to earth and humble. See the Saints like they are, a small Vic club always battling. I was jealous but very happy for the family and my district in 2016.
Most on here are ok, there are just a few absolute nuff's who actually believe a couple of scrappy dp's would get Wilkie.
In my view the supporters are fine, however their club is a top down authority completely owned by Beveridge.

Funny enough I know three Dogs fans and all are rich. Actual cheese platter at the footy types. Melbourne supporters I know are all bogans.

 

[gringo2011]

There’s clearances and there’s good clearances. Marshall’s hack kick forward = poor clearance, Nas sharks the tap and then pin point kick to a leading forward = good clearance. Just like inside 50s, quality is better than quantity. Under Richo and Ratten, they would both moan that we had more inside 50s but lost the game badly, and don’t understand why. Only if our last kick is better they say. Not $hit, Sherlock. But if you can’t get a clean clearance and everything leading to the final kick are fumbles and hospital handballs, how is the last kick going to be good? That’s why we need a ruckman that can tap (TDK), mids that can win the ball cleanly (Flanders, Macarae) and give it to a teammate in better position or on the outside (Nas, McKenzie )

We do punch above our weight but also set up to minimise damage which takes energy and effort. TDK helps, realistically need Flanders or McKenzie still.

 

[gringo2011]

FTFY

We deported ours.

 

[gringo2011]

Nas wants to play midfield

Macrae, Boxshall, Garcia, Pou, Travaglia, Wilson are all seen as mids by Ross according to his pressers even though I don’t think they all play full time mids but even as a mix it's quite a few mouths to feed

Add on Hall

Then there’s Flanders and/or potentially another draftee

You said that Windhager can't fit in our stacked midfield. Now you are saying he's behind Travaglia and Wilson are you?

 

[gringo2011]

Think Garcia and Boxshall can be big pieces of this puzzle.

Hugo had a great year. Look out next year. Still massive upside.

Box showed some excellent signs in his first season.

Add Nas, Hall, Windy and hopefully a fit Pou and we're in better shape than we have been for many years.

These young guys just need to grown in confidence and play with swagger.

Still thin now though. Those guys looked great but to play finals we need a decent amount of experience.

Flanders would be ideal because he lets Nas play back with time in the middle. Ryan with Hall too.

 

[gringo2011]

I didn't see one person say that they were 'happy" to let him go.

I challenge you to find people that said that? You will be lucky to find even 1 or 2.

It's great that Windy has signed on. I believe he has the ability to grow further.

But you don't have to embellish what some supporters were saying. It's almost lying.

Heaps said he wasn't worth paying because he was B grade.

 

[phantom13]

We do punch above our weight but also set up to minimise damage which takes energy and effort. TDK helps, realistically need Flanders or McKenzie still.

Not sure you can really claim McKenzie is a “need” based on output.

 

[gringo2011]

In reality modern footy has 5 mids (wings are mids) and you need a solid 8/9 man rotation for it anyway.

If anything our midfield might still be young but it’s complimentary and dynamic now. Nas is a true dusty/danger game breaker and all the pieces around him work really well together.

Plenty will say it’s not a premiership winning midfield but Geelongs recent flag winning midfield was more complimentary than star studded.

Akifu reckons that we are so stacked that we can't fit Windhager in unless he starts playing a lot better was the argument.

 

[Joffaboy]

And what happens if we don't have both Marshall and Heath. We are left with De Koning, and Dodson. Not enough rucks

Keeler can ruck, if we have a crisis we get a Boyd type in the MSD

 

[gringo2011]

Not sure you can really claim McKenzie is a “need” based on output.

I think we need a post Macrae inside mid. I think that future proofs you and he's at an age where if needed he can probably pick up a lot more CBAs.

 

[phantom13]

Akifu reckons that we are so stacked that we can't fit Windhager in unless he starts playing a lot better was the argument.

We clearly I don’t agree with that.

If you go on the NFL depth chart for mids windy is probably 3rd or 4th?

Nas, Macrae, windy, Pou, Steele, Garcia?

 

[phantom13]

I think we need a post Macrae inside mid. I think that future proofs you and he's at an age where if needed he can probably pick up a lot more CBAs.

Yeh I’m not against McKenzie I just don’t think he’s a need right now, more a “you always take talent”

 

[Joffaboy]

Yeah it’s a bit of an awkward one because while all the other positions are pretty much set the most important area of the ground is still a work in progress. I’m expecting a breakout from Garcia and hopefully Phillipou and while I wouldn’t have paid 1.7 for TDK I’m confident he’ll give the midfield a big boost.

Averages out at 1.4, still high but not the 1.7 touted. The 1.4 is hitting all the KPI's for games, B&F finishes. If he is injured or stinks it up, it drops significantly ( like King this year).

 

[SaintersUnite]

Nobody has to have been bullied for there to be an uproar about it.

Do you really think Merrett was going around harassing the AFLW players?

Controlling the narrative is key these days and people are willing to play dirty.

Honestly mate this is pretty disgusting if you’re lying, this is just character assassination of a well loved Saints player that’s shown no signs of dislike of the club. The complete opposite actually.

 

[Joffaboy]

We deported ours.

Apparently has reapplied for a green card

 

[Red White Black]

When do the preseason track reports kick off? By then this board will be in full ecstasy

 

[Joffaboy]

Nas wants to play midfield

Macrae, Boxshall, Garcia, Pou, Travaglia, Wilson are all seen as mids by Ross according to his pressers even though I don’t think they all play full time mids but even as a mix it's quite a few mouths to feed

Add on Hall

Then there’s Flanders and/or potentially another draftee

One or more of those,while making it as an AFL player wont make it in thr midfield.
Many experts told us Coffield and Clark would eventually transition into the mids. Clark nearly did but we saw his best games in years off a HBF. Coffield never did. Sinclair another. An AA HBF'er but not a mid.
The two I see at risk are Travaglia and Wilson. Not bagging, but see them as a HBF'er and Winger. They may prove me wrong but will take a few more years to transition. NAZ is 22 and only just broke out.
Windy has proven he is valuable as a mid already even in a tagging role who gets his own ball. He will also get better and is a few seasons ahead of the other two.
Then there are injuries. When was the last time we had a fully fit squad to choose from?
One forgotten player is Paddy Dow. A number 3 pick so has talent. If he is over his injuries I am hoping he could surprise and throw a spanner in the works, but in a good way.

 

[Coconut_twirl]

Reliably told that Windy gets to look at the money in the club's bank account at the end of the week and decide how much he wants to get paid.

That’s a fair deal.

 

[Joffaboy]

When do the preseason track reports kick off? By then this board will be in full ecstasy

Early November. TheJackal will give in depth analysis, I give ball by ball colour.
There are some other pretty good track watchers whom I fail to mention.
Don't fret, all the ins and outs of the new recruits (TDK, JSOS, Ryan, Heeney, Aleer and Flanders) will be gone over with a fine toothed comb, plus all your mad fans, like NAZ, Windy, Titanic, Viking etc.

Looks to be a bumper off season of track watching

 

[botts]

It’s the annual 2010 saints old boys catch up day today. Lyon will be there. I have a man on the inside. If there is any good goss il let you know.

 

[bird_man]

I didn't see one person say that they were 'happy" to let him go.

I challenge you to find people that said that? You will be lucky to find even 1 or 2.

It's great that Windy has signed on. I believe he has the ability to grow further.

But you don't have to embellish what some supporters were saying. It's almost lying.

Mate, there were plenty of posters on here suggesting Windhager would not be a huge loss, happy to point out his deficiencies whilst ignoring his strengths.

Feel free to go back and have a read when the rumours came out that he might be looking at a move.

 

[Joffaboy]

It’s the annual 2010 saints old boys catch up day today. Lyon will be there. I have a man on the inside. If there is any good goss il let you know.

Sam Fisher using Zoom?

 

[Sully111]

Heaps said he wasn't worth paying because he was B grade.

Yep

As soon as that tweet went out saying he'd be playing for Melbourne next year a few jumped on and starting talking him down saying he was nothing but a B grader.

 

[botts]

Man that Wilkie thread is a ln interesting place. Dogs supporters genuinely think we would trade him to them for unders. I would rip shreads off them If I didn’t get banded off the thread and band off the whole app for two weeks already because of it