List Mgmt. 2025 List Management Discussion - Part IV

[Hubnester]

2025 List Management Discussion - Part 4

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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[triggering bro]

Was Aleers manager heavily on the Bintangs when he made that media statement?!

 

[Significant]

would have been a disaster if they offered that, as we would've had a very hard time explaining why we didn't take it

we have walked away from the player, not the deal

we've made a lame attempt to paint GWS as the villains for not offering a favourable trade but there was plenty of time left to haggle and the PSD is always there

to me, it looks like once it became apparent we wouldn't be able to get Marshall and/or Steele off the books, knocking back one of Ryan or Aleer was our only recourse to balance things up again. and we prioritised Ryan. nothing to do with the trade cost of Aleer IMO

a miscalculation and we are rightly getting rinsed for it. the club hasn't said much because it's pretty much indefensible. everyone will move on soon enough

THIS MAN GETS IT!

 

[austinnn]

The Footy media's eagerness to create drama here makes me laugh, but we knew they come for us.

What is can't stomach is so many Saints fans swallowing it and acting like we've committed a crime so heinous even Jack the Ripper gagged.

We investigated a trade. We made assurances to the player. Circumstances changed. We backed away.

That's it. You really think that its so different from any other failed trade?

What's different is the media's covering of it.

Take this headline on the Fox footy site:

‘He was in tears’: Text that set off ‘disgraceful’ AFL trade backflip as new details emerge

If you read that, youre thinking "Awwww, that wicked St Kilda made this poor boy cry" (never mind that Aleer is a big strong man whose family have uprooted from Africa to Australia and who has contract of more than $300'000 pa for 3 years as his fall back plan)

But if you read the story, it turns out those tears were at the GWS exit interview. (Why? He felt guilty informing them he was leaving for a better contract?) Fair enough but not really a drama:

“(Aleer) loves our footy club, he was in tears at his exit interview,” the GWS head of football said.

“There’s a contract there with us, we’ve obviously had to go back and revisit that. There’s a salary cap and you’ve got to juggle around that.

“Leek is more than welcome to play at the Giants next year and there’s something there, but he is in shock at the moment.

“Our thoughts are more with him.”

Hard to recall a situation like this happening before. Especially when you consider it involves a player the Saints have courted as far back as two years ago


"Our thoughts are more with him"?? This is language we use when there's been a tragic death or something. Won't someone think of poor Leek who now has to stay as one if the players in (or at worst around) the best 22 of an AFL side contesting in finals and getting paid about ten times what any of his mates are earning!

Our big crime was courting him for so long. But how is this a "disgraceful backflip"? Things change. Especially over two years! Look how much our team has changed in 2 years. "Disgraceful" my arse. It fell down, we called it off, and even that...

In the headline you are led to believe that we did it by text. If you didn't read on, you'd equate it with a bloke splitting up with a girl by text. A dog act. But no! It later clarifies that Gubby sent a text TO THE MANAGER, saying something like "I'll call in twenty mins with some bad news" so supposedly he did get a call after that.

There is NO crime here. Leek won't be getting that big pay rise he was promised, but he loves GWS apparently so he must be stoked to be staying there. We wasted his time just like JDG wasted ours 2 years ago, along with a string of other stars we courted. Did anyone cry for us then?

Its a nothing story, and the Saints are being crucified and we're swallowing this?

Come on now.

 

[Significant]

It's easy to overlook how many negotiations we've been involved in. Besides TDK, JSOS, Flanders, Ryan, Aleer we've had to fend off strong attempts by rival clubs to land Nas, Windy, Wilkie and Marshall. Who know what else has been going on in the background? As it stands the only one we look like missing on is Aleer. No doubt the club had contingency plans in place in the event we lost some of them. All that's not including Steele's preference to stay.
Maybe it's a simple matter of available list spots. Of all those mentioned above I think many, including me, would have rated Aleer the lowest priority of the bunch. I haven't seen one comment on here from anyone crying that we've missed out on him.

This man gets it too!

 

[Linton Street Saint]

We might end up with 29 from the gc

I'd get hard enough for a full Rogering if it happens.

 

[SaintsofSteel]

I don't think we can walk him to the draft if he is happy with GWS.

PSD

With the Marshall stuff still bubbling, what is Soldo going to cost us in a trade if we go down that path?

 

[Linton Street Saint]

This man gets it too!

DOES HE THOUGH ? TELL ME AGAIN WHAT YOU KNOW.

 

[stavro#4]

We might end up with 29 from the gc

So is this Butler thing real and happening?

 

[The Punter]

PSD

What does that "D" stand for?

Aleer doesn't hate GWS so he wants them to get something for him. He doesn't want to move for no return for GWS.

 

[Mat Mann]

AW

This man gets it too!

There's only so many times you can say the same thing

 

[projectv]

Are they still whining about Aleer?

 

[Lennylegs]

PSD

More like PTSD, eh?

 

[nikkig98]

would have been a disaster if they offered that, as we would've had a very hard time explaining why we didn't take it

we have walked away from the player, not the deal

we've made a lame attempt to paint GWS as the villains for not offering a favourable trade but there was plenty of time left to haggle and the PSD is always there

to me, it looks like once it became apparent we wouldn't be able to get Marshall and/or Steele off the books, knocking back one of Ryan or Aleer was our only recourse to balance things up again. and we prioritised Ryan. nothing to do with the trade cost of Aleer IMO

a miscalculation and we are rightly getting rinsed for it. the club hasn't said much because it's pretty much indefensible. everyone will move on soon enough

I genuinely don't understand how you or anyone can make this call with a straight face. There are multiple financial executives, tonnes of staff and millions of dollars involved. Do you think we don't have 10-15 different permutations and combinations of player salary projections mapped out and planned years in advance? 100's of scenarios regarding what would happen if "x" player signs with us? If Steele leaves or stays, Marshall stays or leaves.

We're trading picks in 2027 for crying out loud.

The business i work at has rolling projections on everything from CAPEX to Overheads updated daily for the next 2 years and we are 10th of the size of an AFL club, with 1/10th of the manpower in charge of it.

Do you honestly think that a professional AFL club realised they didn't have enough money for a player 5 days into the trade period? Or that we were relying on a player leaving (Marshall/Steele) even though we have barely tried to offload them?
Seriously? This isn't FIFA Career Mode

 

[TheJackal]

Am I the only one who thinks Carlton got a great deal for Ainsworth? I'm completely fine with what we paid for Flanders, but it seems Blues got themselves a bargain

 

[SaintsofSteel]

What does that "D" stand for?

Aleer doesn't hate GWS so he wants them to get something for him. He doesn't want to move for no return for GWS.

I don't think he is still wanted, but our move is the classic we tried to negotiate a trade now we walk him through to the Pre Season Draft.

SOS & Gubby have done a lot of business with GWS over the years. I very much doubt we would burn our bridges but something went on?

 

[Diehard Saint]

So, Aleer didn't want to leave, is devastated he's not leaving and won't commit to staying?

Yep.
All three. Got it in one.

What’s not to understand?

 

[Remboy]

We're finished according to Damo

Trading or as a club?

 

[ThomasR]

With the Marshall stuff still bubbling, what is Soldo going to cost us in a trade if we go down that path?

he's been spudding it up in the SANFL and is behind Sweet & Visentini. the pick we got for Heath would be overs

 

[Diehard Saint]

How are the bedwetters going in here? Club folded yet? Apocalypse started?

Not even an exodus….

 

[Saintscomemarchingin]

Am I the only one who thinks Carlton got a great deal for Ainsworth? I'm completely fine with what we paid for Flanders, but it seems Blues got themselves a bargain

Shame on you

 

[Broski]

The Giants and Aleer can keep 'whining' if they want, but we are too busy focusing on 'winning'.

 

[stavro#4]

Am I the only one who thinks Carlton got a great deal for Ainsworth? I'm completely fine with what we paid for Flanders, but it seems Blues got themselves a bargain

2 second round picks and a player for a guy who is 28 next year?

For comparison we paid a second and got a F3 back for Ryan

 

[Aces High]

Intriguing there has been absolute silence from the club and it’s been at least 24 hours now? Since this news broke.

You’d think they’d try to get on top of it and control the narrative… unless there is something in the works?

 

[mighty_sainters]

Everyone has also been screaming from the clouds for us to pull the TDK contract all year.

But we had promised, wined and dined him for almost 3 years.

The more you think about it, it’s all pretty funny.

 

[sainter7]

Slow news day, still whining about Aleer online getting 300K-400K a year (one of the highest earners in Australia) on trade radio. Damo sucks. Jenkins sucks.