List Mgmt. 2025 List Management Discussion - Part V

[Hubnester]

2025 List Management Discussion - Part 5

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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[phantom13]

In fairness I think we ended up doing the move to help Steele. It wasn’t about extracting everything we could for him.. it was about letting a guy that gave us incredible service the opportunity to go elsewhere to play high level footy and extend his career, not potentially play twos or sit at half forward etc

Yeh i do get why we did it but i also get that from the outside weve valued a former captain, brownlow fave, BnF, AA player whos still under 30 lower than we valued Liam Ryan and the same as we valued Leek Aleer (argurably lower if we have taken some of his salary)

I get why in that lens that it gets criticised.

 

[stavro#4]

If it helps, I hit up Xander McGuire and his understanding was that we were paying some.

It was to give him the third year.

We did the best by Jack.

 

[Captain Paddy]

Fox footy's Saints best 23

Hill on a H.B.F?. we've tried that before, without success.

Sharman not in the team
I suppose if King & Marshall were killing it?
then Owens & Sharman would be competing for the 3rd tall spot.

No Henry in the team either but l suppose that's understandable given the year he has just had.
But would replace him with Hill if he gets back to his best.

Sharman incredibly underrated by the wider footy community because they all just assume that St.Kilda can’t have nice things

 

[sauce_head]

Breaking News: North Melbourne made a late play throwing their hat in the ring for Charlie Curnow

Just wait for the dogs to counter with an offer of $1.5m for five years…

 

[SaintersUnite]

I bet that campaigner offered them Simpkin as a straight swap lol

They offered their 2026 and 2027 first rounders plus whatever they got for Simpkin

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such a terrible list management team.

 

[Remboy]

Not better yet, but the potential is there, more the point.
And we have alot of depth in that midfield now.
All of Boxshall, Carroll, Clark, Dow, Flanders, Garcia, Hall, Macrae, Nas, Pou & Windy
can run through there.
Not mentioning the wings either.

It's also possible that Ryan and Henry have a stint in the middle.

 

[SainterinSydney]

They offered their 2026 and 2027 first rounders plus whatever they got for Simpkin

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such a terrible list management team.

Sam Power: hold my beer.

 

[StJimmy]

Foxsports gave us the top mark in the league (along with the suns)

How do the Blues get a high rating losing 3 of their best starting 18 players, ludicrous

 

[Remboy]

100% - I just honestly can't get my head around the arrogance of their supporters. They genuinely think we're all shattered that we didn't get to trade Ro.

I haven't seen one Cats supporter acknowledge that they dropped the ball with both players who they chased. I genuinely just don't understand, how can they see missing Marshall and going in with no rucks as a win for them?

I probably sound like a broken record, I just need someone to actually explain why they can't see it was a huge fail from Mackie.

It's the same as the Hawthorn supporters with Merrett. Crapping on about what a great offer they made but wouldn't put up a best 22 player or one decent pick
If the Cats had offered SDK the deal get done in a minute. If the Hawks had even included CMac it probably would have happened.
They just think other clubs should accept their scraps and hand over their best players.

 

[Remboy]

How do the Blues get a high rating losing 3 of their best starting 18 players, ludicrous

I was thinking the same thing. The players coming in must be superstars.

 

[SG34]

In fairness I think we ended up doing the move to help Steele. It wasn’t about extracting everything we could for him.. it was about letting a guy that gave us incredible service the opportunity to go elsewhere to play high level footy and extend his career, not potentially play twos or sit at half forward etc

'it was about letting a guy ..... play high level footy'

Steele said he wanted to stay, after being told or that.

A: Hey mate, we love you and all, but, your chances are gonna be limited...
B: Yea, OK, I know, I can deal with that, I am ready, I wanna stay..
A: yh..eh..umm, you realise what this means? Could be no more midtime!
B: Yep, i wanna stay
A:...sub? seconds?
B: Yep, I'm in..
A: Well, yeah, we are gonna 'let you pursue your opportunities elsewhere'..
B: I wanna stay, Really. I know all that , and I wanna stay.
A: Ok Jack, good luck

 

[St Neil]

Future 1st, this years first and whatever they got for Simpkin according to Cal Twomey

Why would Curnow have any interest in playing for North Melbourne?

 

[SaintsofSteel]

there's still a place for Macrae but likely lesser midfield time

Lets not forget Jacko had a punctured lung last season which took some time to recover from. He was flying until then and then when he got going again, being our best mid he was tagged. I think he will play our midfield anchor role and others will be rotated around him. Lets hope others step up and the taggers have to worry about 3 or 4 mids not just Jacko.

 

[SaintsofSteel]

It was to give him the third year.

We did the best by Jack.

Please stop with the club 'apologist role' its becoming tiresome and not doing you any favours!

 

[Winmar2Lockett]

And you might not.
Saying you don’t see evidence is good rhetoric, but knowing ‘why would we see evidence’ is grounded ..
As I said, I’m only going from what I’ve heard..Sam Edmund this morning for instance. And he is just one of a long line.

Cleary went with it so the rest of the AFL media echo chamber kicked into action.

Where it's true or not, it is now accepted as fact now.

 

[Diehard Saint]

Zero Hanger suggesting that Darcy Wilson could leave for Essendon or North.Melb. in 2027.
Would seriously hope that he sees us as a better fit than those two.

Why?
Seriously. Why would he? ( Go to them, over staying with us)

 

[DougalHoward]

Why would Curnow have any interest in playing for North Melbourne?

I imagine he would rather go back to carlton with his tail between his legs, also no idea why north would go after him they have a decent forward line.

 

[TheJackal]

It's the same as the Hawthorn supporters with Merrett. Crapping on about what a great offer they made but wouldn't put up a best 22 player or one decent pick
If the Cats had offered SDK the deal get done in a minute. If the Hawks had even included CMac it probably would have happened.
They just think other clubs should accept their scraps and hand over their best players.

I guess its a mixture of copium and having blinkers on.

Two clubs, projecting to finish top 4, giving up a pittance. I'm grateful that both Merrett and Marshall were contracted because those offers were average at best.

I forgot about Hawthorn though, imagine chasing a player, then giving aggressive deadlines. I guess it worked the year earlier with Barrass abd Sniff.

Just a sign of two clubs trying to be bullies and noone associate with the clubs being able to read the room

 

[TheJackal]

Why?
Seriously. Why would he?

More money. North, family connection. Bombers, weaker midfield. My guess.

 

[MOLTEN GANGLANDS]

If it helps, I hit up Xander McGuire and his understanding was that we were paying some.

the intrepid xander mcguire, i'm surprised he had time to answer your call

 

[Diehard Saint]

Please stop with the club 'apologist role' its becoming tiresome!

Nobody forced Jack to go to the Dees.
But the club was upfront with him about not necessarily playing in the seniors. You think he wanted to play vfl?
So he chose to leave - understandably.

No one is apologising for the club.
Unfortunately, no player is owed time in the seniors. Footy mortality catches up with every player.
They did the right thing by being upfront with him.

 

[joydivision22]

All assumptions on Steele but pieceing it together..

He has two more years on his say.. 850k pa contract. Ref: Herald Sun top 100 List

Plenty of talk about us forward paying our players with medium-long term contracts so safe to say Steele was part of this. If we payed him 1.2m for the first two years of the deal we owe him $1m over 2 years.

Melbourne come knocking and ask us to pay some of that remaining deal to push him to a 3rd season on likely 500-600k. as per stavro#4 just now - Cleary intimated we'd be paying a large amount, Morris and Twomey said we did the trade to get the "money off our books".

What does it say about our SC circumstances if:

A. We pay for 1 year (say 500k) towards his next contract
B. We pay nothing at all or a very small fraction - 100-200k
C. We're paying a majority or even his full contract and malbourne footing the bill for a 3rd year

Clearly the less we actually pay of it, the more 'trouble' we could be deemed to be in or we just want to bank the cash for a big move next year.

The more we pay of it, the stranger it feels but in this certainly proves we are financially steadier than the former scenario.

 

[Winmar2Lockett]

Please stop with the club 'apologist role' its becoming tiresome and not doing you any favours!

It's much better to melt & wet your pants/bed.

 

[Diehard Saint]

More money. North, family connection. Bombers, weaker midfield. My guess.

I think the family connection thing is a bit of a myth unless maybe father/son.

He’s a young player, whole career ahead of him, surely he wants success?
And while there’s no guarantee he’ll have that success with us, we’re certainly looking far better placed for it than the other two.

Pretty sure the club will look after him financially if they see a future in him. And I have no reason to believe they don’t.

 

[SainterinSydney]

How do the Blues get a high rating losing 3 of their best starting 18 players, ludicrous

Didn't you hear, they are more of a destination club than us.