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
​

 

[Saintos The ITK]

"At times it broke me": Two-club midfielder announces retirement

The 30-year-old played 164 games at senior level.

www.zerohanger.com

To the few who welcomed me.
Doesn’t sound as if Zonesy was too happy at the Saints.

 

[austinnn]

To the few who welcomed me.
Doesn’t sound as if Zonesy was too happy at the Saints.

Don't know if I'd go that far, but it does seem a particular choice of words. It would be sad to think that he reflects bitterly about the St Kilda family, but I guess he wasn't that popular with the fanbase. Seems like he was talking about within the club which is a shame.

I always had a lot of time for him, felt he was taken for granted, lobbied heavily for him to be given the vfl captaincy, but I guess its not meant to be.

Good luck with the following chapters, Zac! You'll always be Saints family to me at least.

Edit: "Thank you to St Kilda for welcoming me home, to the club I grew up barracking for, and to the few people who made it feel like family from the moment I walked in."

Seems like he could be saying there were a few special ones at the club who got around him early to help him settle in, that's all.

 

[Saintos The ITK]

Can see quite a few possible delistings/trades occurring next year.
Delistings- Hastie Clark Dow Monty Barrat Said O’Connell Stocker
Trades - Keeler Caminiti Trav
All possibly in the firing line especially if we’re chasing another big gun.

 

[True Believer]

Can see quite a few possible delistings/trades occurring next year.
Delistings- Hastie Clark Dow Monty Barrat Said O’Connell Stocker
Trades - Keeler Caminiti Trav
All possibly in the firing line especially if we’re chasing another big gun.

I actually think next off-season will be our lowest turnover in a few years. I think the list gets to a profile where it acts against your objectives to keep cutting any further......

 

[MrFoster]

I'm not against Butters by any means but I doubt we have space for him in the cap for a start. I'm saying we'll know a lot more about what is actually missing from our list at the end of 2026. Butters might be the missing piece but he might not. If he wanted to come and we could afford him you'd be crazy not to enquire but I think it's a fantasy to be honest.

Getting Butters would mean moving on a few other senior players, given we already have some room with Steele leaving and not getting Aleer. For example, if Clark, Butler, Howard leave at the end of next season, we can easily afford Butters.

 

[MrFoster]

I actually think next off-season will be our lowest turnover in a few years. I think the list gets to a profile where it acts against your objectives to keep cutting any further......

With so many players out of contract end of 2026, think the turnover will be as high as this season. Gone are the days where you can get a long contract on potential alone e.g. Billings, put all players on notice which can only be a good thing.

 

[SaintWrld]

With so many players out of contract end of 2026, think the turnover will be as high as this season. Gone are the days where you can get a long contract on potential alone e.g. Billings, put all players on notice which can only be a good thing.

I think there comes a point where you’re happy with your list, and don’t see the need to keep cutting and making wholesale changes for the sake of it.
We only own 3 draft picks this year, and even if we were to bring in another free agent or two, would only need to cut 5

 

[Sully111]

I’m massively bullish on Hugo.

 

[SinCitySainter]

Can see quite a few possible delistings/trades occurring next year.
Delistings- Hastie Clark Dow Monty Barrat Said O’Connell Stocker
Trades - Keeler Caminiti Trav
All possibly in the firing line especially if we’re chasing another big gun.

Unfortunately, none of them, except maybe Clark, free up any money to make a big gun chase possible. Most of them will be on close to the minimum and you still need to replace them with a player from the draft.

 

[gringo2011]

Getting Butters would mean moving on a few other senior players, given we already have some room with Steele leaving and not getting Aleer. For example, if Clark, Butler, Howard leave at the end of next season, we can easily afford Butters.

Not if guys like Wilson step up and suck up a couple of those wages. Tauru, Hall, Trav, Garcia types will all be taking up space in the future. You've got to plan 5 years down the road.

 

[dudeintheswamp]

Your AFL team's Rising Star eligible players and top contenders for 2026

See which young gun at your club could take out next year’s title.

www.zerohanger.com

St Kilda (7)
Kye Fincher
Charlie Banfield
James Barrat
Alix Tauru
Eamonn Armstrong
Alex Dodson
Patrick Said

Edit: He won't be here till June or something but I guess we can add Kobe McDonald to that list

 

[SaintWrld]

Not if guys like Wilson step up and suck up a couple of those wages. Tauru, Hall, Trav, Garcia types will all be taking up space in the future. You've got to plan 5 years down the road.

Even guys like Hammer (or Keeler if he has a good year) could get over inflated offers from other clubs. The Dees, with their sad looking backline depth, could for instance offer Hammer 4 years at 600k-700k, he would be a walk up best 23 for them, and that’s a figure we probably couldn’t get near considering how much we have over indulged in free agents etc.
There’s going to be a squeeze on keeping our youth

 

[dudeintheswamp]

Interesting season coming up for Hammer. I think he's done very well covering down back in a position he'd never played before, mostly on the big gun forwards. Next year if our talls have a good run with injury (big if!) he may well spend most of the year in the two's, in which case you'd think teams will be coming for him. I agree with the poster who said he could be a good long term replacement for Dougal, I just wonder if he'll still be here by the time Dougal finishes up.

 

[gringo2011]

Interesting season coming up for Hammer. I think he's done very well covering down back in a position he'd never played before, mostly on the big gun forwards. Next year if our talls have a good run with injury (big if!) he may well spend most of the year in the two's, in which case you'd think teams will be coming for him. I agree with the poster who said he could be a good long term replacement for Dougal, I just wonder if he'll still be here by the time Dougal finishes up.

I'd be more confident of Hammer playing 20 senior games than Howard getting through unscathed.

 

[dudeintheswamp]

Yep Dougal turning 30 in March, if he has another injury affected year it could easily be all over for him this time next year

 

[ScrappyDo]

Unfortunately, none of them, except maybe Clark, free up any money to make a big gun chase possible. Most of them will be on close to the minimum and you still need to replace them with a player from the draft.

Wouldn't bother making assumptions about the TPP position. We're not to know.

 

[Jay Beast]

Only want Ben King

34

Ben King

Age

25

Ht

202cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

7.2

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

2.2

2star

M

3.5

4star

T

0.5

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

7.5

2star

K

5.6

2star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.6

4star

T

0.3

1star

G

1.5

5star

D

6.8

2star

K

4.4

2star

HB

2.4

3star

M

3.2

4star

T

0.2

3star

G

1.0

4star

.
Reckon I'm becoming a sentimental old-fart coz it probably makes no sense.