List Mgmt. 2026 List management - pt.1

[SaintsofSteel]

Sounds like we want to kick the wheels on this again

Whats with our obsession with half back flankers, now many do we need on one list?

 

[akaifu]

He plays like he’s a first year player. He might need a fresh start at another club. Its just not happening at the saints and be cant keep being gifted games.

Ross and the club said he was primed for a big year and they were hoping for a Nas like breakout. Just dont see that ever happening unfortunately.

Slight overreaction

 

[SaintsofSteel]

He plays like he’s a first year player. He might need a fresh start at another club. Its just not happening at the saints and be cant keep being gifted games.

Ross and the club said he was primed for a big year and they were hoping for a Nas like breakout. Just dont see that ever happening unfortunately.

Im just as frustrated, but I wouldnt be writing him off just yet. He loves the club and wants to improve, I think he is just one of those kids who cant play through injury niggles. When he gets a good run at it physically and can string games together he might surprise us. I dont think anyone ever doubts his application off field, he is just got to duplicate that on.

 

[Captain Paddy]

He plays like he’s a first year player. He might need a fresh start at another club. Its just not happening at the saints and be cant keep being gifted games.

Ross and the club said he was primed for a big year and they were hoping for a Nas like breakout. Just dont see that ever happening unfortunately.

Would love to see him made to do some tagging roles like Windy, Box and Garcia have done.

So far it seems like he can just roll up into the midfield with the sole aim of winning the ball and if he doesn’t, there are no consequences.

If you can’t get your hands on it, the least you could do is run both ways

 

[SG34]

The known quantity at the moment is that Macrae is required to play the extractor role and he is a liability these days.

Dramatic drop off in form, we just can't carry blokes that get it 15-20 times playing solely mid and have no hurt factor.

Agree, Owens should have been tried earlier, but doesn't mean u don't do it now. Build up his mid time slowly.

Wilson has shown enough for me to suggest he can absolutely line up in the centre. Big body, pace out of the contest. Lots of upside.

MacCrae - dramatic fall off? Really? I didn’t see that. He was injured and labored part of last year. Wasn’t that bad I thought. We ve missed him and Steele massively these past few weeks

 

[austinnn]

I wonder if it’s part of the new ‘fast-game’ mantra? Same for Marshall’s mortars.
If Pou held on to the ball and allowed himself to get trapped in likely expectation of another ball up, it looks pretty ordinary, percentage football (almost like rugby league to my untrained eye) and the game slows down.

I think a lot of the ‘fast game’ tactics will settle down. (If it is indeed what is happening)

Yep, I think Phillipou has listened to Ross telling everyone the rest if his players have to rise to Nas's level. We watched Nas use vital moments last year to propel himself from a promising player like Mattaes himself to one of the true stars of the league and make St Kilda a whole lot more tricky to play against.

He's thinking he can do that too. Since Ross came back they've preached speed, speed, and more speed, and now the whole league is going crazy for these lightning fast handball chains, he's taking the responsibility of trying to be more dynamic and produce a few hero moments that aren't coming off.

He needs to be told: those types of moves are for senior players who have already been developed - junior players like him need to avoid short cuts and get used to playing "by the rules" before they learn when and how to "break" those rules, these games are as much about forging good habits under the harshest conditions as they are about winning.

Sadly, our midfield currently contains no senior players, so maybe like the eldest son in a household where the dad is not around, Matteas is assuming that role as another magic man so we're not just relying on Messiah moments from Nasiah.

As many have said, he needs to be more combatitive and wear a tackle or two; he's strong enough. Windy and Mitch would be good mentors here.

 

[mad-saint-guy]

If Pou continues to struggle in the midfield I'd still like to see him trialled at half back. He hasn't excelled when it comes to the physical aspect of playing inside mid and has struggled a bit with the quick decision making required in heavily contested situations. Starting at half back would give him more time to see the game unfold and more time to use the footy. Right now we've basically got Carroll in the Lienert/Bonner placeholder spot - doing a okay job but he's not going to be in the best 23 of a premiership side. Why not give Pou a go in that role which seems to suit his skillset more than playing inside mid right now.

I don't think there's really room for him in the forward line. We already have quite a few medium forwards who don't apply much defensive pressure.

 

[Goofy975]

The injuries just really unfortunately affected Philipou heavily. He looks slower and unathletic now. I barely see him take any contested marks. Before I make any judgement I want to see him at his best physical and mentally which will take a couple more game

 

[jwint43]

Pou's form might still be confidence driven, which is understandable given his age, he looked really good in the back end of last year after building his form in the 2s. Then injury and off season hit and he's lost his x factor, let's hope the club knows how to get the best out of him

Based on his personality I would guess that his body letting him down has been tough to handle and something he wasn't expecting to deal with. In his first year he was just playing on confidence and instinct. It seems now like he's too task/team focused and the game isn't coming naturally to him, he's rushing his decision making. He's also been playing sore the last 2 weeks, so the bye has come at a good time. I was hoping for better things from him, but you have to remind yourself he is 21 and has only played one full season. Petracca didn't become a great player until 5 seasons in, there is plenty of time for him to find his self belief and confidence.

 

[jwint43]

The injuries just really unfortunately affected Philipou heavily. He looks slower and unathletic now. I barely see him take any contested marks. Before I make any judgement I want to see him at his best physical and mentally which will take a couple more game

He probably shouldn't have been playing, he played like 40% of the GWS game. I don't think he has just lost all his athletic ability overnight, let's see how he looks after the bye.

 

[MrFoster]

To me Phillipou has the Nate Fyfe vibe. A utility/mid who can play various positions. As I keep mentioning, one position inside mids are like dinosaurs these days.

Guys who can rotate between spots and play multiple roles are the most valuable commodity in footy right now. Most of our younger guys have dual positions. Garcia is probably the most single position of them and he has run to overcome the one position factor.

Garcia can actually play more positions than any of our other players, he was a half forward in the juniors with some midfield stint, he’s quick, can carry the ball or kick to advantage, so he can play the hb and hf role really well, plus inside / outside mid, wing and tagging. That makes him one of the most versatile players in the team.

 

[saintbill]

MacCrae - dramatic fall off? Really? I didn’t see that. He was injured and labored part of last year. Wasn’t that bad I thought. We ve missed him and Steele massively these past few weeks

He was very ordinary the second half of last year and was probably the worst player on the ground round 1. So yeah, not travelling great in my eyes.

 

[MrFoster]

Our problem currently is we don’t have the mids/game plan yet that allow us to win the ball and invite/absorb the tackle pressure which makes the next possession (preferably to a player on the outside) easier, we just handball the ball like a hot potato to the person standing next to them with a bloke ready to tackle him, this leads to rushed/panicky possessions and shank/rubbish forward 50 entry as a result..


First Macrae needs to get fit, his pre-season game this year was very very good. Dow can also help here once fit. Pou is not the solution now because he was never a full time inside mid.. maybe down the line, but he is nowhere ready, same with Nas in the midfield I’m afraid. Windhager, Hall and Flanders should be our starting mids right now while Macrae/Dow are out injured.

Then we need to instruct our player to hold their positions, trust their team mates to either win possession or get it out, not swarm in there to support only find the ball coming out to a free opposition player on the outside.

 

[gringo2011]

Draft wishlist

Small forward= speed kills, and we have no killers up front, and NO, it's not Butler
KPD - need another besides Barrat
KPF - maybe it's Cammaniti, but I'd still prefer another developing in the VFL.
and in that order

not too worried about small defender, Stocker/LOC/Hastie

maybe we can trade for one, I just doubt we'd get anyone decent

Mid season draft get this guy. Small forward done. 2022 second round pick to the Dogs. Dumped after 2 seasons.

Draft prospect: Charlie Clarke

Check out the highlights of 2022 NAB AFL Draft prospect Charlie Clarke

www.afl.com.au

Donovan Toohety the other. Get him off HBF-
Standalone club Coburg, renowned for its record of producing AFL talent, has another player in the pipeline. Donovan Toohey has garnered attention with his ball use out of defence, with the 25-year-old averaging 31.3 disposals. That includes highs of 40 and 39 against AFL-aligned opposition in Collingwood and Richmond, and he was also Coburg’s best against the National Under 18 Academy.

 

[gringo2011]

Garcia can actually play more positions than any of our other players, he was a half forward in the juniors with some midfield stint, he’s quick, can carry the ball or kick to advantage, so he can play the hb and hf role really well, plus inside / outside mid, wing and tagging. That makes him one of the most versatile players in the team.

He's looked best as a burst inside mid still. He started as a HF and was only okay. His pace probably does give him options though.

 

[gringo2011]

Our problem currently is we don’t have the mids/game plan yet that allow us to win the ball and invite/absorb the tackle pressure which makes the next possession (preferably to a player on the outside) easier, we just handball the ball like a hot potato to the person standing next to them with a bloke ready to tackle him, this leads to rushed/panicky possessions and shank/rubbish forward 50 entry as a result..


First Macrae needs to get fit, his pre-season game this year was very very good. Dow can also help here once fit. Pou is not the solution now because he was never a full time inside mid.. maybe down the line, but he is nowhere ready, same with Nas in the midfield I’m afraid. Windhager, Hall and Flanders should be our starting mids right now while Macrae/Dow are out injured.

Then we need to instruct our player to hold their positions, trust their team mates to either win possession or get it out, not swarm in there to support only find the ball coming out to a free opposition player on the outside.

Also our wings are a bit average too. Wood has been well down and Windhager is more HBF at the moment. Wilson still a bit hot and cold.

 

[tomjoad]

Whats with our obsession with half back flankers, now many do we need on one list?

We can turn them all into mids don't 'ya know.
We're very clever that way...whilst other clubs get actual mids, we keep it geometrically consistent by putting a square peg in a round hole.
Eventually it'll pan out. Maybe not in our lifetime...but someday.
Some feckin' day.

 

[Yawkey way]

Mid season draft get this guy. Small forward done. 2022 second round pick to the Dogs. Dumped after 2 seasons.

Draft prospect: Charlie Clarke

Check out the highlights of 2022 NAB AFL Draft prospect Charlie Clarke

www.afl.com.au

Donovan Toohety the other. Get him off HBF-
Standalone club Coburg, renowned for its record of producing AFL talent, has another player in the pipeline. Donovan Toohey has garnered attention with his ball use out of defence, with the 25-year-old averaging 31.3 disposals. That includes highs of 40 and 39 against AFL-aligned opposition in Collingwood and Richmond, and he was also Coburg’s best against the National Under 18 Academy.

I followed Clarke after the draft he’s a local bayside kid, imo he’s not afl standard.

Better off in our position taking one of the kids playing tac who was overlooked at the draft. There are a few lighting it up, at least one at the dragons.

Some kids take a bit longer, may have had a few injuries, late growth etc.

On another note hindsight’s a wonderful thing but a lot of people on here loved Shanahan in the draft. He’s looking like a steal now but sometimes it’s hard to trade back in.

 

[Yawkey way]

We can turn them all into mids don't 'ya know.
We're very clever that way...whilst other clubs get actual mids, we keep it geometrically consistent by putting a square peg in a round hole.
Eventually it'll pan out. Maybe not in our lifetime...but someday.
Some feckin' day.

It’s just astounding how often we’ve done this.

I can’t believe that professional recruiters watch these kids play for years many nether playing as regular mids yet they see a mid.

It’s not just afl there are just as many misses in the nfl.

 

[hayes]

It’s what happens when you get all high and mighty and avoid the bottom of the ladder. All the good mids go early so you have to try and invent something later in the draft. Works really well.

 

[mighty_sainters]

Each supporter base will think higher of their players, so interesting to see what opinions are here.

We really need Tauru, Phillipou, Wilson, TT, Windy, Owens to be B+ graders at a minimum for us to ever be top 4-6 material.

 

[beside the seaside]

It’s what happens when you get all high and mighty and avoid the bottom of the ladder. All the good mids go early so you have to try and invent something later in the draft. Works really well.

Is that really true though? We got Nas with pick 11. North are stacked with high picks and still struggling. I doubt Geelong have had a top ten pick in a decade.

 

[Mangus]

There is a lot of talk of Pou’s handballs I think that is just him getting back up to speed with AFL footy. I have always seen this as one of his biggest strengths his ability to use his hands to set some one free in space was evident from day one. Better weapon than his kicking which is long but not precise or demonstrating any particular vision. His hands however in close were at times elite and he can find someone outside the congestion. He is no certainty to make it as a mid but it is a bit much to expect him to be Nat Fyfe after the run he has had. The mids in general are four games into a brand new mix they haven’t worked out how to work together yet.

The only one that I think could spend more time in the middle is Hall he has the cleanest hands at the club and is lethal when he gets it on the outside. I am sure there is a reason they don’t play him more there maybe his tank or he is too one way but I would be investing in him.

Pou will come good he has always had streaky form it takes him a while to get going but then he strings it together for a patch, trouble is he keeps getting injured and we start again. Confidence is key with him the big talking “I can be the best player in the league” stuff is just bravado, end of the day he is still a kid who is unsure of his body and his game and needs to build belief. Give him some simple targets Tackles - One Percenter stuff and the rest will come.

 

[hayes]

Is that really true though? We got Nas with pick 11. North are stacked with high picks and still struggling. I doubt Geelong have had a top ten pick in a decade.

Dusty, Cotchin, Rance, Hodge, Lewis, Petracca, Oliver, Bont, Daicos, De Goey, Ashcroft, generally the guys that get you there or win it for you are taken early. It doesn’t guarantee anything but it gives you a chance IMO.

 

[TheJackal]

I haven't really kept up with this forum this year but why are so many so intent on convincing ourselves Pou is a bust?

The kid is a big mid and barely 21. He is consistently in our top 5 runners and is actually quick for his size - he just needs to work on his timing.

He has worked to do, but has been playing with injuries most of his career - this year included.

He is the least of our worries