Past #29: Will Phillips [Part II] - delisted end '26 - 50 NM games/8 NM goals - Farewell Sweet Prince

[Pravda Roo]

I have hird Brisbane and Gold Coast are keen to add him to their starting midfields

 

[Mr north man]

I have hird Brisbane and Gold Coast are keen to add him to their starting midfields

At VFL level

 

[Dinkers]

Well I'd be very excited for Will if he plays in Q.
Not going to lie, hope he lines up against us.

 

[Val Keating]

NFI to your DFA FYI

GTFOOH

 

[hotchilli]

Has he been picked up by anyone as a DFA?

Doubt there will be much DFA movement pre-draft.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Been a bit of talk that a couple of clubs have been sniffing as either a train on player over summer or as a DFA. Guess it’ll all just depend on how the draft plays out and what happens with rookie list spots.

Have also heard that Werribee are keen on getting both Phillips and Lazzaro down there.
Lazz has already been linked with a move from Port Melbourne.

 

[Themanbun]

Have also heard that Werribee are keen on getting both Phillips and Lazzaro down there.
Lazz has already been linked with a move from Port Melbourne.

Yup. They've admired both for a while.

Lazz' back end of season form for 2025 will have him a hot commodity though

 

[Dinkers]

A top 3 selection would normally get another chance. But by heck I hope he plays against us. One of the worst AFL midfielders I've seen get to 50 games. I'd rather Mahony, Stephenson or Ford to be on our list.

He has zero elite traits, ****en zero and whomever takes him, we should beat them easily. It to me is exciting that we finally ****ed him off

 

[Chip Scab1]

A top 3 selection would normally get another chance. But by heck I hope he plays against us. One of the worst AFL midfielders I've seen get to 50 games. I'd rather Mahony, Stephenson or Ford to be on our list.

He has zero elite traits, ****en zero and whomever takes him, we should beat them easily. It to me is exciting that we finally ****ed him off

I chortled.

 

[Dinkers]

I chortled.

It is 100%the truth. It's mind boggling it took this long to end it. Plenty of clubs got it wrong in the first round of that draft. Realised it and moved on after a couple of years. We waited five.

We need to get tougher with our decision making.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

It is 100%the truth. It's mind boggling it took this long to end it. Plenty of clubs got it wrong in the first round of that draft. Realised it and moved on after a couple of years. We waited five.

We need to get tougher with our decision making.

Clubs don’t move on top 5 picks in 2-3 years unless they have attitude/off field problems. That 2020 draft was an absolute stinker, yet from the top 20 only Grainger-Barrass, was delisted earlier than Phillips.

Plenty of kids don’t really start to come on until their 3rd/4th season. Considering Phillips issues earlier in his career it’s not surprising that we gave him enough time to see if he could overcome those setbacks.

 

[Chip Scab1]

It is 100%the truth. It's mind boggling it took this long to end it. Plenty of clubs got it wrong in the first round of that draft. Realised it and moved on after a couple of years. We waited five.

We need to get tougher with our decision making.

We sure as **** do. Can sort of understand the fallacy of sunk cost in this scenario, mind. It is equivalent to hitting on 15 v dealer 10, I mean you know you're probably gonna lose but you still hit anyway. We kept calling/hitting on 4,5,6 v 10.

He was a good kid but **** sake how could you not see he was too small for the mens league. I saw him play for CGS and knew he was too small from one viewing, and I was probably stoned. It beggars belief that we probably pay a man $450k pa to make that assessment and to be so wrong. Actually incredible. Not only that but determined he was worthy of pick 3, not 300.

It's a total shambles. Lucky we were shit for years and have had access to more than enough talent to be good again soon.

 

[giantroo]

Will Phillips is training at St.Kilda

 

[Kofi]

Didn't they take Paddy Dow

15

Paddy Dow

Age

26

Ht

184cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.1

4star

K

7.0

3star

HB

7.1

4star

M

2.1

2star

T

2.9

4star

CL

2.6

4star

D

7.0

1star

K

4.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

3star

CL

0.0

1star

D

12.4

4star

K

5.8

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

1.6

2star

T

2.8

5star

CL

2.6

5star

as well? Another slow former pick 3?

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Didn't they take Paddy Dow as well? Another slow former pick 3?

Speed was not one of Dow's issues. He is quick, just can't kick for shit.

 

[Joffaboy]

Will Phillips is training at St.Kilda

Trained in No.55, looks quite small, would be surprised if the Saints list him.

 

[Blightys Barrel]

Trained in No.55, looks quite small, would be surprised if the Saints list him.

Would be cheap. Steele left for Melb and therefore cover for a defensive mid in case of injuries to the likes of Windhager. Smart play by SOS and the list team. If he gets a spot, then great for both player and club.

 

[Joffaboy]

Would be cheap. Steele left for Melb and therefore cover for a defensive mid in case of injuries to the likes of Windhager. Smart play by SOS and the list team. If he gets a spot, then great for both player and club.

Yeah, if they are looking for coverage of a Steele type, I suppose. Did nothing wrong from what i saw of him today, tidy, and aerobically fit, can see he has been in an AFL system for a while. I was curious as usually train on players aren't as confident or clean in their skills as he seemed. Forgive me, I know little of him and my initial impression was that he is a bit small. Pure inside mid I take it?

Anyway your post sounds logical. Cheers.

 

[Themanbun]

Yeah, if they are looking for coverage of a Steele type, I suppose. Did nothing wrong from what i saw of him today, tidy, and aerobically fit, can see he has been in an AFL system for a while. I was curious as usually train on players aren't as confident or clean in their skills as he seemed. Forgive me, I know little of him and my initial impression was that he is a bit small. Pure inside mid I take it?

Anyway your post sounds logical. Cheers.

Yeah, he's as inside as it gets but unfortunately undersized for the role. He didn't offer a lot for us outside of the inside contest, and struggled on transition. Which may be a fitness thing, he was smashed by glandular fever and COVID in his first few years in the system.

Unfortunately for him, the blokes we had in his role as first receiver (LDU, Wardlaw) have more weapons, and he couldn't be played as a pure defensive mid due to the transition issues discussed above.

He's a great kid with an awesome attitude so I'm hoping he finds a home somewhere.

 

[Daniltchenko You Beauty]

Surely he's worth a go over the 80th best kid in a rubbish draft

 

[Joffaboy]

Yeah, he's as inside as it gets but unfortunately undersized for the role. He didn't offer a lot for us outside of the inside contest, and struggled on transition. Which may be a fitness thing, he was smashed by glandular fever and COVID in his first few years in the system.

Unfortunately for him, the blokes we had in his role as first receiver (LDU, Wardlaw) have more weapons, and he couldn't be played as a pure defensive mid due to the transition issues discussed above.

He's a great kid with an awesome attitude so I'm hoping he finds a home somewhere.

Yeah, you guys are pretty stacking in that position. We really on have Macrae as an inside mid after losing Steele.
His conditioning seemed pretty good today, well involved in the drills and kept up in the running drills at the end of the session.
If Transition is a big weakness, I can see why he couldn't crack it. A bit hard to be a pure inside mid with poor transition AND a bit undersized.
But can see now why the Saints may be interested in him for depth. Thanks for the info and happy hunting in 2026. Might meet you in a wildcard

 

[Joffaboy]

Surely he's worth a go over the 80th best kid in a rubbish draft

Seems to be the thoughts on our board too.

 

[Blightys Barrel]

Yeah, if they are looking for coverage of a Steele type, I suppose. Did nothing wrong from what i saw of him today, tidy, and aerobically fit, can see he has been in an AFL system for a while. I was curious as usually train on players aren't as confident or clean in their skills as he seemed. Forgive me, I know little of him and my initial impression was that he is a bit small. Pure inside mid I take it?

Anyway your post sounds logical. Cheers.

His early seasons were heavily interrupted by bouts of Glandular fever, and he pretty much missed a season because of that. The 2020 Covid draft was a stinker, and the club was keen to bolster its midfield and he looked to be one of the top picks. Club recruited plenty more Mids post that and he got squeezed out. He was tried as a tagger with some success. But lack of speed and ability to run out a game have hurt him. His skills in close and ability to distribute are there. From all accounts a popular team mate and I think the #3 draft pick was why the club held on for 2 more years to see if it would click, or not.

 

[Dinkers]

Will Phillips is training at St.Kilda

Shiza - how tall is Will, it could be a trap

 

[Joffaboy]

So apparently it wasn't Will Phillips at Saints training on Monday but Saints VFL player Billy McGhee-Gallambertie.
I dont know either player and someone put up a photo of Will and it looked like him.
Was being called Billy and Bill not Will which was always a query.
Anyway apologies for wasting your time. Did show though that multiple media get their info from BF as it was reported Phillips was training at the Saints.