Opinion Have St Kilda been overhyped this year?

[Bald Headed Flog]

I completely reject the notion of 'spent big money on their recruits'.

You need good players. They haven't had good players for a decade.

If anything, they should have spent more!

They still have some very ordinary guys running around out there.

Without getting a top level father son or academy pick, it makes it a little more difficult.

Gold Coast have a third of their side built out of their academy. Among many other players, the Pies have Daicos, Dogs have Darcy, Brisbane have the Ashcrofts, Sydney have Heeney, etc.

Hard to criticise a small club for lacking top end talent when they need to rely almost exclusively on a highly compromised draft.

Editing to add that I see you acknowledge this in another comment

 

[Permission Capable]

St Kilda should be so far ahead of Melbourne. It’s pretty much season over unless they win one of the next 2. GWS and Brisbane. Could be messy.

Should they really? Just because Ross (and Sos) have conned the media into thinking it doesn't make it so.

 

[demondavey]

Should they really? Just because Ross (and Sos) have conned the media into thinking it doesn't make it so.

They’ve had a fair bit longer to get their list ready. The drafting strategy will tell you there are all in. A con or not they should be better given what they have done to top up their list.

TDK
Wanganeen
Flanders
Silvagni

You set up like that and you have to beat Collingwood and Melbourne. Silvagni as the list manager? He is becoming the next Dodoro.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

They’ve had a fair bit longer to get their list ready. The drafting strategy will tell you there are all in. A con or not they should be better given what they have done to top up their list.

TDK
Wanganeen
Flanders
Silvagni

You set up like that and you have to beat Collingwood and Melbourne. Silvagni as the list manager? He is becoming the next Dodoro.

Yeah but whilst they've been bringing those guys in, literally teams above them have been bringing in better players!

The gap widens.

 

[maskmcgee]

Reminds me of what Essendon did in 2017 and 2018, trade out all our draft picks and pay big money for B grade players the club thinks are A graders and just hope it all works. GWS didn't care too much about losing Shiel because they thought he was already pretty easily replaceable, Gold Coast had already decided Flanders was't good enough to play midfield and didn't fight too much on him.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Not surprised with where they are. Spent a lot of money bringing in average players.

Teams rarely come back from 0-2 and have a successful season. Giants next week in Sydney no easy game either with players back for GWS

 

[demondavey]

Not surprised with where they are. Spent a lot of money bringing in average players.

Teams rarely come back from 0-2 and have a successful season. Giants next week in Sydney no easy game either with players back for GWS

Lions at the GABBA after that.

 

[Rod Stroker]

They have an astonishing number of players from other clubs, none who were or have become A-graders. Hill maybe the best of the lot?

Higgins
Silvagni
McRae
Hill
Flanders
Stocker
Dow
Butler
Howard
Carroll
TDK
Henry
Ryan
Wood

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

They have an astonishing number of players from other clubs, none who were or have become A-graders. Hill maybe the best of the lot?

Higgins
Silvagni
McRae
Hill
Flanders
Stocker
Dow
Butler
Howard
Carroll
TDK
Henry
Ryan
Wood

But how else can they get good players?

If the top clubs get the best draftees before them, and the bottom clubs get the best best draftees before them - WTF is a club medicore club like them supposed to do?

Just wait two decades patiently??

 

[Sentinel]

They have an astonishing number of players from other clubs, none who were or have become A-graders. Hill maybe the best of the lot?

Higgins
Silvagni
McRae
Hill
Flanders
Stocker
Dow
Butler
Howard
Carroll
TDK
Henry
Ryan
Wood

Macrae was a 3 time All Australian between 2019-21, so was certainly an A-grader. Well beyond that by the time he was traded in though.

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

Macrae was a 3 time All Australian, so was certainly A grade. Well beyond that by the time he was traded in though.

That's Gary Ayres medallist Jackson Macrae to you.

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

Teams rarely come back from 0-2 and have a successful season.

Good teams do. Shite teams don't.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Lyon is a complete fraud and sold Saints a monorail

I doubt they have the leadership strength to move away

 

[nahnah]

De Koning is really overrated and always has been.
Ryan and Silavgni are decent ins but not going to catapult you up the ladder.
Flanders im surprised that he seems to be a bit meh but only been two games.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Lyon is a complete fraud and sold Saints a monorail

I doubt they have the leadership strength to move away

I don't know how their leadership could move away?

They're all in on him.

If they move away from him, they surely need to fall on their sword.

 

[nahnah]

They have an astonishing number of players from other clubs, none who were or have become A-graders. Hill maybe the best of the lot?

Higgins
Silvagni
McRae
Hill
Flanders
Stocker
Dow
Butler
Howard
Carroll
TDK
Henry
Ryan
Wood

Wood has probably been the best for them so far..

 

[Permission Capable]

I don't know how their leadership could move away?

They're all in on him.

If they move away from him, they surely need to fall on their sword.

Whether they move him or Ross just walks when it suits him when it's apparent they're no chance, they are a disaster waiting to (or currently) happen. And the admin will blame everyone and everything else. Like they always do.

 

[Dazb86]

Reality is they were 6 wins away from finals last year and got very lucky against multiple bottom 4 sides with single digit margin wins.

They are coming from miles back.

The new recruits were never going to shoot them up the ladder.

 

[Bill Crouse]

I love bagging St Kilda, but this is just dumb.

They play at docklands on Sunday afternoons, and regardless of how much they suck every year - gets picks behind clubs above them because of stupid AFL rules like Academies and Father Sons.

There is literally no other option to bridge the gape between yourself and the top teams in terms of talent - than paying for them.

You simply can't get better players than what the northern teams and the 'big clubs' are getting - unless you open the cheque book.

As I said, I enjoy bagging the Saints, but the 'they paid too much money shit players' thing is just lazy and ignorant.

TDK, Flanders, SoSoS (or whatever shit acronym someone have him) were all heavily courted by other clubs and offered big dollars.

No one else was offering anything close to 8 years @ 1.7m for De Koning because it is crazy and reckless. Same goes for nepo baby Silvagni.

 

[kozi]

 

[Permission Capable]

Shame they couldn't get Lyin in the photo too and raised it to 6 million.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

No one else was offering anything close to 8 years @ 1.7m for De Koning because it is crazy and reckless. Same goes for nepo baby Silvagni.

But do you think they offered them what they offered them for a laugh? Or because that's what they needed to offer in order to get them?

Remember they'd already tried with Weitering, Merrett, Callaghan, Kelly, DeGoey, and probably more.

When you're a small Sunday arvo club, there are no other options.

 

[Daka]

This guy has a point although he is a bit of a clown...

 

[Elixuh]

No one else was offering anything close to 8 years @ 1.7m for De Koning because it is crazy and reckless. Same goes for nepo baby Silvagni.

TDK was interesting because it felt like the Saints were bidding against themselves.

$850k on JSOS is just insane list management, even taking into account it was a golden handshake from his dad.

 

[Red Bull]

TDK was interesting because it felt like the Saints were bidding against themselves.

$850k on JSOS is just insane list management, even taking into account it was a golden handshake from his dad.

And they shat all over Aleer to do it.
That kind of form can cost you in future dealings with player managers …