St Kilda's challenge to draft wisdom

[PJays]

Who are St Kilda’s best players of the last decade or so?

Obviously a lean period for St Kilda (2 finals appearances, 1 win) but most of us would agree these players are in the mix: Steele, Wilkie, Marshall, Sinclair, Ross, Steven, Membrey, Geary

What do they have in common?

We got them all for a steal:

• Steele- trade for future 2nd rnd pick (pick 27)
• Wilkie- SANFL, rookie draft
• Marshall- VFL, rookie draft
• Sinclair- Rookie draft
• Ross- Pick 25
• Steven- Pick 42
• Membrey- Technically delisted free agent- wanted a trade, St Kilda and Sydney couldn’t agree on terms, Sydney agreed to delist him.
• Geary- Rookie draft

8 of our best players of the past decade (ish) we got for very little. Meanwhile our top 10 picks in the same period haven’t amounted to much – McCartin, Billings, Clark, Coffield.

Jury out on King- let’s hope he gets back to his best and puts 2024 behind him!

St Kilda’s experience challenges the idea that gun players come from the top end of the draft. It’s been the opposite for us.

We get guns from nowhere, but our top picks are duds.

Why is this?

Or is it merely coincidence?

 

[Silkie]

Mix of things -- bad lack, bad scouting, bad development.

However I think there's something to be said for any high draft pick at St Kilda immediately being given the weight of 60 years of failure to carry around. Guys get drafted to Geelong or Hawthorn and coolly do their apprenticeships. St Kilda makes an 18 year old their new messiah. Very difficult to perform under that kind of pressure.

 

[gringo2011]

Who are St Kilda’s best players of the last decade or so?

Obviously a lean period for St Kilda (2 finals appearances, 1 win) but most of us would agree these players are in the mix: Steele, Wilkie, Marshall, Sinclair, Ross, Steven, Membrey, Geary

What do they have in common?

We got them all for a steal:

• Steele- trade for future 2nd rnd pick (pick 27)
• Wilkie- SANFL, rookie draft
• Marshall- VFL, rookie draft
• Sinclair- Rookie draft
• Ross- Pick 25
• Steven- Pick 42
• Membrey- Technically delisted free agent- wanted a trade, St Kilda and Sydney couldn’t agree on terms, Sydney agreed to delist him.
• Geary- Rookie draft

8 of our best players of the past decade (ish) we got for very little. Meanwhile our top 10 picks in the same period haven’t amounted to much – McCartin, Billings, Clark, Coffield.

Jury out on King- let’s hope he gets back to his best and puts 2024 behind him!

St Kilda’s experience challenges the idea that gun players come from the top end of the draft. It’s been the opposite for us.

We get guns from nowhere, but our top picks are duds.

Why is this?

Or is it merely coincidence?

Recruiting, then poor list management and not wanting to admit to stuffing up a few consecutive rebuilds. A face saving cowardice set in where they were happy to bluff the fans. They truely believed that most Saints fans didn't really care about success and set us up for perpetual mediocrity.

 

[Imtellingya]

Mix of things -- bad lack, bad scouting, bad development.

However I think there's something to be said for any high draft pick at St Kilda immediately being given the weight of 60 years of failure to carry around. Guys get drafted to Geelong or Hawthorn and coolly do their apprenticeships. St Kilda makes an 18 year old their new messiah. Very difficult to perform under that kind of pressure.

Interesting that our 3 debutants last week did not come through the draft.

 

[sauce_head]

Who are St Kilda’s best players of the last decade or so?

Obviously a lean period for St Kilda (2 finals appearances, 1 win) but most of us would agree these players are in the mix: Steele, Wilkie, Marshall, Sinclair, Ross, Steven, Membrey, Geary

What do they have in common?

We got them all for a steal:

• Steele- trade for future 2nd rnd pick (pick 27)
• Wilkie- SANFL, rookie draft
• Marshall- VFL, rookie draft
• Sinclair- Rookie draft
• Ross- Pick 25
• Steven- Pick 42
• Membrey- Technically delisted free agent- wanted a trade, St Kilda and Sydney couldn’t agree on terms, Sydney agreed to delist him.
• Geary- Rookie draft

8 of our best players of the past decade (ish) we got for very little. Meanwhile our top 10 picks in the same period haven’t amounted to much – McCartin, Billings, Clark, Coffield.

Jury out on King- let’s hope he gets back to his best and puts 2024 behind him!

St Kilda’s experience challenges the idea that gun players come from the top end of the draft. It’s been the opposite for us.

We get guns from nowhere, but our top picks are duds.

Why is this?

Or is it merely coincidence?

Probably due to not recruiting bona fide mids and then not adequately developing the ones that we stuck in there properly. I mean we all know we stuffed up our best chance at the best mid of the draft, a guaranteed gun back in the day. I won’t mention the name again!

 

[Yawkey way]

Recruiting, then poor list management and not wanting to admit to stuffing up a few consecutive rebuilds. A face saving cowardice set in where they were happy to bluff the fans. They truely believed that most Saints fans didn't really care about success and set us up for perpetual mediocrity.

That and imo an abject failure to recognise that not all positions are of equal value. Other sports and AFL teams for that matter seem to recognise that but if you look at our drafting we struggle with the concept.

Why the hell would you spend a top 10 pick on a guy who plays a position where history tells us you have a high chance of getting just as good in the third or forth round. Who picks mccartin over petracca, who picks billings over quite a few genuine mids. Bloody hell it wasn’t just petracca it was also brayshaw and de goey.

Anyway we need to weight our top picks using facts not gut feel. I liked billings he was and is a decent player who was poorly developed and slowed late by injury. Having said that how many guys like him actually go on at afl level to be worthy of that pick ?.

We’ve actually been better lately but with the way the league has set things up if you’re a VIctorian club and you don’t luck out with father sons you better not screw up a draft let alone several. We did and we’re really paying for it now. Just look at how good McRae was on the weekend compared to our stable ponies and he’s a few years from the end of his career.

You know that scene in the hangover 2 where Stew is trying to wash off the face tatt, that’s us. Who winds up with characters like pelchen and then double down on lethlean, we do. Just an absolute disaster lethlean overriding the recruiters to pick max king and handing hanners a golden parachute, can’t make it up.

Nothing mysterious about why we’re garbage and now we’re rooted chasing our own tails and howling at the moon. I’m getting old I wish I could tell you it was different back in the day but it wasn’t. Pretty much for as long as I can remember we’ve done crazy things and turned gold into lead. That team in 1966 should have won 3 flags with that talent but nah mission accomplished.

The thing is we as a support group largely embrace the craziness that is St Kilda. The st Kilda bayside suburbs vibe just permeates the place, it’s only football.