St Kilda exploiting Wester Bulldogs’ salary crunch over Jack Macrae, cool interest in Ivan Soldo

Jack Macrae is still coming, but Ivan Soldo might not be. JON RALPH has the latest on the Saints’ targets, as well as who the Lions might be eyeing to replace the retired Joe Daniher.

St Kilda will hope the Western Bulldogs’ desperation to get Jackson Macrae’s salary off their books will see them accepting a late future pick as the Saints cool their interest on ruckman Ivan Soldo.

Triple All Australian Macrae finished only 20th in the Western Bulldogs best-and-fairest after being handed the subs vest four times and is due a significant wage above $800,000 for the next two years of a contract with three seasons remaining.

The Bulldogs are bemused that it took over three weeks for the Saints to make any contact about Macrae after he declared his interest to move from Whitten Oval to Moorabbin.

Jack Macrae. Photo by Michael Klein

But the Saints have a walkaway point in the potential trade, simply unwilling to impact a 2024 draft hand that is currently at picks seven, eight, 27 and 47.

They are hoping the Dogs will accept a future third or fourth-rounder for the 30-year-old who they pushed to high half forward for much of the year when he was in the senior side.

Given he is due over $2 million in salary obligations, the Saints are happy to absorb that salary but unwilling to give up a pick of any substance.

They will make their midfield a priority with picks seven and eight so are keen on Macrae as midfield depth but not at the expense of their draft hand.

The Dogs also have big contracts to sign for Marcus Bontempelli, Sam Darcy and Ed Richards next year, with the skipper and midfielder Richards both free agents.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, like Macrae a Connors Sports client, is also out of contract at the end of 2026 with the Dogs hoping to re-sign him long-term at some stage next year.

It means the Dogs will have to assess whether having one of their most highly paid players sitting on a forward flank in a team set to give Ryley Sanders and Harvey Gallagher more midfield minutes is strong list management.

The Dogs had cap space to retain Bailey Smith and could lose Caleb Daniel to the Kangaroos, so might choose simply to retain Macrae.

Ivan Soldo wants to move back to Victoria. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

The Saints had been keen on Ivan Soldo as Rowan Marshall’s back-up given he never settled in Adelaide in a year where his partner went public about not wanting to live in the state.

But according to reports on Sunday Soldo will not join the club given concerns over his knees.

He has lingering issues with his left meniscus and needed surgery in April which put him behind Jordon Sweet, so the Saints will not proceed on a trade.

The Dogs have lost back-up Tom Campbell to Melbourne and Jack Hayes has had a medical at Collingwood, so the Dogs will have to find another ruckman to support Marshall.

LIONS CLOSE IN ON DANIHER REPLACEMENT

Brisbane is unlikely to make a trade play for a key forward in coming days as it considers back-up talls including free agent Sam Day as replacements for Joe Daniher.

Gold Coast forward Day appeals to the Lions because he is a genuine key forward who can also go into the ruck to give back-up support to Oscar McInerney.

Day kicked 10 goals in five AFL games this year and was elite in forward 50 marks and one-on-one contests, taking six contested marks against the Roos.

He shapes as the perfect low-cost, high-upside player who will not replace the brilliant Daniher but at least fills a similar forward-ruck role.

St Kilda free agent Tim Membrey is available for rivals but is not a contender for the Lions because at 190cm he is a similar type of player to the improving first-year premiership player Logan Morris.

Sam Day could find himself a Lion next season. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

The Lions are open to only playing two key forwards next year and also have ex-Hawks key forward Brandon Ryan who they believe can play a part in their premiership defence.

Day was delisted after 155 games as an inaugural Gold Coast player, with the 32-year-old suffering a horrific injury toll across his time at the Suns.

He played 17 VFL appearances and three AFL appearances last year, then five AFL games and eight VFL games this year before a plantar fascia injury curtailed his season.

The Lions are keen to keep former first round pick Dev Robertson as he assesses interest from West Coast.

The midfielder would like to get to the Pies but their dealings with Port Adelaide defender Dan Houston would likely have to fall over for Collingwood to enter the picture.

West Coast also has some interest but has plenty of trade balls in the air, with Robertson’s salary of around $500,000 not helping his trade prospects.

Brisbane will ask for a pick in the 40s for 21-year-old wingman Harry Sharp, who has declared his intention to play for Melbourne next year.

But the Demons are more likely to offer a back-end pick, and have selections 40, 49, 54 and 74 to satisfy the Lions.

Any points they secure will help them match bids for No.1 contender Levi Ashcroft and northern academy midfielder Sam Marshall.

Originally published as St Kilda exploiting Wester Bulldogs’ salary crunch over Jack Macrae, cool interest in Ivan Soldo