The List Manager: Jon Ralph examines St Kilda’s current list, its future and everything in between
The Saints finished 2024 hot, but that won’t hoodwink Ross Lyon or their fans, they know this list is well off from contending. Jon Ralph analyses where exactly they can improve in 2025.
St Kilda
Don't miss out on the headlines from St Kilda. Followed categories will be added to My News.
If St Kilda fans suspected their list simply was not good enough as GWS put it to the sword in the 2023 elimination final, then the first 18 rounds this year proved it.
They could be furious St Kilda wasn’t surging up the charts like Hawthorn or dismayed at the 6-11 win-loss record to that stage of the season.
But mostly they were on the same page as coach Ross Lyon – the reality was the list just wasn’t good enough.
The midfield lacked star power and weapons that hurt opponents and the wins were often built on extraordinary effort or Ross Lyon’s coaching.
So most of them will be happy for this club to take half a step back to assemble more elite talent before surging again.
And for St Kilda’s bosses, that finals performance in 2023 gave Lyon enough breathing space to absorb the early struggles of 2024 and perhaps even a mid-table finish in 2025.
St Kilda roared home to win five of the last six – with quality wins over Geelong, Essendon and Carlton as well as defeats of battlers West Coast and Richmond.
It won’t hoodwink Lyon or the fans into believing this list doesn’t have a long way to go before the Saints are again in premiership contention.
TRADE PERIOD: 7/10
The great win was landing a second top ten pick through Josh Battle’s departure for Hawthorn, securing St Kilda a draft hand that is currently 7, 8, 32, 47.
St Kilda let Tim Membrey move on, with Brad Crouch expected to come to terms with the club on a settlement for the final year of his deal.
From there the club secured Western Bulldogs All-Australian Jack Macrae for pick 45, giving up a late pick but committing to over $2 million in salary until 2027.
Jack Carroll also joined the club as a delisted free agent, while Carlton held onto Brodie Kemp despite St Kilda’s late interest and allowed Tim Membrey to cross to Collingwood.
For all of St Kilda’s interest in free agents across the year, none really wanted to come, so the worst possible outcome would have been handing over elite picks in a great draft for moderate players.
LIST HOLES
If St Kilda is to turn into something special, it will be off the back of the precocious kids.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera is simply brilliant.
Mitch Owens was quieter in his third year but again played every game, this time for 20 goals.
Mattaes Phillipou shrugged off an ordinary year to finally hit back hard with four quality late-season games, Darcy Wilson’s best was sublime, and 2023 recruit Liam Henry showed flashes of real class.
But maybe only North Melbourne will go into the 2025 season with more question marks over list holes.
Not only is Max King injury-prone and inconsistent, he doesn’t have a recognised partner in crime who will guarantee him one-on-one looks.
Anthony Caminiti might eventually be that man, and Cooper Sharman would hope to be.
But Caminiti is only a baby in football terms at 20, with St Kilda considering Ivan Soldo then aborting that trade in a move that means Rowan Marshall will have the capacity to play forward much at all.
Battle is gone and so are the 156 intercept possessions he won last year (second only to the brilliant Cal Wilkie, 169) at St Kilda last year.
It will mean Dougal Howard and Zaine Cordy will be called upon more than Saints fans might like, with 198cm key back Isaac Keeler a likely type but yet to debut.
And stars Marshall and Jack Steele will lead the midfield with Phillipou as the potential A-grade teammate while a collection of onballers including Macrae, Paddy Dow, Hunter Clark, Zak Jones try to show they are capable of more than holding up an end.
DRAFT STRATEGY
If St Kilda does want to bolster its midfield by taking two onballers at picks 7 and 8 there will still be real class by that stage in the draft.
Rivals believe St Kilda might bid on Suns midfielder Leo Lombard, but consider the band of mids available: Sam Lalor, Sid Draper, Jagga Smith, Murphy Reid, Harvey Langford, Finn O’Sullivan, Josh Smillie.
They are also open to trading back with their second pick to get two teens selections so they can’t lose on draft night if it is that they believe they will get a better blend of selections.
St Kilda needs star power.
It needs game changers.
It also needs a backup ruckman given Tom Campbell is gone and the club didn’t follow through on its interest in Ivan Soldo.
So it will scour the state leagues and summer rookie pool to secure back-up for Marshall.
AFL PLAYER RANKINGS
In 2024, Jack Sinclair was ranked 22nd, Rowan Marshall 30th, Jack Steele 49th and Cal Wilkie 90th. Ross Lyon will hope Wanganeen-Milera can jump into the top 60 in his fourth season.
PREMIERSHIP WINDOW
Jack Sinclair turns 30 in February, Jack Steele is 29 in December and Rowan Marshall is 29 on November 24.
Can Lyon fast-track the kids already drafted and find another 3-4 elite talents this November and in the 2025 national draft to give them a chance to contend before they retire?
It’s less likely but as he continues to push the dual narrative mantra – contend which also rebuilding – at least he will give the club a fighting chance.
SALARY CAP ROOM
St Kilda secured Jack Macrae and absorbed his wage without blinking, another reminder of just how much cap space they have.
They should be putting six-year $10 million offers to Luke Davies-Uniacke as a matter of urgency to at least put a stake in the ground about their desire to secure a matchwinner of his ilk.
Brad Hill’s huge deal expired in 2025 and has been smoothed out in an extension to 2027, while Max King wouldn’t have come cheap after being locked away to 2032.
Yet few clubs other than North Melbourne would have the cap space St Kilda boasts.
TRADE TARGETS
St Kilda isn’t fussy. It just needs A-grade talent.
The hope will be that clubs who had money to burn with a new pay deal have used up enough of it for St Kilda to be able to lure them in the way this time around.
Last year clubs like Brisbane had the cash to keep Hugh McCluggage but this year will that cap space make a dent?
St Kilda threw the kitchen sink at Tom De Koning last year.
As a 2025 free agent St Kilda should go even harder 24 months on, even if he will be very challenging to pry out.
If he was prepared to leave as a 26-year-old free agent leaving next October, someone would pay him $1.5 million a year.
At some stage St Kilda needs to land an explosive mid and another key forward but already the best of the 2025 free agents like Cam Rayner, Darcy Fogarty and Noah Balta are being signed up.
TRADE BAIT
St Kilda will try to sign up Owens, Wanganeen-Milera and Marcus Windhager quick smart as the clear priority signings, and will try to sign Wilson and Phillipou past 2026.
Others out of contract include Dougal Howard, Hunter Clark and Liam Stocker.
More Coverage
Originally published as The List Manager: Jon Ralph examines St Kilda’s current list, its future and everything in between
‘Carlton needs more’: Are Blues kids holding them back?
At some AFL clubs, young guns form the nucleus of a premiership challenger. At others, fans are nervous about whether their investment will pay off. Where does your team sit ahead of the 2025 season?
How Saints solve midfield mystery in finals hunt
St Kilda is still desperate for a big fish, but will a revamped midfield in 2025 prove they already have the answers? SIMEON THOMAS-WILSON examines their prospects.