AFL 2023: Nailing trades can turn St Kilda into a contender

Ross Lyon said his skipper played a lone hand in the guts in St Kilda’s elimination final defeat, so do the Saints find the help from within or go shopping during the trade period?

Mattaes Phillipou of the Saints in action.

Ross Lyon may have begun stocking his shopping trolley before the ball was even bounced on St Kilda’s season-ending elimination final loss on Saturday.

Perhaps the most consequential moment for St Kilda’s future came an hour before the game against GWS Giants kicked off, when it began leaking out that Fremantle’s Liam Henry had chosen Moorabbin as his new home and wants a trade to St Kilda.

During the actual game on Saturday Lyon’s midfield issues were stark – the Giants had star power in Josh Kelly and Tom Green and the Saints had Jack Steele and that was about it.

Even Lyon said his skipper played a “lone hand” with a typically herculean 38 disposals.

The coach knows his team needs A-grade midfield support to jump from finalists to contenders and he joked post-match that he won’t find it in Woolies, as cost of living even impacts the trade market this off-season.

“I can’t head to Woolworths in Glen Huntly Rd and buy one, I know that. They don’t have a half-priced special,” Lyon said in perfect Rossism tone.

So, how do the Saints make that leap?

Lyon earmarked 2023 breakthrough youngsters such as Mattaes Phillipou, Mitch Owens, Anthony Caminiti, Marcus Windhager and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera as the core his club “just have to build around”.

Nailing a couple of drafts and slingshotting into contention is doable.

Jack Steele played a lone hand in the Saints midfield against GWS. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Just after the Saints filed out of the MCG, Port Adelaide began another qualifying final up in Queensland.

The Power nailed the 2018 draft by snaring Zak Butters, Connor Rozee, and to a lesser extent, Xavier Duursma, all at once.

And around them, they have both traded in and drafted – bringing in the likes of Jason Horne-Francis, Ryan Burton, Jeremy Finlayson, Willie Rioli, Aliir Aliir and drafting Todd Marshall, Dan Houston and Willem Drew.

If the Saints are right that they have a strong cohort of youngsters that can take them somewhere, they won’t be back picking early in the draft any time soon.

So they must make the most of smart trades.

Henry, a strong runner who could have at least gone with the Giants’ leg speed on Saturday, is a shrewd start.

Lyon knows his side needs top-level midfield support and another goalkicker.

Perhaps Caminiti and Owens will cover the goalkicking around Max King, but finding that star onballer will keep the list team of Stephen Silvagni and Graeme Allen up at night.

Docker Liam Henry could land at Moorabbin. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Port Adelaide managed to land an absolute A-grade talent in Horne-Francis through a trade last year but that was mostly luck – it’s hard to see a disgruntled No.1 pick wanting to move to Moorabbin.

And the Saints won’t rush for a quick fix.

“There are mechanisms. There is trade, draft, free agency,” Lyon said.

“We will explore those things but when I walked in, it was never going to be a one-year build. We have to build it out over a period of time.”

The good news is the kids are hungry.

While Phillipou, Caminiti and Owens were quiet on Saturday, Wanganeen-Milera and Cooper Sharman were outstanding.

Phillipou is a workhorse and Owens is a future star and they are part of a young group of Saints who’s workrate equals their talent.

All-Australian Jack Sinclair came back from his summer break last year marvelling at the work the junior Saints had done.

“Even last year they sort of set the scene in terms of improving every week, so when us older boys got back they were hitting PBs on the running track or in the gym and as an older guy, that made me want to get better,” he said.

“I think that is the best thing for us. We just want to get better every day and every week and every year not matter how old you are.

“That is being led by the young guys, but I think our senior guys have really played their role.”

The young Saints will get to work over summer and it will be up to the off-field team of Silvagni, Allen and Lyon to get shopping and find some of those bargains.

A-GRADE LOOKS INTO B-GRADE OPPORTUNITIES

Saints fans will be closing their eyes over coming weeks and seeing it over and over.

The forward line players leaping and crashing into each other, the dropped marks and the missed chances up forward.

It has been a tale of the season for St Kilda, which has moved the ball well generally but often fallen over when looking for targets inside 50.

It was one point of improvement Sinclair pointed out, while saying finals is now a “minimum standard” for his club.

And it was an issue, along with conceding scores from stoppages, that Lyon brought up to his troops in a lengthy post-match meeting on Saturday.

“Obviously, some efficiency going inside-50, that sometimes takes time,” Sinclair said.

“That takes time to build. It doesn’t happen straight away but with some guys in front of the footy it can be tough.”

Mitch Owens and the Saints forwards had a tough day at the office. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

So often on Saturday, the Giants would sweep forward and find a forward in space or a clear one-on-one option, instead of multiple forwards crowding each other like at the other end.

The Giants, particularly Brent Daniels, were willing to cut angles and get creative to find targets, thanks to good connection with their forwards.

St Kilda went inside 50 twice more than GWS on Saturday but was never in the game after the 15-minute mark of the second quarter.

Much of the issues would be fixed if King and Tim Membrey managed full seasons, while young forwards Owens, Caminiti and Phillipou can only improve.

“Even when we are coming and having a go, we were getting A-grade looks that become B-grade opportunities,” Lyon said.

Even after the loss, the Saints will hit another summer of improvement with some momentum, after reaching finals and drawing over 68,000 fans to the MCG, only the second time St Kilda has played in front of that many since the end of 2017.

The loyalty of the St Kilda fan base shone through, even as the club remained on 22 finals wins, the same Joel Selwood managed in 109 fewer seasons.

The home-grown roar was enough to spur Sinclair into 2024.

“When I reflect on this year, that is what will stand out for me,” he said.

“It was awesome to be out there. We don’t get too many games on the ’G but to get that and have the majority of the fans supporting us, it was a special day, but we didn’t get the result of play the way we wanted to play.”