AFL 2021: Mick McGuane rates St Kilda’s list of recycled players after opening three rounds
St Kilda opened its chequebook to sign key players in recent years, but which ones have lived up to the hype? Mick McGuane grades the recycled Saints.
Mick McGuane
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Memo Brett Ratten.
It took less than 30 seconds of last week’s flogging against Essendon for one of your highest-paid players – Bradley Hill – to give off the worst possible example of team defence.
I’m certain that the first passage of play – and Hill’s actions – would have featured in what would have been a brutal team review.
Hill, who earns around $900,000 per season, wasn’t the only player at fault, but his lack of awareness from the first half minute of the game set the tone.
Essendon’s Zach Merrett won the ball on the wing and kicked across his body to fellow centre bounce midfielder Jake Stringer, who found himself unmanned in the true centre half forward position.
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How does this happen 25 seconds into the game?
Stringer’s opponent was Jack Steele, who was caught ball watching – a negative in itself.
But, the bigger concern was Hill’s inability to leave his opponent Nik Cox on the opposite side wing and squeeze onto Stringer to help the team stank of a ‘me over we’ attitude.
A collection of selfish team decisions manifested to a point whereby Essendon kicked 143 points – the highest score conceded by the Saints since 2016.
St Kilda’s team defence was flawed; their selflessness even worse.
The players must be embarrassed by what happened.
In their next six hours of football, the Saints take on West Coast, Richmond and Port Adelaide.
If they can’t get their act together, 2021 will be gone before they know it.
It’s time to look at the Saints’ bold trade strategies in recent seasons, where they brought in a significant number of established players from rival clubs.
St Kilda believed it was in the premiership window. It thought the cake was baked and that the players coming in were going to be the icing on top.
The Saints don’t look like that now.
RIGHT TRADES OR DAMAGED GOODS?
Mick McGuane takes a look at St Kilda’s ready-made AFL acquisitions over the past three seasons, what they need to do to improve, and whether bringing them in was the correct decision in the first place.
BRADLEY HILL
As Leigh Matthews used to always say, there is no excuse to not lay a tackle when you have got leg speed.
Hill can run, so he has NO EXCUSE.
To not even lay one tackle against an opposition that had 117 more disposals is not good enough, even for a player whose tackling has never been his forte.
Some of Hill’s ball use was wide and inexcusable in the Essendon game.
He is bringing home a bigger pay packet than the likes of Joel Selwood and Rory Sloane, who play footy as if their lives depend on it. Hill doesn’t!
MICK’S GRILL: It’s time for Hill to start justifying his income … NOW.
ZAK JONES
The former Swan attended the second-most Saints’ centre bounces behind Jack Steele last year. This year he is ranked 5th.
He is not an A-grade midfielder, but his speed brings a point of difference compared to Steele, Brad Crouch and Seb Ross.
The chaos you don’t want is his capacity to rush/panic with his disposal, where he plays as if he has a haze around him.
MICK’S GRILL: Jade Gresham’s season-ending injury might provide Jones with greater opportunities … but he needs greater poise with the footy.
PADDY RYDER
One of the Saints’ most important players.
He’s not a high-possession ruckman, but his ability to provide his mids with first possession is essential.
His soft hands and his awareness of space cannot be underestimated.
The balance of a player taking personal leave versus his obligation to the team is always a very sensitive subject, but the Saints couldn’t be happier to have him back at the club this week.
St Kilda can’t get away with part-time ruckmen, especially with Nic Naitanui, Toby Nankervis and a combination of Scott Lycett and Peter Ladhams to come in the next three weeks.
We saw the measure of Ryder’s importance to the team in last year’s elimination final.
MICK’S GRILL: The Saints need to fast-track Ryder and Rowan Marshall back into the senior side as soon as their match-fitness allows.
DAN HANNEBERY
Another year, another soft-tissue injury.
Dan Hannebery has played 13 games across two-and-a-bit seasons with the Saints after a decorated career in Sydney.
Has Hannebery’s body failed him or has the game gone beyond him?
He’s suffered another calf setback and won’t rejoin the main group for four more weeks.
The heat must go back on those responsible for Hannebery’s recruitment to Moorabbin and whether they did their due diligence.
Was the leadership vacuum at the Saints at the time so bad they had no choice but to take a punt on a player whose best appeared to be past him?
MICK’S GRILL: The question is harsh but simple … is Hannebery doing everything possible from a professional point of view to hold up his end of the bargain?
DOUGAL HOWARD
He is St Kilda’s best trade acquisition across the past few seasons.
As a key defender he is elite in a number of key measurements. He averages 19.7 disposals, has gained 557 metres, and takes 3.7 intercepts per game.
He has welcomed the added responsibility of being the designated kicker after a behind, even though he would love to have one back from last week that resulted in a Cale Hooker goal.
MICK’S GRILL: Tick. You can build a good defence around him.
JACK HIGGINS
The former Tiger livewire was brought to the Saints to increase scoring power and bring more versatility to the team.
Damien Hardwick wasn’t afraid to use him as a centre bounce player at stages of 2018.
Ratten has used him there eight times – six against Essendon – but we also know he is an opportunistic forward who can create something out of nothing.
MICK’S GRILL: I’d like to see the Saints use him as a ‘spitter’ (a starting mid with a licence to charge forward at the appropriate time).
BRAD CROUCH
Like Hannebery, he can play the game, but let’s hope his body stands up to it.
Twice in the past six seasons – 2015 and 2018 – Crouch played zero games because of injury.
Hopefully, the club did the due diligence in terms of his body and his application given an off-field indiscretion that saw him suspended for the first two weeks of the season.
It’s hard to judge him after only one game in a bad loss, but the positive was that he applied more pressure acts (23) than any other Saints player.
MICK’S GRILL: On a healthy long-term deal at around $600,000 per season, the pressure is on Crouch to perform. It is risk versus reward for the Saints.
DAN BUTLER
Where has Butler’s ground-ball craft gone? It seems non-existent as he had no ground-ball wins in the first two weeks and only two last week.
Where is his once-strong tackling pressure?
He has had ONE scoring shot this year – a goal against GWS in Round 1.
He is a shadow of the player who was in All-Australian discussions last year.
His ranking points have dropped from 86 to 31 points and his scoring involvements have fallen from 4.8 to 1.8.
MICK’S GRILL: Have opposition teams worked him out? Perhaps. To me, it comes back to his intent, his work rate and his ability to get busy again.
MASON WOOD
What did the Saints see in Mason Wood that the Kangaroos couldn’t?
He has played 67 games since his 2014 debut – with 18 in one season (2019) – for 76 goals.
I question whether the Saints would have been better off giving his spot on the list to a kid who might turn out to be a long-term prospect.
Or were the Saints telling us the talent pool was thin?
MICK’S GRILL: Is he going to be part of St Kilda’s next premiership side? Not for mine. So why recruit him?
SHAUN MCKERNAN
This was an insurance option and it has worked out that way with the absence of some key big men early in the season.
Last week he worked in tandem with Jake Carlisle in the ruck against another makeshift ruck option in Peter Wright, and the Saints still got smashed in centre bounce clearances.
MICK’S GRILL: You could see why the Saints picked him up, but he won’t be in their best team when Ryder and Marshall return, unless there is an injury to a key forward.
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