‘Don’t b**** and moan’: Great unloads on Saints in scathing verdict
An AFL great has delivered both barrels to St Kilda in the wake of Ross Lyon’s remarks to a rival team that sparked fierce backlash.
St Kilda have been encouraged to stop throwing stones at others and worry about their own glasshouse in a scathing assessment of the club’s antics by Fox Footy’s Ben Dixon.
Speaking on Wednesday night’s episode of First Crack, Dixon, who played 203 games for Hawthorn, backed up Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick’s comments after Ross Lyon’s ‘nepo baby’ remark towards the Suns before St Kilda’s 19-point loss at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
Lyon’s words were targeted at the Gold Coast’s academy concessions with recruiters believing as many as four top ten picks in this year’s draft could come from the Suns’ academy.
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It followed St Kilda president Andrew Bassett using his speech at last year’s club Best and Fairest night to complain about academy selections and father-son picks in the draft.
Dixon was not a fan of the behaviour from Lyon pre-game, saying it told fans they expected to lose.
“Throwing a hand grenade over the top before a game, if I was a Saints supporter watching, and I’m not a Saints supporter, and he said ‘oh chock full of talent yada yada’, I’d be thinking he’s put the white flag up and we’re going to get completely rolled today,” Dixon said.
Only 13,486 fans attended the loss to the Suns, the lowest crowd ever for a St Kilda home game at Marvel Stadium, as Saints fans have had little to cheer about in recent times.
They have won just one of their last seven matches, and have won four times for the season so far to sit 14th.
Dixon admitted that St Kilda are in the midst of a rebuild with the fifth youngest list in the AFL.
But the Saints have on average put out the seventh youngest team in the competition this season, and fielded a more experienced side than Gold Coast on Sunday.
He stressed than they need to get to work to turn things around quickly with their next five games coming against tough opposition in Melbourne (in Alice Springs), the Western Bulldogs, Collingwood, Fremantle (at Optus Stadium) and Hawthorn.
“They could be sitting at four and 12. Is that where you want to be sitting in a rebuild?” Dixon said.
“If you want to keep throwing hand grenades over at other coaches and clubs about what they’re getting, and your not getting, I drive home through Toorak, I don’t bitch and moan about he’s got a bigger mansion than me and he’s inherited that. I just want to get to work and buy my own.
“That’s what the Saints have got to do.”
Dixon also believes that the complaints coming from St Kilda’s hierarchy does not bode well for their pursuits of players from rival clubs.
The Saints have put forward a staggering offer of around $1.7 million per season to Carlton’s Tom De Koning, and are actively on the hunt for other prized recruits after missing out on the likes of Finn Callaghan and Luke Davies-Uniacke despite reportedly offering the former $17 million over ten years.
Dixon suggested that they need to make Moorabbin more appetising, and such comments as their ones targeted at the Suns would not come from the likes of Craig McRae, Sam Mitchell, Damien Hardwick or Chris Fagan, who all coach sides in the top six at present.
“If you’re selling a strategy and you’re trying to recruit players to your club, it’s got to be a destination club and your messaging is so important,” Dixon said.
“You hear ‘Fly’ talk, you hear ‘Mitch’, you hear ‘Dimma’, you hear ‘Fages’, when they talk, you believe.
“And everyone’s watching, potential players and even your current players might watch back.
“Your messaging is so clear in terms of where you want to go as a footy club.
“If potting the opposition before, in terms of what he said (about) the Suns, who haven’t played finals yet and yes, they’re going to play finals now.
“I just think it’s sour grapes. Throw the toys out of the cot and that’s just not Ross.
“If that’s your strategy, I just don’t like it.”
St Kilda finished 12th last year with 11 wins after winning 13 games the year prior, the first in Lyon’s second stint in charge, before losing an elimination final against the Giants at the MCG.
Concerning for Lyon is the Saints poor defensive numbers this season.
They have conceded on average 91.3 points per game, and cough up 52.1 points per game from turnovers - the worst they have been in those statistics since finishing 16th in 2018.
“Look at their defence, that used to be Ross’ backbone. Seven-year low,” Dixon said.
“In terms of points against and turnover, they’re getting punished.
“That used to be his strength.
“Concentrate on your strength.”
Their struggles so far this season have also come off the back of a startling drop off for several of their most important players.
Bradley Hill (86th to 189th), Rowan Marshall (93rd to 258th), Mason Wood (97th to 202nd), Jack Steele (163rd to 184th) and Darcy Wilson (193rd to 251st) have all gone backwards this year in Champion Data’s player ratings.
All of that quintet bar Wood finished in the top ten of the club’s best and fairest last season.
And Dixon believes the poor form of their best players, as well as the off field drama, could contribute to the likes of star half back Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who has been linked with a move home to South Australia, walking out the door.
“The finishes are irrelevant when you’re rebuilding but you’ve got to be developing your players. You’ve got to bring your players along for the journey,” Dixon said.
“And they’re just inconsistent. Not saying they’re terrible but your top end talent and your leaders have just dropped a way a little bit.
“They’ve got to come along for the ride too.
“Getting back to ‘Dimma’s’ point about ‘worry about your own backyard’, just get to work on the players.
“Get to work on the young players. Get the messaging right because (Nasiah) Wanganeen-Milera hasn’t signed with that footy club yet.
“If you’re selling the dream to him, why hasn’t he signed? What doesn’t he believe at that footy club?”
Dixon’s fellow panellist Leigh Montagna came to the defence of his former club.
The two-time All-Australian said that the Saints are “fighting for their club” when they discuss the way the draft is compromised by academy and father-son selections.
“They want fairness and the opportunity to try and rebuild properly and be a contender,” Montagna said.
“And they’re feeling that the northern academies and the advantages they get don’t give St Kilda the same opportunity.
“They are trying to galvanise as a club. They are saying we are not going to stand for this anymore.
“They are ruffling feathers. That is their strategy.
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“So Ross is on board with that strategy, and we are hearing there might be change with the way the academies (draftees) can be selected going forward.”
The third member of the First Crack panel, two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King was not so sure that the Saints’ actions were having as strong an impact on the AFL as Montagna believes.
“I think it’s contributed, I’m not sure it’s the absolute reason,” King said of potential changes to the draft points system.
Originally published as ‘Don’t b**** and moan’: Great unloads on Saints in scathing verdict
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