Saints, Suns or Kangaroos? Why the Saints have a different way to the top in flag race
After Errol Gulden revealed he turned down a 10-year offer to leave Sydney, Luke Davies-Uniacke is the next young star in line for decade-long offers. JAY CLARK examines why St Kilda looms large in the LDU chase.
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Ross Lyon may look across to Alastair Clarkson’s clip board with some envy on Saturday.
The two men currently in their second years in charge at their respective clubs are on a mission to position their teams inside the top-four — preferably before the Tasmania side arrives and compromises the drafts from 2027.
But it is clear the Saints and Roos, who lock horns at Marvel Stadium this weekend, are having to take different paths back to the top.
Last round, the Kangaroos had eight top-10 picks in the side which was belted by Adelaide by 57 points, marking their 27th loss in 28 games.
And of those eight top-10 picks, six were taken inside the top-five selections.
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Unless the club has missed the side of a barn from point blank range, the Roos simply have to be a force in a few years’ time, as Clarko keeps saying.
But at Moorabbin, there are no such guarantees other than Lyon’s determination to exact every drip of effort out of the players he has at his disposal.
In the 10-point loss to Port Adelaide on Friday night, St Kilda had only one top-10 pick (Mattaes Phillipou) and seven in total from inside the top-30 choices.
Comparing Clarkson and Lyon’s two teams, they are chalk and cheese from a top draft pick perspective.
And that is why Saints’ president Andrew Bassat has been vocal behind the scenes in the competitive balance debate, clearly concerned by the generous concessions and academy picks which has been afforded to clubs including the Kangas and Gold Coast, which had 10 top-10 picks play on Sunday.
The Saints made finals last year and took it up to GWS Giants, but who is closer to a flag is the question? The Suns, Roos or the club which has won only one premiership in 150 years?
Those who are big fans of the draft would think St Kilda needs a miracle to get to the front of that queue, considering the current data.
In the Herald Sun predictions this year, almost every tipster banked on the Saints to slide, and they have gone down by eight points (Geelong), four (Essendon), one (GWS Giants), 60 (Western Bulldogs), and 10 (Port) to sit 2-5, including wins over Richmond and reigning premier Collingwood.
What it means is that without a sudden slew of top draft picks, St Kilda has to become one of the most active and selective players in the trade and free agency market over the next three years as part of attempts to leapfrog rivals on the list builds before Tassie arrives.
And frankly, list boss Stephen Silvagni and new recruiting chief Simon Dalrymple will have to hit the jackpot rather than repeating some past mistakes at St Kilda.
Brisbane Lions free agent Hugh McCluggage is available this year and is clearly weighing up his options and North Melbourne’s Luke Davies-Uniacke is the top free agency target next year with close links to Bayside.
In the big man department, Carlton’s Tom De Koning (2025) and Sun Ben King (2026) head the list of upcoming free agents who can walk without a trade. But why would either leave now?
This is where SOS, who has been bold in the past, can throw the kitchen sink at strategic targets with increases in the salary cap allowing clubs like the Saints to table whopping eight-figure offers to match winners like McCluggage and Davies-Uniacke.
Adelaide already went there with Swan Errol Gulden, who was open about turning down bigger bucks to stay at the Swans, including a monster 10-year-offer. Davies-Uniacke will get similar offers.
The Saints will want to keep all of their top picks, and instead use their new cap space to its advantage in free agency, if Geelong, Collingwood and Adelaide don’t beat then to the cream.
The margin for error is minimal, and the Saints still have the scars to show for previous mistakes.
The club gave up pick 10 and a second-rounder for Brad Hill, pick five for Jake Carlisle and a first-rounder for Dougal Howard and Paddy Ryder.
Daniel Hannebery played 18 games in four years due to soft-tissue dramas.
Hunter Clark (pick seven) and Nick Coffield (eight) weren’t the marquee players the club had hoped, and we feel for Paddy McCartin’s career-ending concussions after arriving at pick one.
They were moves which helped the club net only one finals since Lyon took the club to back-to-back Grand Finals in 2009-2010.
The club needs more top-end talent to climb back up that mountain, and while the Roos and Suns already have a treasure chest of top picks at their disposal after years at the bottom, the Saints are going to find a slightly different way.
Originally published as Saints, Suns or Kangaroos? Why the Saints have a different way to the top in flag race
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