St Kilda president Andrew Bassat preaches patience despite Saints’ salary cap war chest

Despite it being no secret the Saints have money to burn to try and poach stars, club president Andrew Bassat is preaching patience to the fans, in order to strike at the right time.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 24: Ross Lyon the new coach of the Saints and club president Andrew Bassat speak to the media during a St Kilda Saints AFL press conference at RSEA Park on October 24, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

St Kilda will wait to find out how far off premiership contention it is this year before opening the chequebook to use its vast cap space as Saints president Andrew Bassat continues to preach patience with fans.

A 2-3 start to the season could have easily swung St Kilda’s way, given losses to Geelong (eight points), Essendon (four points) and the GWS Giants (one point), around narrow wins over Collingwood and Richmond.

In coach Ross Lyon’s second Saints era, he and Bassat have constantly committed to not taking shortcuts on the way to becoming a regular top-four side.

In a letter sent to St Kilda members on Tuesday, Bassat wrote that the club’s long-term plan would “remain grounded, despite a surprise finals appearance last year and the club wanted to walk the tightrope of winning while blooding youth.

The Saints have impressed at times so far this season. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

Bassat boasted that St Kilda fielded the fourth-youngest side in the league through the season’s opening rounds, while staying competitive.

Despite a determined midfield built around Jack Steele and Rowan Marshall, the Saints are short on true A-grade on-ball talent.

But despite having the room, they won’t be rushing to sign win-now players unless they are closing in on the flag window.

The Saints traded for young runner Liam Henry (Fremantle) last off-season, while also landing off-casts Paddy Dow (Carlton) and Riley Bonner (Port Adelaide).

“I think we have now got the room (in the salary cap) – we have been open about the fact we have now got the room,” he told this masthead.

“You don’t want to go too early; you don’t want to assume you are closer than you are to a flag and go after free agents, so I think it will depend on how we perform this year and how close you are.

“But I think, in time, that has to become part of the strategy. If you feel there are gaps in the top-end talent, that has got to be part of the strategy.”

St Kilda, who will host a similarly middling Western Bulldogs on Thursday night at Marvel Stadium, is closing in on naming a full-time replacement for former chief executive Simon Lethlean.

Interim CEO Carl Dilena is the clear frontrunner and Bassat confirmed “we haven’t spoken to anyone else”.

Carl Dilena looks to be in line to be the next permanent CEO at the Saints. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

On speculation that former Fremantle CEO Steve Rosich could come into the mix after last week exiting his role as boss of the Victoria Racing Club, Bassat said: “we’re not doing a running commentary, but his resignation certainly had nothing to do with St Kilda”.

A self-described “long-suffering fan” of St Kilda, Bassat said the Saints had spoken to the AFL about how the academy-compromised draft makes it tough for teams to leap out of the middle of the ladder and into flag contention.

“It’s a real issue. We’ve been vocal with the AFL and I think the AFL is now looking at draft compromises,” he said.

“I sat there at the draft last year and watched Gold Coast get three more gun players before we got our first pick, which makes it pretty hard to catch up.

“We are hopeful the AFL will remove some of the compromises to make it a bit easier. But you just have to draft well and we think we have in the last couple of years.”

Originally published as St Kilda president Andrew Bassat preaches patience despite Saints’ salary cap war chest