Nick Dal Santo on why he’s backing St Kilda’s long-term list build approach

When your last premiership was 58 years ago, it’s understandable patience is wearing thin for St Kilda supporters. But one Saints great has warned the club’s rise under Ross Lyon is unlikely to come without more pain.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. May 30, 2024. St Kilda training at RSEA Park, Moorabbin. Ross Lyon, Senior Coach of the Saints at his weekly press conference. Pic: Michael Klein

St Kilda great Nick Dal Santo is shocked by the Saints’ disappointing season to date and doesn’t believe it will turn quickly for his former club as their young talents develop.

After bowing out in an elimination final in Ross Lyon’s first season at the helm, the struggling Saints dropped into the bottom-four after their 38-point defeat to Melbourne, where they had 41 inside-50s to 67 and 17 scoring shots to 30.

It was St Kilda’s third score consecutive score of 65 or less, posting just seven goals in its narrow loss to Hawthorn and eight against Fremantle.

Dal Santo, who played 260 games and earned three-All Australian jackets with St Kilda, believes the club’s scoring woes are down to a lack of inside-50s and poor delivery when entering attack.

He said it is unreasonable to urge patience from the long-suffering St Kilda faithful, but the Saints’ strategy of hitting the draft means it will take time for them to be in the premiership window.

St Kilda has slumped into the bottom four. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“I thought Ross and the coaching staff and players got everything out of themselves last year to play finals and then they got touched up by the Giants in that first final … To be honest over the pre-season (in 2024) I didn’t have them in my eight. I just didn’t think that they could do that again instantly,” Fox Footy expert Dal Santo told this masthead.

“I think we are all sort of shocked in different levels about where they are sitting right now and their style of footy. But I’m not shocked that they are not in the top eight, I just thought that there were eight better teams that were going to win more games over the regular season.

“I think there is still some time to wade until this group comes through. They have got some really talented and good young footballers, but once again history says players outside a Harley Reid or a Sam Walsh in recent years, you have got to play about 50-odd games until you can play consistently week to week.

“They have got a lot of young guys, they have gone to the draft the last few years, got some good talent, but those guys are just starting their journey, they aren’t up to that 50-60 games so they have got to wait.”

“It is hard to ask Saints fans to be patient, given 1966 is there one and only premiership. But I do agree with the concept of the build.”

Dal Santo says he agrees with the Saints and Ross Lyon taking a long-term approach. Picture: Michael Klein

Dal Santo said that this method is more effective than their previous recruiting strategy of bringing in experienced players from rival clubs from 2018-20.

Brad Crouch, Dan Butler and Zak Jones, who arrived at the club through trade and free agency, all played in the VFL last week for Sandringham, with Butler brought in to face West Coast on Saturday.

“Previously in the last 5-10 years they have gone out and tried to plug some holes with mature players from other clubs and I just don’t think that has worked. Some players have, but as a consistent theme it hasn’t worked,” Dal Santo said.

“To make a clear decisive decision to go to the draft and grab players in the last couple of years if that’s the path forward that it looks like they are taking, I think the supporters would understand and they would accept that it’s not ready just yet, but it’s a building process they are in.”

Dal Santo believes St Kilda’s ball use is letting down Max King. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

He said the underwhelming form of spearhead Max King, who has managed just 12 goals across eight games, was a reflection of the Saints’ stodgy ball use.

“If the ball-use isn’t great, and the entries aren’t great then life is really hard as a forward,” Dal Santo said.

“I think there were signs (on Sunday) from Max in the last couple of weeks that he is running and jumping at the football and getting his hands on the ball a little bit more than he was at the start of the year which is good to see, but the flip side is they only had 41 inside 50s.

“When you are having 41 inside 50s it is really difficult to kick 100 points because the percentages say you don’t get that many shots on goal from 41 inside 50s.

“I think there is this general feel that St Kilda don’t want to score – my take on it is they do want to score, they are just not able to execute under pressure consistently.

“I think a piece of that offence is it needs to be better, and then your forwards look better off the back of it and life is a bit easier for a guy like a Max King.”

Originally published as Nick Dal Santo on why he’s backing St Kilda’s long-term list build approach