Season 2021 - St Kilda

St Kilda

Coach – Brett Ratten

2020 –
Points For – 4th
Points Against – 9th

Top 5 Best and Fairest

  1. Jack Steele
  2. Dan Butler
  3. Dougal Howard
  4. Rowan Marshall
  5. Nick Coffield

2020 Rising Star Noms

Max King (Round 12)

Ins – Brad Crouch, James Frawley, Jack Higgins, Shaun McKernan, Matt Allison, Tom Highmore

Outs – Ryan Abbott, Logan Austin, Jack Bell, Nathan Brown, Nick Hind, Doultan Langlands, Jonathan Marsh, Jack Mayo, Shane Savage, Matt Parker, Ed Phillips

My Prediction

Got this one seriously wrong last year. Thought they looked like a mid-table to bottom four sort of a team. Turns out they were the team that gave all the rest of the bottom dwellers hope that if you get off the field right and recruit well, you can turn things around pretty quickly. The question around the Saints is whether or not it is sustainable and how they go about taking the next step.

The backline they have bolstered with James Frawley which seems an emotional move as much as anything else. He looked cooked last year at Hawthorn and not sure how many games he will play. Howard did good things back there last year and Carlisle showed glimpses of what he can do. Clark and Coffield give good drive off half back and have good footskills. They need improvement here to move forward and I think they will be hoping the natural chemistry will bring some of that improvement.

The Midfield adds Crouch and at his best he is a pretty handy addition. Not sure what he brings from a team culture point of view. Adding him gives Steele support at the coalface. They have plenty of run with Hill, Billings and Jones. Will be interesting to see how Hannebury comes up as even at 80% he is a pretty handy player. The midfield doesn’t feel in the same league as the top teams but enough talent to match it on most days.

Max King looks ready to take the next step and along with Membrey make a pretty formidable couple of marking talls. Ryder floating forward gives them another option as well. They then added Higgins to their smalls alongside Butler and Gresham which is pretty close to the best group of small forwards in the competition. They are still (outside Ryder) a young ground and would expect improvement from within.

The Rucks look covered with Marshall looking a long term quality ruckman who will be ably supported by Ryder. The recruitment of McKernan is baffling when you look at their list and not sure he will see any game time outside of a Sandringham jersey. The coach is a gun, looked a good coach at Carlton before they stuffed it up, went away, learned even more and clearly has the players doing everything he wants.

St Kilda will be relying on natural improvement from their list as well as Crouch and Higgins to come in and have some sort of impact. They will be pushing for top four this year and looking to make an even bigger impact on the finals this year. I think they are capable of making top four but need a lot to go their way with injuries as their list is still developing from a depth point of view. I think a finish between 4 and 6 looks likely.

3 Likes

Imagine if Smack kicks four goals in a winning final…

1 Like

What annoys me most about St.Kilda is I hate them, but they are now a damn good team to watch when they play well.

Agree, I think they’ll be 4-6 this season.

1 Like

So much for the good run with injuries

Saints Best 22
B: Battle Carlisle Paton
HB: Coffield Howard long
C: Hill Crouch Billings
HF: Gresham McKernan Membrey
F: Butler King Higgins
R: Marshall Steel Jones
Int: Ryder Hanneberry, Ross, Clark
Emg: Wilkie, Frawley, Geary (inj replaced by Clark)

Do McKernan and Ryder both fit in the same team?

1 Like

B: Paton Howard Wilkie
HB: Coffield Carlisle Clark
C: Hill Steele Jones
HF: Billings Membrey Gresham
F: Butler King Marshall
R: Ryder Crouch Ross
Int: Hannebery Long Higgins Battle

2 Likes

They have a great coach. I don’t like them.

Carlisle has underperformed for them. Wonder if it’s the club or Jake that hasn’t been able to get the best out of himself.

I have them finishing 8th.

1 Like

He was good his first 2 years there, done nothing the last 2

Fibula is (comparatively) good news.

2 Likes

Hasn’t he had perennial back injuries since we turfed him?

They play a very attractive style, I think their list is one of the best.

made a semi last year, that was a fantastic effort

ratten is a great coach. Crouch and Higgins improve them. king and Marshall will improve. their midfield is a good mix of inside and outside players

every line of the ground seems pretty good. easily top 4, imo

1 Like

Does Crouch actually improve them a heap?

Saints 2020 vs Saints 2019 didn’t get a heap better at winning the ball - but they improved their fwdline a lot, straightened up a lot and (consequently) held onto the ball a lot better and did more damage when they had it.

Not sure what Crouch is there for, really. He can play, but is he the right fit?

Crouch adds more depth to the midfield and Jones can also play at half back if required. Plus adding Higgins gives them more versatility with Billings and Gresham, who all can have stints in the midfield.

Biggest improvement will be from King IMO.

1 Like

500k x 4 doesn’t say depth, to me.

I get Higgins recruitment. Good fit, IMO.

2 Likes

They’ll go very close to winning it i suspect.

Saints-Brisbane grand final for mine.

1 Like

depth as in more good players able to run the midfield. he will be on the round 1 side if not injured

Provided he stays fit Crouch will be really good for them. It was only a couple of years ago that their midfield was really ordinary and Seb Ross was their best midfielder. They have a really decent mix in there now. Guys capable of winning the footy, guys who love to run and carry, guys who can be damaging in other parts of the ground when not in the midfield rotation. They’re good to watch.

3 Likes

yes. he’s a good player when he’s fit. that’s the question