St Kilda
Coach – Ross Lyon
2025 –
Points For – 12th
Points Against – 13th
Top 5 Best and Fairest
- NWM
- Cal Wilkie
- Jack Sinclair
- Max Hall
- Marcus Windhager
2025 Rising Star Noms
Hugo Garcia (Rnd 8)
High Boxshall (Rnd 22)
Ins – TDK, Sam Flanders, Liam Ryan, Jack Silvagni, Charlie Banfield, Kye Fincher, Kobe McDonald
Outs – Zine Cordy, Max Heath, Jack Steele, Zak Jones, Jimmy Webster, Harry Boyd, Angus Mclennan, Arie Schoenmaker
My Prediction
The Saints were busy in the trade period and probably the biggest news of all came before that with them keeping NWM who was in as red hot a form patch as you would see. There was a time last season when he was debatedly the best player in the competition. They have splashed serious cash in an effort to move the needle and it will be interesting to see how it pays off.
The backline brings in Jack Silvagni who himself had some very good patches last season before injuries again curtailed him. Wilkie had whispers of wanting out last year before being swayed to continue and they need him. Their backline is the biggest worry. The all team defence of Lyon didn’t really work out last year and they will need significant improvement this year across the park to limit the amount of ball entering what is an undersized back six. They will continue to look for run from Sinclair and Hill.
The midfield will feel the loss of Steele I think although Flanders comes in to do some of the heavy lifting. NWM will need to continue his superstar run as overall they still look to lack depth in the middle. Windhager had a good season last year but he’s not a star, at least yet. It will be interesting to see if Philipou gets more midfield minutes as his development looks to have stalled. TDK will be the wild card and I think the new ruck rules may suit him, he will be like having an extra mid once the ball hits the ground, at 1.7 million a year though he probably needs to play two positions at the same time.
The forward line is hopeful that King stays on the paddock. I am presuming Marshall will be a forward that supports the ruck when needed. Higgins has been great and keeps scoring goals. Owens looked like he was going to be a superstar but his development also seems to have stalled (have we lent them our development coaches?). Liam Ryan will bring something different but again injuries have limited his impact lately and they will be hoping he can stay on the field.
The ruck is likely to be between TDK and Marshall. Nothing like spending two players wages on a position you didn’t need coverage for. Even better when you spend it on a player who has never really put a full season together. Lucky it is only a short term deal…. The coach has been around a long time and has come as close to the ultimate success as anyone at St Kilda in recent memory. He will face pressure this year if they don’t find a spot in the finals and I am not sure it is a going to happen.
I don’t want to criticise any team for having a red hot go but when they opened the cheque book last year there looks to be some moves that don’t improve them as much as they would want to. They need greater improvement from within with Phillipou, Owens, Tauru, Garcia and even King staying on the field and having significant improvement. They certainly have enough talent on their list to challenge for the top 8 but it isn’t guaranteed. I think likely somewhere from 6-9.
