Mat Mann
significantly pleased himself
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- May 14, 2009
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- #1
12. ST KILDA (11-12, 99.4%)
Three word analysis Not there yet
What went right:
St Kilda’s second half of the season would have pleased its supporters, given the uninspiring start — it finished 8-4 after starting 3-8 — and while it disappointingly couldn’t contend for a September berth, there are positives to take away, including ball movement. A common misconception this season was that the Saints were a boring watch. It simply isn’t true. If you caught any of their arc-to-arc transitions this season, it was objectively pleasing viewing. Their rate of moving the ball from defensive-50 to forward-50 ranked sixth in the competition this season. They have also ranked first in the AFL in points from their defensive half, second for uncontested marks, and third for mark-play-on percentage. They are one of the league’s most proactive sides with the Sherrin in hand, and it is one of the positive foundations upon which Lyon and his staff can build. No. 18 draft choice Darcy Wilson has been a pleasing addition to Ross Lyon’s side, playing in all 23 games in his rookie season — averaging 15.3 disposals, 4.3 marks and 2.4 inside-50s per game, with the burgeoning midfielder’s best effort coming in Round 23 against Geelong when he notched a career-best 25 touches and two goals. Fellow rookie Hugo Garcia has also impressed in his nine games, while off-season trade addition Liam Henry has proved a livewire when he wasn’t sidelined with injury — managing 13.8 disposals and a career-high 3.6 inside-50s per game playing a high-volume wing role.
What went wrong:
The Saints were too inconsistent in showcasing their best football. And, while they were a side that ignited plenty of successful defence-to-offence chains, they couldn’t finish their work often enough inside forward-50 — St Kilda’s chain-to-score percentage ranked 15th, while their scores per inside-50 clip sits 14th in the competition. One of the other issues for Ross Lyon’s side was its inability to punish with its forward-half intercepts. The importance of forward-half territory in today’s game is paramount, and the Saints ranked dead-last in scoring from the front-half turnovers they forced. Further, St Kilda has struggled at stoppages this season — this year, they ranked 17th for points from clearance and were 11th for clearance differential. The club’s engine room doesn’t have enough stars, nor quality depth after skipper Jack Steele. Hunter Clark and Paddy Dow have shown flashes, but it isn’t an elite mix — and the likes of Seb Ross and Brad Crouch simply aren’t cutting it at this point in their careers, while question marks linger over the likes of Marcus Windhager and Ryan Byrnes. Elsewhere, the consensus expectation is that Josh Battle will depart St Kilda for Hawthorn this off-season as a free agent, and, forgetting for a moment the draft compensation it would yield, the loss — purely from a key-defending and intercepting standpoint — is going to leave a significant void. A second top-10 draft selection would be crucial for these Saints, but they would be losing a critical building block.
What they need
Simply, St Kilda needs another damaging presence — a true game-changer — between the arcs. It has its fair share of outside runners who can damage after first possession is won — including the likes of the aforementioned Wilson and Henry, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Brad Hill, Mason Wood, etc. — but it needs a star-factor player or two who can do that extracting work and explode from congestion. It’s why the club pursued a peaking Jordan De Goey. But Stephen Silvagni and his list management brains trust know this, having registered interest in the likes of dynamic Lion Hugh McCluggage, North Melbourne clearance beast Luke Davies-Uniacke, and reborn Bomber Dylan Shiel this year. While the club has identified the weakness, it is now a matter of cementing a move in October. The Saints also have 21 players currently without a contract for next season — no other AFL side has more unsigned players — and eight of those are eligible for unrestricted free agency. Those free agents are Josh Battle, Tim Membrey, Mason Wood, Liam Stocker, Jimmy Webster, Riley Bonner, Seb Ross and Tom Campbell. In short, further change is coming, at a minimum via the drafts.
What time is it on the premiership clock?
(4pm): Missing out on September comfortably after a finals berth in 2022 certainly stings for the supporter base, but it is easier to look at the Saints with a positive lens considering their strong end to the year. After starting the season poorly, they finished well enough to give their supporter base hope going into 2025 — which, as we know, is a dangerous elixir for these starved Saints!
Season grade: C-
Three word analysis Not there yet
What went right:
St Kilda’s second half of the season would have pleased its supporters, given the uninspiring start — it finished 8-4 after starting 3-8 — and while it disappointingly couldn’t contend for a September berth, there are positives to take away, including ball movement. A common misconception this season was that the Saints were a boring watch. It simply isn’t true. If you caught any of their arc-to-arc transitions this season, it was objectively pleasing viewing. Their rate of moving the ball from defensive-50 to forward-50 ranked sixth in the competition this season. They have also ranked first in the AFL in points from their defensive half, second for uncontested marks, and third for mark-play-on percentage. They are one of the league’s most proactive sides with the Sherrin in hand, and it is one of the positive foundations upon which Lyon and his staff can build. No. 18 draft choice Darcy Wilson has been a pleasing addition to Ross Lyon’s side, playing in all 23 games in his rookie season — averaging 15.3 disposals, 4.3 marks and 2.4 inside-50s per game, with the burgeoning midfielder’s best effort coming in Round 23 against Geelong when he notched a career-best 25 touches and two goals. Fellow rookie Hugo Garcia has also impressed in his nine games, while off-season trade addition Liam Henry has proved a livewire when he wasn’t sidelined with injury — managing 13.8 disposals and a career-high 3.6 inside-50s per game playing a high-volume wing role.
What went wrong:
The Saints were too inconsistent in showcasing their best football. And, while they were a side that ignited plenty of successful defence-to-offence chains, they couldn’t finish their work often enough inside forward-50 — St Kilda’s chain-to-score percentage ranked 15th, while their scores per inside-50 clip sits 14th in the competition. One of the other issues for Ross Lyon’s side was its inability to punish with its forward-half intercepts. The importance of forward-half territory in today’s game is paramount, and the Saints ranked dead-last in scoring from the front-half turnovers they forced. Further, St Kilda has struggled at stoppages this season — this year, they ranked 17th for points from clearance and were 11th for clearance differential. The club’s engine room doesn’t have enough stars, nor quality depth after skipper Jack Steele. Hunter Clark and Paddy Dow have shown flashes, but it isn’t an elite mix — and the likes of Seb Ross and Brad Crouch simply aren’t cutting it at this point in their careers, while question marks linger over the likes of Marcus Windhager and Ryan Byrnes. Elsewhere, the consensus expectation is that Josh Battle will depart St Kilda for Hawthorn this off-season as a free agent, and, forgetting for a moment the draft compensation it would yield, the loss — purely from a key-defending and intercepting standpoint — is going to leave a significant void. A second top-10 draft selection would be crucial for these Saints, but they would be losing a critical building block.
What they need
Simply, St Kilda needs another damaging presence — a true game-changer — between the arcs. It has its fair share of outside runners who can damage after first possession is won — including the likes of the aforementioned Wilson and Henry, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Brad Hill, Mason Wood, etc. — but it needs a star-factor player or two who can do that extracting work and explode from congestion. It’s why the club pursued a peaking Jordan De Goey. But Stephen Silvagni and his list management brains trust know this, having registered interest in the likes of dynamic Lion Hugh McCluggage, North Melbourne clearance beast Luke Davies-Uniacke, and reborn Bomber Dylan Shiel this year. While the club has identified the weakness, it is now a matter of cementing a move in October. The Saints also have 21 players currently without a contract for next season — no other AFL side has more unsigned players — and eight of those are eligible for unrestricted free agency. Those free agents are Josh Battle, Tim Membrey, Mason Wood, Liam Stocker, Jimmy Webster, Riley Bonner, Seb Ross and Tom Campbell. In short, further change is coming, at a minimum via the drafts.
What time is it on the premiership clock?
(4pm): Missing out on September comfortably after a finals berth in 2022 certainly stings for the supporter base, but it is easier to look at the Saints with a positive lens considering their strong end to the year. After starting the season poorly, they finished well enough to give their supporter base hope going into 2025 — which, as we know, is a dangerous elixir for these starved Saints!
Season grade: C-
Some do these far better than I can, but I thought I'd throw this out there for those not wanting to invest themselves fully into draft and trade just yet
2024 is done,
no finals but there were bigger scalps in Pies Sydney, Geelong and Carlton than 2023
Started the season 3-8 and finished post-bye 8-4.
first up
The Dissapointing
No finals, it's what we expected pre-season.
Injuries, Crueled our year again.
Form slump, that mid-season patch was some of the worst footy I've seen played, horrendous stuff
Our midfield
Crouch, 1 game for the year from injury
King, the year started so promisingly but unfortunately, another disappointing year cut down by injury.
Phillapou, 2nd year blues. going back to VFL was deserved.
Henry, 2 medium term injuries never let him show us what he can do
Butler, lucky Collard didn't show much in his games but Dans had a stinker of a year after injury
Owens, just couldn't quite finish off his work, He needed that one game where things just worked for him and I think he would have been off.
the Encouraging
the last 6-8 games, the game style, the scoring.
the Kids. Debuted another 5-6 kids this year.
Phillapou post VFL, took huge strides toward becoming a damaging midfielder.
Henry, really adds spark to our side up forward.
our ball movement + King.
Sharman and Camaniti - patience is required, but they will make it
The Delightful
Wins over the Swans and Cats
Our Defence, again one of the best in the comp
Wilson, what a debut year for the kid, couldn't ask for anymore
Ronnie Byrnes - Career resurrection stuff.
Nassiah continues to be a jet, cementing himself as one of the league's best u22 players
