Despite encouraging signs shown this season, it’s St Kilda’s turn in the AFL spotlight that rotates metronomically based on results.
Sure, we’re talking about a team that lost to the previously winless West Coast, but fun fact: they were younger and had fewer games’ experience on the day than the Eagles.
Ross Lyon hasn’t been afraid to at least throw in youngsters throughout the season. Sure, he could be better with keeping them around – Hugh Boxshall had a short leash, as did Angus Hastie – but there has been a revolving door of youth that is certainly welcome at the Saints.
Sure, they’ve got their established veterans, relied upon to set standards; some are justifying that faith, others are failing to deliver and likely have their leadership roles – and spots in the team – in the firing line.
Against the Eagles, the 28-point final margin was actually flattering, which is a concern. It’s easy to see why Saints fans came out of it feeling so negative and dejected. It’s a supporter base that has suffered for well over a decade, irrefutably so.
They were lazy and complacent at times. They showed no initiative, were beaten on the outside by a hungrier team, and overpossessed the ball, inviting pressure when there needn’t have been any.
It’s also true that there have been times this season where all those things have occurred before. That’s going to happen with a team still finding its feet on an upward curve.
That’s right – the Saints are presently still finding their feet. This was a team expected to finish in the bottom four-to-six teams this season, and guess what? Sometimes, they play like it.
In 2025, just about every team has already thrown out a performance at least as bad as this. When you’re an average team, they’ll happen more frequently.
The Eagles game shouldn’t be emphasised as a low point for any reason other than the optics – sure, West Coast were winless, but they’d strung together a really solid game against Richmond the week before, and were heading into a home clash with plenty of emotion riding on the result due to the tragic death of Adam Selwood. The result itself wasn’t shocking by any means.
St Kilda, known as Euro-Yroke during Sir Doug Nicholls Rounds, have used 34 players, the most of any team this season. Nearly half these players started the season 22 or younger.
Of the regulars, Max King has been unsighted, Mattaes Phillipou only recently returned from injury,l Liam Stocker has had battles with fitness and form, Dougal Howard has been injured and is only a stop-gap at best when fit, Liam Henry is yet to find full fitness or form yet, and Mason Wood has missed a couple.
While this has happened, more responsibility has been given to some younger guys.
Darcy Wilson hasn’t had a huge season, but he’s been given more time on the field and been given a spot on the wing. We’ve seen his ability to take territory by foot and through his elite running, while his usefulness outside the contest on the end of handballs has taken strides forward, as has his ability to be involved in scoring chains.
Hugo Garcia may be a flawed player, but he has responded decently since the Brisbane game when he was infamously subbed in the second quarter. His pressure is naturally elite, but his handballing and body positioning at stoppages has improved with more exposure around the ball.
Anthony Caminiti has had opportunities at both ends of the ground and his time spent at senior level is only helping, while Marcus Windhager has drifted to the outside at times recently to try and build a more rounded game – he is maligned at times by fans, but while he’s clearly better suited to a defensive role, developmental opportunities to try and improve his ball use in transition can’t hurt.
Irish recruit Liam O’Connell is a player no one in the broader AFL community would have heard of pre-season. While a player averaging six disposals doesn’t exactly jump off the page, if Saints fans have one gripe, it’s that not enough of their players seem to care enough.
Watch O’Connell play and look at his efforts, and you’ll soon realise why he gets picked every week.
Max Hall is one of those guys, too, and an excellent find in the same mould as Gryan Miers, though admittedly more of a role-player in the forward line than the star Cat.
Then you’ve got the obvious ones. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera is a star who simply must be retained. Mitch Owens has kicked goals but is perhaps finding his feet in a role higher up the ground as opposed to deep inside 50. Jack Higgins is in All-Australian form, sits seventh in the league for tackles inside 50 and has all the leadership credentials that warrant his inclusion with an official title – perhaps as one of the deputies to Callum Wilkie next season, who should take the reins from the struggling Jack Steele.
Jack Sinclair has been great once again, Jack Macrae has already shown his willingness to give his all for his second club, and I’d just spend the money on Wanganeen-Milera and keep Rowan Marshall around rather than go after Tom De Koning, as has been floated.
Crucially in all this is that the Saints have recruited really well in recent seasons. They’ve found guys like Cooper Sharman, Hall and O’Connell, their drafting has been great – particularly with their later picks – and even if it’s only for a couple of games here and there, there has been exposure for the kids.
Just wait until Tobie Travaglia and Alix Tauru get a proper go at it at senior level. Take this to the bank: everyone will be wondering how the Saints got both of them in the same draft in years to come.
All of this doesn’t absolve Lyon and the Saints of all their footballing sins. Statements should be made – whether it’s dropping players to the VFL, or shifting them out of prominent roles and given others those opportunities, remains to be seen.
This team and this list, particularly under Lyon, has had something of an overhaul. There have been significant changes, with a lot of quality kids brought in. For a club that has had 15 years of nothingness, at least they have finally made alterations.
The answer from here isn’t to overspend on a star who plays in a position you already have covered like De Koning. The Saints need more midfield help, so chase that.
If they want to seek out GWS defender Leek Aleer, go ahead and do that.
Fans must be patient with Max King. It’s hard, but he’s worth it.
They lost to the Eagles because the approach was off, basic skill errors were extremely costly, and complacency was infectious. Those skill errors can be fixed, and I dare anyone to think a Lyon-led team will suffer from the other two issues two games in a row.
This season, the Saints have generally been good in the contest, have been converting when inside 50, have tackled strongly, and their ability to score from stoppages has been encouraging.
Defensively, they’ve been excellent at limiting the opposition’s efficiency in transition and defended well – no surprise given Callum Wilkie’s a star. Teams can’t move the ball easily against them and have to take extreme risks with their kicks – those have paid off fairly well for the opposition this season.
Results aren’t everything, but their early-season win against Geelong featured a scintillating half of footy. They bossed the Dockers just weeks ago, too, and have fought hard for at least a half in a few of the losses.
All the fans really want is consistent effort and desire from the players and coaches. These have been coming and going – that’s what’s unacceptable, not the losses themselves.
The response to the Eagles horror show will be interesting to watch – it wouldn’t shock to see them cause a boilover against Gold Coast.
But with Jack Macrae sustaining a punctured lung, if Steele doesn’t stand up as skipper in his absence, that’s where things should get a little more inexcusable for Lyon in the rooms after the game.
Regardless, many thought the return of Lyon signalled an immediate push for glory from the Saints. The reality though, is that they have made significant changes, de-aged their list and prioritised nailing recruitment and drafting well in a bid to try and finally create something more sustainable for the future.
It’s easy to overreact to a loss against the Eagles in this day and age, but perspective must be had.
In another down season for the Saints, the opportunities for growth for a list with as much youth as the bottom teams, has all been by design.
Trust the process, everyone: the kids are alright.
