One View Of Our Trade Haul

[damienc]

I am pasting this story from the Herald Sun about our trade week. It normally sits behind a pay wall.

But I think it is worthy of circulation here. It includes a possible best 22:


" St Kilda’s last week might be its most crucial since it was playing off in Grand Finals under Ross Lyon.

In order of importance, Brad Hill, 26, (Fremantle), Zak Jones, 24, (Sydney), Dougal Howard, 23, (Port Adelaide), Paddy Ryder, 31, (Port Adelaide) and Dan Butler, 23, (Richmond) are all headed to the Saints.

Suddenly Moorabbin is a hotter destination than the Maldives. It’s remarkable, given St Kilda hasn’t played finals since 2011 and sacked its coach in July.

Not since 2000 — when St Kilda landed Malcolm Blight as coach, Fraser Gehrig, Aaron Hamill and Stephen Lawrence in trades and then drafted Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke — has bayside been so popular.

After securing their high five they are the kings of October.

The membership department would be doing cartwheels, because the 50,000 target would seem a lot closer with five fresh yet familiar faces to sell.

That new quintet will help power-up all parts of the ground, too.

Hill brings cream to a vanilla team and, combined with Jones, provides an injection of pace that could prove lethal under the Marvel Stadium roof.

Howard — a 199cm athlete who runs like the wind — can stand in either goalsquare, while Ryder will make life far easier for emerging ruckman Rowan Marshall.

Premiership forward Butler, who cost little more than a packet of chips, will bring the kind of pressure that Alan Richardson has probably felt under for the past two years.

And add to that the most-hyped Saint in some time, Max King, who will be ready to dust off Riewoldt’s No.12 jumper come Round 1.

And then there’s backline buddies Dylan Roberton, who hasn’t played in 18 months, Jimmy Webster (eight games last year) and captain Jarryn Geary (five games last year).

Imagine the healthy competition for spots at pre-season, when players rock in and realise the talent they suddenly have to compete with?

Is it the rat cunning of Graeme “Gubby” Allen, who helped North Melbourne broker trades for Jared Polec, Jasper Pittard and Aaron Hall last year?

Or the Ned Flanders-like positivity of Ratten?

“He’s awesome,” Jack Billings told the Sunday Herald Sun on Brownlow night.

“His relationships with all the players and the way he sees the game — he’s got a really high footy IQ, which is important — and a really positive guy.”

What about new-age list manager James Gallagher? The modern man, so relatable to players and managers alike, has been a breath of fresh air.

The answer is all of the above. Throw in legends Billy Slater and Jarryd Roughead and the move away from Seaford and the Saints are on the brink of bringing sexy back.

B: Dylan Roberton, Dougal Howard (NEW), Jimmy Webster

HB: Zak Jones (NEW), Jake Carlisle, Nick Coffield

C: Dan Hannebery, Jack Steele, Brad Hill (NEW)

HF: Jack Billings, Tim Membrey, Dean Kent

F: Paddy Ryder (NEW), Max King (DEBUT), Dan Butler (NEW)

R: Rowan Marshall, Jade Gresham, Seb Ross

Inter: Josh Battle, Ben Long, Jarryn Geary, Hunter Clark

Emerg: Jack Sinclair, Matt Parker, Callum Wilkie, Luke Dunstan "

The Round 1 team will be almost unrecognisable, and it needed to be.

New coach Brett Ratten wanted to rejuvenate the stale Saints and after a massive trade period, that has become a reality.

[magnifisaint]

Ratten has to be shooting for finals.

[Secret Kiel]

I don't really start thinking about best 22 for round 1 until the pre season is well under way but of the 5 we picked yesterday I'd ask myself who would they push out from our round 23 team:

Forward: Lonie Membery Long

Half F: Newnes Bruce Hanners

Cent: Billing Ross Hind

Half B: Wilkie Rowe Clark

Back: Savage Carslile Brown

Followers: Marshall Dunstan Sinclair

Int: Steven Acres Steele Battle


So Ryder comes in for Bruce, Dougal comes in for Rowe, Hill comes in for Steven and Jones comes in for Acres.

You'd think Buttler is told he has to force his way into the side due to being fully stocked for small forwards, but our current small forwards are aware they need to impress in the lead up to round 1.

And Ryder is also aware that although we lost Bruce and King is expected to secure the no. tall forward position he is no certainty to get selected round 1 as we now have the much vaunted swingmen in Carslile, Battle and Howard.

Gee what we do have is some serious speed, Hill, Jones, Hind and Gresh who clearly comes into the team for round 1 but was missing in round 23. Throw in Parker and Long and Lonie and we are really quick now. Quick and Versatile is how I would describe our possible best 22 for 2020.

[desertsaint]

so that article is just a complete rehash of one prior to trade week? word for word on the draftees and team.

[flack]

One thing we surely don't have is any more excuses. New coach new everybody, all the trades done so I expect to be booking my accommodation in Melbourne for the finals. After two years of apathy its time to start giving something to the fans.

[st.byron]

so that article is just a complete rehash of one prior to trade week? word for word on the draftees and team.

Yep. Thanks for posting Damien, but crikey ... that’s the standard of journalism inhabiting the HS.

All hyperbole and cliches. Basically, garbage journalism.

[Secret Kiel]

The article is fantastic in terms of marketing our club are concerned, you can't buy free press like that and it's more than like payback to someone at the HS for offering to provide them with a scoop. We should see a constant supply of that hype now between today and round 1 and the membership department will be stoked.

[thejiggingsaint]

MY view of our trade haul? BRILLIANT!!! Simply brilliant. The whole trade period saw the Saints recruiting/list management team show something SO lacking in quite a few years: "BALLS!!!" Standing up to Freo and that knobhead Bell. Holding their nerve to get the deals for Jones and Butler completed. Much better from the Saints!

[skeptic]

Whilst not as rapt as most... am not as down as I was initially.

The biggest concern for me is giving away players that filled roles that we don’t have in abundance of reserve
Hill for example is a great get but we lost our best line breaking mid for another one
Bruce from what I can see we can’t cover at all beyond hoping that Paddy or King can step up or Battle transitions back.

The loss of Acres bothers me too because he’s a bigger sized, utility style mid
Would have been happier to lose a slower inside mid from the Hannebery, Dunstan, Steele (not Steele), Ross group

[Saintmatt]

MY view of our trade haul? BRILLIANT!!! Simply brilliant. The whole trade period saw the Saints recruiting/list management team show something SO lacking in quite a few years: "BALLS!!!" Standing up to Freo and that knobhead Bell. Holding their nerve to get the deals for Jones and Butler completed. Much better from the Saints!

I also think it's a good example of the outcomes that can be achieved when you have high caliber experienced and capable people in charge of such matters. Even the wraps on our new list manager James Gallagher from the cohort of player managers is that he was excellent to deal with and solely focused on fair outcomes.

It's sure nice to be admired for a change rather than derided. More importantly - this is the first time in a long time that I've actually been genuinely proud of my footy club

[Saintmatt]

Whilst not as rapt as most... am not as down as I was initially.

The biggest concern for me is giving away players that filled roles that we don’t have in abundance of reserve
Hill for example is a great get but we lost our best line breaking mid for another one
Bruce from what I can see we can’t cover at all beyond hoping that Paddy or King can step up or Battle transitions back.

The loss of Acres bothers me too because he’s a bigger sized, utility style mid
Would have been happier to lose a slower inside mid from the Hannebery, Dunstan, Steele (not Steele), Ross group

I get what you're saying but in all reality - Acres is a very poor man's line breaking mid and despite his excellent size as a mid - has never found a way to make that count on field - he's neither been an inside bull like Cripps or a big body on the outside. Personally - I think his best trait was that he always looked good when he went forward. No one has been a bigger fan of Blake than me but, he just couldn't cut it - even in a weak midfield. 2 Brownlow votes in 75 games ....

I think Bruce can be covered by the Ryder/Marshall combo until Max comes up to speed. Also - remember than with Howard coming in - that means Battle can return forward. He's not Bruce size but is a strong mark and very versatile.

We wouldn't offer Steele up and Hannebery's salary would scare everyone else off. There's a reason why no one wanted Dunstan or Ross - they're both slow, inside and poor disposers of the ball. I'd like to see a time soon when neither are in our best 18

[George27]

I don't really start thinking about best 22 for round 1 until the pre season is well under way but of the 5 we picked yesterday I'd ask myself who would they push out from our round 23 team:

Forward: Lonie Membery Long

Half F: Newnes Bruce Hanners

Cent: Billing Ross Hind

Half B: Wilkie Rowe Clark

Back: Savage Carslile Brown

Followers: Marshall Dunstan Sinclair

Int: Steven Acres Steele Battle


So Ryder comes in for Bruce, Dougal comes in for Rowe, Hill comes in for Steven and Jones comes in for Acres.

You'd think Buttler is told he has to force his way into the side due to being fully stocked for small forwards, but our current small forwards are aware they need to impress in the lead up to round 1.

And Ryder is also aware that although we lost Bruce and King is expected to secure the no. tall forward position he is no certainty to get selected round 1 as we now have the much vaunted swingmen in Carslile, Battle and Howard.

Gee what we do have is some serious speed, Hill, Jones, Hind and Gresh who clearly comes into the team for round 1 but was missing in round 23. Throw in Parker and Long and Lonie and we are really quick now. Quick and Versatile is how I would describe our possible best 22 for 2020.

If all fit ( bar Paddy McC) I envisage 10 changes from that round 23 team.

Butler for Lonie
Gresham for Long
King for Bruce
Geary for Newnes
Roberton for Rowe
Webster for Savage
Howard for Brown
Hill for Sinclair
Jones for Steven
Ryder for Acres

Hopefully they can all get on the park.

[sunsaint]

Ratten has to be shooting for finals.

yeah that was my take on it as well
I am happy with what was brought in to the club and is a marked improvement on last years Hannerbery
Hill is a good get & very excited about Howard and noted he spent a lot of time as a junior in the forwardline mostly because of his advanced size advantage. SO he "might" be used in a switch hitting role that Carlisle refused to do
Butler Ryder and Jones are players that can have immediate impact
SO it looks more like a top up trade rather than anything else

As for the future line up - I think it is still too early to make a call on Roberton
BUT can someone please PLEASE explain to me why Mcartin is still on our list

[oldie60]

I think the best thing to come out of the draft was the aggressive thought process behind targeting the players we drafted and were not bullied. New blood extra depth creates competition. Fantastic result.

[saintsRrising]

Gee what we do have is some serious speed, Hill, Jones, Hind and Gresh who clearly comes into the team for round 1 but was missing in round 23. Throw in Parker and Long and Lonie and we are really quick now. Quick and Versatile is how I would describe our possible best 22 for 2020.

Lonie and Gresh are not speed machines. Butler is not express quick, but yes is quick and certainly is quicker than Lonie (and taller).

Howard is quick. And much quicker than the slow Brown.

DMac is quick, but will struggle to make the 22.

Steven was quick (our one quick mid), but played little in 2019.

Paddy is slower than Bruce. King quicker than Paddy.


Overall yes we should be quicker and especially in the midfield (Assuming Jones plays there as well as Hill).

Forward line may or may not be quicker depending who exactly plays there.

As a unit the backline will average about the same. ie Howard an upgrade pace wise on Brown. But Dmac not playing.


If Parker and Hind can push into the 2020 22 then we could overall be really quick. So it will depend exactly who is in the 22 and who misses out.

[B.M]

My view is

We got a lot, which is great

But

We also gave up plenty

Bruce and Steven were unveiled on Ch10 news tonight as huge pick ups for their respective clubs... and put it this way, if we picked up Steven, Bruce and Acres in a trade period, we’d be jumping with joy... especially what they cost!

Add to that pick 6 which is a high end pick.

Having said that
Hill, Howard and Jones are very good pick ups
Ryder will play a role
And Butler is a handy small forward

[B.M]

Wasn’t Nathan brown recorded as having a high acceleration this year?

[B.M]

Lonie is not fast over the ground

He has fast reaction time, is a quick thinker and is clever and gets himself into dangerous positions.

When he plays he is one of our highest pressure players

[longtimesaint]

Ratten has to be shooting for finals.

yeah that was my take on it as well
I am happy with what was brought in to the club and is a marked improvement on last years Hannerbery
Hill is a good get & very excited about Howard and noted he spent a lot of time as a junior in the forwardline mostly because of his advanced size advantage. SO he "might" be used in a switch hitting role that Carlisle refused to do
Butler Ryder and Jones are players that can have immediate impact
SO it looks more like a top up trade rather than anything else

As for the future line up - I think it is still too early to make a call on Roberton
BUT can someone please PLEASE explain to me why Mcartin is still on our list

McCartin is contracted so we would have to pay him out if was being delisted, and as he is still young we might as well keep him with a chance of him returning.

[Secret Kiel]

Lonie is not fast over the ground

He has fast reaction time, is a quick thinker and is clever and gets himself into dangerous positions.

When he plays he is one of our highest pressure players

Take SaintsRrising and your point re Lonie not being quick but maybe I might twist it this way, he's sharp, how else can you be a small forward otherwise, isn't it a pre requisite for the position?

Anyway the upshot of it all is I think we are going to look lightening fast in 2020, can't wait to be on the boundary at Docklands for the first game.

[Teflon]

Whilst not as rapt as most... am not as down as I was initially.

The biggest concern for me is giving away players that filled roles that we don’t have in abundance of reserve
Hill for example is a great get but we lost our best line breaking mid for another one
Bruce from what I can see we can’t cover at all beyond hoping that Paddy or King can step up or Battle transitions back.

The loss of Acres bothers me too because he’s a bigger sized, utility style mid
Would have been happier to lose a slower inside mid from the Hannebery, Dunstan, Steele (not Steele), Ross group

I understand Acres is a tough one but I was surprised wh3n I realised he was 24! Same ag3 as Jones and has barely produced a dominating game let alone true break out season.

Not saying he can’t but you’d think he’d have shown us something more by now...

Stevens to Hill we are in front. Age alone helps but when you factor in Stevens health....he has a long way to get back to top shape.....for his sake hope he does......hope he also fails miserably against us.

I think Geelong could’ve been more respectable during trade period, they took advantage of a situation, feigned little interest....knowing the issues...they also paraded him round after the trade knowing they got him for a packet of chips. He’ll play blinders at times for them next year but at least we know as a club we don’t treat people like cr@p.

[SaintPav]

Whilst not as rapt as most... am not as down as I was initially.

The biggest concern for me is giving away players that filled roles that we don’t have in abundance of reserve
Hill for example is a great get but we lost our best line breaking mid for another one
Bruce from what I can see we can’t cover at all beyond hoping that Paddy or King can step up or Battle transitions back.

The loss of Acres bothers me too because he’s a bigger sized, utility style mid
Would have been happier to lose a slower inside mid from the Hannebery, Dunstan, Steele (not Steele), Ross group

I understand Acres is a tough one but I was surprised wh3n I realised he was 24! Same ag3 as Jones and has barely produced a dominating game let alone true break out season.

Not saying he can’t but you’d think he’d have shown us something more by now...

Stevens to Hill we are in front. Age alone helps but when you factor in Stevens health....he has a long way to get back to top shape.....for his sake hope he does......hope he also fails miserably against us.

I think Geelong could’ve been more respectable during trade period, they took advantage of a situation, feigned little interest....knowing the issues...they also paraded him round after the trade knowing they got him for a packet of chips. He’ll play blinders at times for them next year but at least we know as a club we don’t treat people like cr@p.

[Kilda]

McCartin remains the elephant in the room. Even if he still wants to cling to the belief that he can make it, surely his family and friends (& club?) should try to dissuade him. Isn’t there a duty of care issue?

[Life Long Saint]

Lonie is not fast over the ground

He has fast reaction time, is a quick thinker and is clever and gets himself into dangerous positions.

When he plays he is one of our highest pressure players

But he can't finish...If Butler is a better shot at goal and can play the pressure forward then he's a better option than Lonie.
* I like Lonie for the record but he, like many others in the team, have a glaring problem in front of goal.