Who are the A-graders in cashed-up St Kilda's sights?

[Sanctorum]

Following article in todays Melbourne Age - more grist for the proverbial mill!

"The Scoop - Who are the A-Graders in cashed up St Kilda’s sights?
By Sam McClure - The Age 28 March 2024

St Kilda have identified a group of elite midfielders from rival clubs that they will target in the next 18 months, as part of the club’s aggressive list management strategy to add more A-grade talent to its ranks.

The Scoop has discussed St Kilda’s situation with player movement experts across the industry who would not be named because players’ careers, club strategies and salaries were involved.

The club has a significant war chest at its disposal, as a result of a mixture of frugal player payments and tough calls to let players join rival clubs.

The club cleared more than $2 million from its total player payments at the end of last year when it allowed Jade Gresham to join Essendon, Nick Coffield to join the Western Bulldogs and Jack Billings to join Melbourne.

Gresham was earning close to $850,000 in his final year as a Saint, when he kicked 21 goals from 23 games, while top 10 draft picks Coffield and Billings were both earning $600,000 each.

Max King, Jack Steele, Rowan Marshall and Brad Hill are the highest-paid players at the club, all earning between $800-900,000 per season.

Hill’s contract expires at the end of the season and he is expected to recommit to the Saints on a significantly reduced deal, which will free up more space in the club’s salary cap for 2025.

While St Kilda are happy with their combination of talent, youth and experience in both attack and defence, there is an acknowledgement internally that the list needs ready-made midfielders in the prime of their career.

St Kilda were contacted for comment, along with the management of Davies-Uniacke, Brayshaw and McCluggage.Seb Ross, Brad Crouch, Mason Wood and Hill are now all in their 30s, while dual All-Australian and best and fairest winner Jack Steele is 28.

Crouch, who has just entered the last season of a four-year deal worth $700,000 per season, triggered a fifth year of a contract when he played his first game in round two against Geelong.

The Victorian-born McCluggage, who was one of Brisbane’s best players in their close grand final loss to Collingwood last year, becomes a restricted free agent at season’s end.

The club’s vice captain has constantly reiterated his desire to stay at the Lions, both privately and publicly.

“It is important to [state my intention to stay]. The boys always ask you the question with subtle digs. We want to keep good people around and they are in the same boat with me. So yeah, I definitely want it to happen but it’s definitely a business so you have to make sure you do your due diligence and get the best possible result for both the club and yourself personally,” McCluggage told News Corp last month.

Despite the high regard in which McCluggage is held in Brisbane, he’s not earning crazy money. He has never been All-Australian and despite finishing on the podium for the last five years running, he is yet to be crowned a best and fairest winner at the Lions.

At $800,000 per season, St Kilda have identified his contractual status as an opportunity and believe that he could be a million-dollar player.

Davies-Uniacke and Brayshaw, taken at picks two and four respectively in the 2017 draft, both become free agents at the end of 2025.

The pair is managed by Paul Connors and Tom Petroro of TLA, respectively – two of the most influential and high-profile player managers in the AFL.

Despite missing games through injury last year, Davies-Uniacke has established himself as North Melbourne’s premier midfielder and he would be seen at Arden Street as one of, if not the, key cog of a premiership tilt under coach Alastair Clarkson.

At 24, Brayshaw is already an All-Australian and a best and fairest winner at Fremantle. He and fellow gut-running midfielder Caleb Serong are viewed in the competition as one of the best midfield combinations in the game, particularly for their age.

Brayshaw was coached by Ross Lyon in his first two seasons before Lyon left Fremantle at the end of the 2019 season.
With the new CBA kicking in at the end of 2025, players will receive a significant boost in salaries, particularly premium players like Davies-Uniacke and Brayshaw.

Whether they choose to stay at their respective clubs or move, it is all but certain that both will sign contracts well north of $1 million per season.

St Kilda, like other cashed up clubs, are aware that they may fail in their pursuits of trade and free agency targets. But they also know that if they don’t land men on their hit list, it will force other rival clubs to pay “overs” to keep players on their list.

One list manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the game was moving closer to a player being offered a contract on which he would earn $2 million in a single season, depending on whether the contract was front- or back-ended."

[Scollop]

Crouch, who has just entered the last season of a four-year deal worth $700,000 per season, triggered a fifth year of a contract when he played his first game in round two against Geelong.

There you go

That's why he put his hand up to play in round 1

Let's hope he can regain some of his best form from 2022/2023 once he's fully recovered....if he ever is fully recovered

And if he doesn't...and if he continues to have knee issues or other injuries, then he'll be a list clogger

I can understand rewarding your troops, but we're a club that is desperate to get it right. We owe that to the members and supporters of this club over the last 50 years. We can't be doing deals like playing a guy for the sake of his triggers, at the expense of the future of the club

[TheGreatZacsby]

Brayshaw, LDU and McCluggage potentially Zurhaar


I really want Brayshaw. He really loved Ross Lyon when he first busted out on the scene. Big come back home factor as well.

[shrodes]

Would take LDU in a heartbeat but can’t see North letting him go

[Devilhead]

Can't see any of those guys leaving

A few FA at the end of next year.... Maybe then?

[spert]

It's all talk, forget it.

[skeptic]

Geeez I would love Brayshaw…
Forget McCluggage, way overrated and too expensive. Steer clear

[Yorkeys]

We are going to have young stars to retain.

[Vortex]

So it would seem Ross believes he will have the list to challenge 2026?

[Otiman]

The talk has been 1 more draft then FA. The timing seems to work out for both our list profile and the available FA's coming up.

[Vortex]

The talk has been 1 more draft then FA. The timing seems to work out for both our list profile and the available FA's coming up.

Ross himself has said that hasn't he?

I just wonder if it should be at least 2 more years at the draft, even three before Tasmania comes in.

Ironically we haven't had a good list since GCS and GWS came into the comp in 2011.

I fear this Tassie side is going to hurt us again in that regard.

[Scollop]

Ironically we haven't had a good list since GCS and GWS came into the comp in 2011.

We traded out Dal Santo, BJ Goddard, and Bigboy for picks. We chose to bottom out.

We succeeded in going down the ladder. We're good at that ...so pick 3(2013), pick 1(2014), then pick 6 in 2015 which we gave up for Jake Carlisle... and picks 7 and 8 in 2017 and pick 4 in 2018.

That's 6 top 10 picks in 6 years, with 3 of them being top 5 picks.

So... blaming GWS and Gold Coast is just a cop out for incompetent recruiting. Or if you want to give them that excuse, then the club's picks combined with our footy development was inferior to most of our competitors.

[Sanctorum]

The talk has been 1 more draft then FA. The timing seems to work out for both our list profile and the available FA's coming up.

Ross himself has said that hasn't he?

I just wonder if it should be at least 2 more years at the draft, even three before Tasmania comes in.

Ironically we haven't had a good list since GCS and GWS came into the comp in 2011.

I fear this Tassie side is going to hurt us again in that regard.

That's right, the 19th team will certainly be given numerous 1st round draft concessions for quite a few years, look at how the GC Suns are still getting handouts from the AFL 13 years after joining the comp.

Despite this though all of the premiership teams since 2011 have managed to build strong lists through smart drafting, first class development programmes and snagging the odd elite player from other clubs, including from the Suns' and Giants' talent pools.

So it's up to our club to keep on its promising current track and do the same thing, it can be done!

[B.M]

Imo

You spend you cap every year

You get the best players you can into your program

You use every avenue for that to happen
Trade
Free Agency
National Draft
Rookie Draft/Academy
SSP
Mid Season Draft

There should NEVER be a narrow focus

[Otiman]

This is the shopping list:

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/out ... ?year=2025
https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/out ... ?year=2024

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Re Tassie, it’s apparently not going to be the same as it was for GWS and Gold Coast, where they monopolised the the top end of the draft. It’s been reported that they’re going to have to trade their high picks for established talent, or lose the picks.

So clubs will have a great opportunity to get their hands on high picks. Albeit at the cost of someone good off their list.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Crouch, who has just entered the last season of a four-year deal worth $700,000 per season, triggered a fifth year of a contract when he played his first game in round two against Geelong.

There you go

That's why he put his hand up to play in round 1

Let's hope he can regain some of his best form from 2022/2023 once he's fully recovered....if he ever is fully recovered

And if he doesn't...and if he continues to have knee issues or other injuries, then he'll be a list clogger

I can understand rewarding your troops, but we're a club that is desperate to get it right. We owe that to the members and supporters of this club over the last 50 years. We can't be doing deals like playing a guy for the sake of his triggers, at the expense of the future of the club

Crouch probably will clog up the list next year, but the upside of that is that he goes from getting $700K next year to potentially nothing the next, which instantly frees up another $700K of cap space. Hill will presumably get at least $300K less the following year, so that’s potentially another mil freed up after next season.

Given the fact we’d be front-ending contracts just to meet the minimum cap at the moment, we’re likely to have an obscene amount of cap space to play with.

[Banger9798]

Brad Crouch has been terrific since coming across, no reason he can't keep going for another 2 years.

Of those named, LDU would be worth throwing the kitchen sink at.

[Otiman]

Cull the senior players at our detriment.

Guys like Brad Crouch are alongside Mason Wood and Brad Hill who offer value far beyond their direct impact on field. Those around them stand taller, play better, train and prepare better.

[saintsRrising]

Crouch, who has just entered the last season of a four-year deal worth $700,000 per season, triggered a fifth year of a contract when he played his first game in round two against Geelong.

There you go

That's why he put his hand up to play in round 1

Let's hope he can regain some of his best form from 2022/2023 once he's fully recovered....if he ever is fully recovered

And if he doesn't...and if he continues to have knee issues or other injuries, then he'll be a list clogger

I can understand rewarding your troops, but we're a club that is desperate to get it right. We owe that to the members and supporters of this club over the last 50 years. We can't be doing deals like playing a guy for the sake of his triggers, at the expense of the future of the club

Crouch probably will clog up the list next year, but the upside of that is that he goes from getting $700K next year to potentially nothing the next, which instantly frees up another $700K of cap space. Hill will presumably get at least $300K less the following year, so that’s potentially another mil freed up after next season.

Given the fact we’d be front-ending contracts just to meet the minimum cap at the moment, we’re likely to have an obscene amount of cap space to play with.

Fair Dinkum, Crouch was superb last season. He joined us for "unders" and has been great around the club. He has been a good, and opportunistic, acquisition.

The ability of St Kilda to actually land very good established players from other clubs has been problematic.

The only issue with Crouch is we have too many slow inside mids. This is now being addressed with players like Henry, and hopefully Windy.

[SydneySainter]

Heard this before, it’s all smoke.

We’ve been chasing elite midfield talent via FA since 2017. So far, duck eggs.

[repta]

Hopefully get crouch back soon. Probably not worth $700 now but been good for saints.

I hate this article. Nothing good will come from it other than pointing out to current players there is plenty of room. In salary cap. That room will quickly disappear with current players coming through.

[nostalgicsaint]

Brayshaw would be perfect for us.

[B.M]

Would StK be in the sights of any A Graders?

Doubt it

Brayshaw is a leader at Freo - well paid

Why would he leave?

[older saint]

the balance act for every team is to be at or near the window, on the way up , in 2026/27 as that is when Tasmania will get the draft benefits 26-29 so you dont want to be sliding or rebuilding at that point in time as you will be down for a long time in the cycle.
Collingwood for example could be in real trouble unless they move people on this year - Sidebottom, Pendelbery , Howe Hoskin-elliott, Mitchell,Cox,
Brisbane have 9 players on the list over 30 by seasons end
Geelong trying to address this but committed to hawkins, Danger etc to try and win now too - could be in trouble,
GC interestingly have 9 over 30 also although not many key players there except for Witts