Season 2024 in Review

[Beno88]

2024 felt more like a year of exploration than what 2023 did. Undoubtedly, we overachieved somewhat in 2023, which led to a high bar and a tougher draw for 2024.

In reality, we weren’t that far off compared to last year. The top four is where you need to be to realistically contend, in 2023 we finished 3 wins and 18% away from 4th. This year, we finished 4 wins and 10% away from 4th – but the closeness of the competition overall saw us drop from 6th to 12th.

2024 may appear as a step backwards but look beyond the surface and there’s plenty of silver linings. St Kilda blooded six debutants in 2024, all of which have upside. Darcy Wilson played every game and looks every bit a 200-game star. Schoenmaker, Gracia and Hastie all impressed at AFL level and already look a cut above VFL, while McLennan looks solid backup at the very least. Mattaes Phillipou struggled early, took his medicine, and came back a different player. His finish to the season – albeit interrupted, was exceptional. We are starting to build a youthful core, and our recent drafting appears to be excellent.

Individuals aside, for only the second time since 2012, we won more quarters than we lost (the other year being 2020). We also ran out games well, winning 15 of 23 final quarters. We came from behind at halftime to win on 5 occasions (as we did last year), and only gave up a halftime lead once (as we did last year). This is a great trait in a young side. Many inexperienced groups will start well, only to fade in games – look at St Kilda 2000-2003. But our group seems to have a adopted a never-give-up attitude built around top end fitness levels. 18-22 year old players running out games week in week out is not common across the competition.

One key highlight in the latter part of the season was our ability to score heavily and quickly. In the final 8 rounds, we produced 12 quarters of 25+ points, compared to 14 in the first 16 rounds. That’s 25+ every 2.6 quarters in Round 17-24, compared to every 4.3 quarters in Rounds 1-16.

There were excuses in 2024 as well. Every side has challenges, but there’s no doubt our draw was grueling up until the bye. We travelled more than any other Victorian team and no team had less 7+ day breaks. We also were among the last teams to have the bye.

Our main challenge remains centre clearances and midfield dominance. Our ball use improved dramatically as the season went on, going from being the least effective team going inside 50 (Rounds 1-11) to the fourth best (Rounds 12-24).

Since Ross Lyon returned, we’ve won 24 of 47 matches and have beaten every side but Port, Melb, Bris & Adel. It’s a solid foundation for a premiership push from 2026.

Overall, I’d give 2024 a B, with the first 16 Rounds being a C- and the last 8 being an A-.


Best Wins of 2024
1. Round 24 vs Carlton – it just felt so damn good.
2. Round 2 vs Collingwood – big stage, reigning premiers, fantastic night to be a Sainter.
3. Round 17 vs Sydney – knocking off the top side in a thriller is always good fun.
4. Round 23 vs Geelong – What a comeback. One of the best halves of footy I’ve seen us play.
5. Round 20 vs Essendon – Beating Essendon is one thing, destroying their season by obliterating them is another.

Worst Losses
1. Round 6 vs Western Bulldogs – didn’t even turn up. The 5-day break after back to back interstate games didn’t help.
2. Round 9 vs Hawthorn – controlled the entire game and somehow lost. Both clubs went on alternate trajectories from here.
3. Round 11 vs Melbourne – bruise free and no desire. One of the weaker efforts in recent years.
4. Round 3 vs Essendon – should’ve been 6-7 goals up at halftime, but poor conversion resulted in us throwing away a certain win.
5. Round 16 vs Port Adelaide – there were worse losses in terms of margin, but the predictability of this was infuriating.

Predicted Best & Fairest Top Five
1. Rowan Marshall
2. Jack Steele
3. Jack Sinclair
4. Callum Wilkie
5. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera

Best Individual Performances
1. Cooper Sharman vs Essendon, R20 – 3 goals, 21 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goal assists, breakout game for Cooper.
2. Callum Wilkie vs Geelong, R23 – 28 disposals, 15 marks, 12 intercepts, Geelong just couldn’t get past him.
3. Mattaes Phillipou vs Sydney, R17 – 26 disposals, 1 goal, 7 inside 50s, the game where we all went “yep, he’s gonna be alright”.
4. Jack Steele vs Geelong, R23 – 27 disposals, 2 goals, 10 tackles, 10 marks, a leadership masterclass.
5. Rowan Marshall vs Fremantle, R11 – 31 disposals, 39 hit outs, 9 tackles, big Ro took Freo on alone on a frustrating night.

Top Five Players to Watch in 2025
1. Mattaes Phillipou – since returning from the VFL, Pou has been outstanding. I expect plenty of midfield time in 2025, and a strong B&F finish.
2. Ryan Byrnes – turned a corner in the second half of 2024 and seems to have found poise, confidence, and purpose.
3. Hugo Gracia – showed plenty from minimal opportunity. I expect him to play every game in 2025.
4. Cooper Sharman – no longer the regulation sub, showed his full potential in 2024, now it’s time to take the next step and kick 30+ goals.
5. Dougal Howard – with Battle gone, we need Dougal to find his 2020-21 form, he needs to be more than just a defender in 2025.

Five Players That Need a Big 2025
1. Max King – it’s the obvious choice, but it’s the obvious problem.
2. Mitch Owens – This kid is a gun, but he took a step back in 2024, he needs to progress in 2025.
3. Paddy Dow – Brought in as the solution to our midfield woe, but injury hampered his campaign. Needs a full preseason to show his worth.
4. Anthony Caminiti – has bucket loads of potential, but still hasn’t delivered that breakout performance. I want to see him dominate some games.
5. Max Heath – might be harsh to pick an untried player, but 2025 will be Max’s 4th year on the list. Time to put your hand up.

Best Moment of 2025 - Higgo's goal vs Carlton. I haven't stopped watching it. And I won't for some time.

Worst Moment of 2025 - Losing to Hawthorn in Tasmania. It was the moment the belief died. It took 8 weeks to return.

Pass Mark for 2025 – 12-13 wins.

[SaintPav]

Brill..

[spert]

Good summary cheers.
I don't subscribe however to overachieving- we made the finals in 2023, by winning enough games to get there in that season..end of story. We got no further due to some deficiencies on and off the field.

2024 was a messy season for us though I do believe we underachieved in various areas, again on the field and in the coach's box where the wrong kind of games were played against certain teams, and probably the wrong kind of team selected, but that got mostly rectified later in the season to our benefit. We also saw how badly we need to get a better performing midfield in there, and some pretty tough decisions will need to be made, otherwise we will be in the same position next season.

The unfortunate injury to Max, meant a rejigged forward half and game style, and this will be something Lyon and his crew will be analysing pretty seriously in list preparation for next season, as we made a bit of progress there. Will Membrey stay? as he added more run to his game without Max there, but if he goes, then we're going to have to get Max to do a lot more running up the field and presenting I feel.

The young guys in are mostly looking very promising. Pou, Wilson and Garcia will be even better with another pre-season, and I think Hastie will be one to watch with an improved tank and couple more kg, same for Arie and McLennan. The jury is out for me on the rest.

Although it gives a warm and fuzzy felling to get those wins against finals contenders, it was just a sample of what could have been, so let's hope we get rid of those deficiencies as best we can, and stick fast to a game style no matter what, as that's what the Hawks did to come from behind us, catch up and go ahead of us.

We should at least sneak into the eight next season, but we need to play consistent football- not get flogged in some games and look great in others, otherwise we're going down the same path that got Ratten the boot. We can only hope.

[King Max]

I would have the Brisbane game as one of our worst losses if not the worst.

During a period in which we were playing really good footy we were uncompetitive all night.

[Beno88]

I would have the Brisbane game as one of our worst losses if not the worst.

During a period in which we were playing really good footy we were uncompetitive all night.

I completely agree that the Brisbane loss was one of, if not our worst, game in terms of competitiveness. But we were rank outsiders against a very good team in form, and our season was dead.

I was more disappointed by the games we could've and should've won, when the season was on the line.

[Yorkeys]

Last night's game suggests a couple of things?
our later season performances against Port and Geelong indicate we would not be completely out of our depth in the 8;
As it stands, Ken Hinkley is a bit of a fraud as a coach;
Most if not all "expert" commentators talk mostly from their anus'; and
Port supporters are sort of hard core;., a lot seemed to stay until the end and there didn't seem to be a lot of booing (being shellshocked may account for the latter, they are not usually forgiving).

[Beno88]

Last night's game suggests a couple of things?
our later season performances against Port and Geelong indicate we would not be completely out of our depth in the 8;
As it stands, Ken Hinkley is a bit of a fraud as a coach;
Most if not all "expert" commentators talk mostly from their anus'; and
Port supporters are sort of hard core;., a lot seemed to stay until the end and there didn't seem to be a lot of booing (being shellshocked may account for the latter, they are not usually forgiving).

I still think we should've beaten both Port and Geelong twice. If we did, we'd have all ended up on 14 wins.

[Otiman]

"not out of our depth" and "premiership contender" is not the same thing.

I think we have done the right thing to set us up for 2025. With a leaner fixture, some draft picks, and continued development.

[Vortex]

The pursuit of more talent is the gap we will need to continue to bridge.

We must all hope for some success in our selections in all of the various drafts, not least of all, the national draft over the next few years.

This is the only missing piece of the puzzle but unfortunately not only is it the hardest piece, it's the piece that takes the longest, I predict we need at least another 2 to 3 years of probing the various draft options.

We must be patient and take the long road and are at least 3 to 5 years off knowing if we will become a sustainable top 4 side. During that time we may enjoy some brief excursions into the top 8 to play finals but inevitably making up the numbers.

[Brunswicksainter]

Pros and cons for me for the year
Pros:
- Emergence of Mattaes and Sharman in the back end of the year
- Consistent brilliance of Wilkie, Marshall, Sinclair and Nas
- Wilson, Garcia and Schoenmaker look like good finds
- Brad Hill is really redeeming himself, has had two really strong years under Ross.
- Big wins over big several big Melbourne clubs and the back end of the year run in general

Cons:
- Selection was at times objectively poor, Ross clearly had his favourites and made some foreseeably poor choices over the season (e.g. continuing to play bonner & not mixing up midfield rotations).
- Injuries really disrupted the seasons of Dow, Sinclair, King, Phillipou and Windhager
- Mitch Owens had a really poor year after what he did in 2023
- Max King’s goal kicking is not improving
- Dogs game and first half vs. west coast at Optus was the worse footy I think we have played in years.


-

[WellardSaint]

Pros and cons for me for the year
Pros:
- Emergence of Mattaes and Sharman in the back end of the year
- Consistent brilliance of Wilkie, Marshall, Sinclair and Nas
- Wilson, Garcia and Schoenmaker look like good finds
- Brad Hill is really redeeming himself, has had two really strong years under Ross.
- Big wins over big several big Melbourne clubs and the back end of the year run in general

Cons:
- Selection was at times objectively poor, Ross clearly had his favourites and made some foreseeably poor choices over the season (e.g. continuing to play bonner & not mixing up midfield rotations).
- Injuries really disrupted the seasons of Dow, Sinclair, King, Phillipou and Windhager
- Mitch Owens had a really poor year after what he did in 2023
- Max King’s goal kicking is not improving
- Dogs game and first half vs. west coast at Optus was the worse footy I think we have played in years.


-

I don't blame Ross for his faith in Bonner.
Boris would've had sway over the choice.
We'll never know whether Boris was a fan or critic of Bonner.

but at the end of season, club decided Bonner wasn't a part of the puzzle

[Killa]

No doubt, at Season start, there was a preference to use Sinclair as a mid hence a need to seek a "defensive small" with experience AND rebound ability (trusting that NWM would continue to develop)

And Bonner got an opportunity (noting the early season absence of Webster)

In my view, the midfield improved with the continuing development of Phillipou and the recovery of Clark - then add the cameos of Sinclair. despite the absence of Windhager.

Crouch was also missing - and we will see as to his future contributions.

We also look for a full season from Henry.

Plus injuries saw Jones given further opportunity which he embraced.

The run and clean skills of Byrnes was a development positive.

And then you have Wilson (and, we hope, a prospect in Garcia).

Stocker was handed responsibilities and accepted them, so there is potential there as there is with Dow free of injury, Dow adding to our rotations late in the season but needing to have more consistent impact given a full season

In regards Owens I was pleased with his development in particular his "grunt" contest work which does not always result in a statistic but which is vital.

The only staple to our midfield of recent seasons has been Steele.

I still view that we need support for Marshall, King and Howard.

What part Caminiti plays in the equation will be of interest.

And this is why there is interest in Heath, Keeler and Shoenmakers.

Deciding that Battle was too expensive says to me that the powers that be are on the same wavelength in regard our needs.

And we go to the Draft.

[saynta]

Pros and cons for me for the year
Pros:
- Emergence of Mattaes and Sharman in the back end of the year
- Consistent brilliance of Wilkie, Marshall, Sinclair and Nas
- Wilson, Garcia and Schoenmaker look like good finds
- Brad Hill is really redeeming himself, has had two really strong years under Ross.
- Big wins over big several big Melbourne clubs and the back end of the year run in general

Cons:
- Selection was at times objectively poor, Ross clearly had his favourites and made some foreseeably poor choices over the season (e.g. continuing to play bonner & not mixing up midfield rotations).
- Injuries really disrupted the seasons of Dow, Sinclair, King, Phillipou and Windhager
- Mitch Owens had a really poor year after what he did in 2023
- Max King’s goal kicking is not improving
- Dogs game and first half vs. west coast at Optus was the worse footy I think we have played in years.


-

Henry?

[Brunswicksainter]

Pros and cons for me for the year
Pros:
- Emergence of Mattaes and Sharman in the back end of the year
- Consistent brilliance of Wilkie, Marshall, Sinclair and Nas
- Wilson, Garcia and Schoenmaker look like good finds
- Brad Hill is really redeeming himself, has had two really strong years under Ross.
- Big wins over big several big Melbourne clubs and the back end of the year run in general

Cons:
- Selection was at times objectively poor, Ross clearly had his favourites and made some foreseeably poor choices over the season (e.g. continuing to play bonner & not mixing up midfield rotations).
- Injuries really disrupted the seasons of Dow, Sinclair, King, Phillipou and Windhager
- Mitch Owens had a really poor year after what he did in 2023
- Max King’s goal kicking is not improving
- Dogs game and first half vs. west coast at Optus was the worse footy I think we have played in years.


-

Henry?

Add Henry to injury con

[Brunswicksainter]

Pros and cons for me for the year
Pros:
- Emergence of Mattaes and Sharman in the back end of the year
- Consistent brilliance of Wilkie, Marshall, Sinclair and Nas
- Wilson, Garcia and Schoenmaker look like good finds
- Brad Hill is really redeeming himself, has had two really strong years under Ross.
- Big wins over big several big Melbourne clubs and the back end of the year run in general

Cons:
- Selection was at times objectively poor, Ross clearly had his favourites and made some foreseeably poor choices over the season (e.g. continuing to play bonner & not mixing up midfield rotations).
- Injuries really disrupted the seasons of Dow, Sinclair, King, Phillipou and Windhager
- Mitch Owens had a really poor year after what he did in 2023
- Max King’s goal kicking is not improving
- Dogs game and first half vs. west coast at Optus was the worse footy I think we have played in years.


-

I don't blame Ross for his faith in Bonner.
Boris would've had sway over the choice.
We'll never know whether Boris was a fan or critic of Bonner.

but at the end of season, club decided Bonner wasn't a part of the puzzle

Really don’t understand the continual selection of Bonner was the biggest black mark on the season for me. Has made me lose a lot of faith the coaching group, as it was abundantly obvious he is not an AFL standard player and I think we lost at least 2 games purely because he was picked.

[WellardSaint]

Reply to Brunswick Sainter about Bonner...
Ross defended Bonner at least once in a post match presser.
Bonner had stuffed up a kick-in that resulted in an oppo goal- a reporter mentioned it and Ross was far too forgiving.

There was one game where Bonner had 500m+ gained but 17 turnovers/clangers.
Bonner did cost us at least one game with his poor execution