Whose going to seriously step it up in 2025?

[skeptic]

I’m going to mentally book mark it and bragging rights/ego and vanity is on the line, which is going to seriously step it up in 2025 and elevate his game?

Which player whether it be someone firmly inside the top 22 going from ok to great or fringe to sign him up for 5 years.

Contenders -
Byrnes
Caminati
Coops
Windy
Owens
Henry
Schonmaker
King
Keeler
Heath
Garcia

Or is it going to be guys like Pou, Wilson, Higgins going up a gear… or Buter, Clark, Jones etc reminding

Or is the Man of Steele primed to remind us why he’s the Captain?

Feel free to go outside the list.

Call it

[1971]

Tim Membrey

[diddley]

Windy & Pou for me.

[Sanctorum]

That's a very long list skeptic, I'd rather restrict it to just one, and for me that's Michito Owens who failed to elevate his game in his 3rd season just finished.

He reportedly works out really hard in the gym and on the training track and has the potential to become elite.

At 191 cm and 91 kg he could play anywhere including as a power mid.

I'm betting on him having a break out year in 2025!

[Beno88]

Caminiti & King. 80+ goals between them.

[St Dave]

If we want to progress we need Pou and Owens to step up.

I will give them some second year blues last year (ignoring the 7 games in Owens actual first year), but they need to get it going next year.

Pou mostly just needs to continue with his late season performance for a full year.
Owens needs to really own his position, whatever forward to mid ratio it is. Something like 35+ goals for the year or equivalent assists if he gets more mid time.

Hopefully Garcia can keep pressing his case too. He only played 9 games last year so should be rising star eligible if he can earn some consistent games.

[cwrcyn]

Phillipou. More confident now with the in close work. Will be fitter and stronger.

Garcia. Manic, determined, fearless, and very quick. All qualities the coach loves

Henry. Outside run. Won't have to play as a clearance player with Phillipou, Garcia, and Macrae taking on that responsibility

Hastie. Very quick, strong skills, and the ability to weave through traffic

Clark. His creative talents will shine

[bobmurray]

Rivers and Bolton.

[Yorkeys]

Too hard.
For the first time in my memory I think there is not one stinker on our list, ie all currently listed are talented contributors. Someone with a low profile coming off a low body of work could be the one.

[Nick DalSanto Claus]

Pou, Henry and Garcia. I'm excited!!!

[Scollop]

Max King to win the Coleman

Windy to cement his place in the 22

Liam Henry and Darcy Wilson top 10 in the best and fairest

Liam Stocker to stick his knee (legally) into Dangerfield, breaking several of Patrick's ribs

[skeptic]

Max King to win the Coleman

Windy to cement his place in the 22

Liam Henry and Darcy Wilson top 10 in the best and fairest

Liam Stocker to stick his knee (legally) into Dangerfield, breaking several of Patrick's ribs

RE Stocker… you forgot to add in the Grandfinal, with the dastardly move widely acknowledged as the beginning of us blowing them apart.

[Dave McNamara]

Which player whether it be someone firmly inside the top 22 going from ok to great or fringe to sign him up for 5 years.

Contenders -
Byrnes
Caminiti
Coops
Windy
Owens
Henry
Schoenmaker
King
Keeler
Heath
Garcia

Call it

Garcia (another of Martin's men) and the Poe. Lock them in!

But, I hope it's King and Keeler. Because if so, we start winning flags! (Though adding another five years to King's current 7 year deal would be a bit extreme, don't you think...? )


This time last year I would have said Owens. In his first season, his ball handling struck me as what was holding him back. Then in 2023, that all seemed to come together. But for whatever reason/s, he didn't go on with it in 2024.


And for this time next year, I hope to be adding Lancey Boy to the list.

[B.M]

King

[SaintWiki]

I think Max will step up along with all the others mentioned. Thanks heaps sceptic, this thread made my day.

[SteeleSaints]

Our strength & conditioning team = nil injuries and games lost

[MCG-Unit]

Michito-san

Steele
Marshall

[saynta]

Wilson and the pou.

[Sanctorum]

King

On reflection, most definitely Max King, he is the key to open the door to the team's success .

If King seriously steps up in 2025, and achieves the potential that was predicted when he was drafted all those years ago at pick 4 in 2018, then St Kilda will most assuredly play finals and could even go all the way.

If he fails, then conversely St Kilda will need a plan B to kick high scores, and that is problematic....

[CQ SAINT]

King McRae (based on recent form) Garcia Windy Henry Phillipou

[Scollop]

The club is investigating the purchase of some alien cocoon type rocks. These will be placed in the pool at RSEA centre and all our older players will be energized with youthful vigour in 2025.

Hill, Wood, McRae, Steele, Howard, Wilkie, Marshall and Steele will be feeling and running like 21 year olds.

The investment in alien rocks will be paid for by renting out the pool to all the over 30's at Collingwood. We'll obviously be taking the real alien rocks out and replacing them with replicas when Tim Membrey and his Magpie team mates use our pool

Crouch will be right to go by ...say round 8.

Seb Ross will be a frequent visitor and we'll be looking to add him to the seniors in the mid season Draft

[skeptic]

Am also feeling hopeful RE Byrnes.

He’s not my favourite as he fades in and out of games too much and didn’t really improve in 2024 until the end of the year.

Someone here posted that his logical trajectory was to take more time and really come on in leaps and bounds with another preseason.
Here’s hoping. His best is very good

[cwrcyn]

He's got it in him. Inconsistent within games like Sinclair was at the same age. I've always felt that he had something to offer. The one thing that has held him back was his lack of physical strength but he made some headway last year in that regard.

His gut running is an asset in a Ross Lyon coached team and unlike many critics on here I think his foot skills and decision making are good.

I really want him to succeed. I love those guys who get there through sheer hard work and professionalism.

[spert]

Ross Lyon to step up in 2025

[Killa]

Howard, as our only tall defender facing the forward arsenal of competing teams is critical to this side

Ditto King as our only tall forward (noting Caminiti is developing and may even play in defence out of necessity)

Ditto Marshall as our only Ruckman at competition level

Which is why I do not limit the conversation to mids exclusively

Past this our conditioning staff, the first objective to get Clark on the park for the majority of games

It is contingent on the Footy Club to maximise on the performances of our senior players, now including Macrae, and to lead our kids, kids who with support from the senior core will gain confidence and improve accordingly including because games are being won

And what is on TV is continuing to bore me beyond compare

Is this Australia - or are we a State of America (no one mentioning tax cuts for businesses, accordingly increased deficits, inflation and higher interest rates already seen by the spike in 10 Year Bond Yields in the USA, Australia and elsewhere)