With Liam Henry (pictured) joining the likes of Bradley Hill and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera this year, the Saints have the need for speed! Photo: AFL MEDIA

ST KILDA
2023 record: 13 wins, 11 losses (7th)

THE INS
Liam Henry (Fremantle), Riley Bonner (Port Adelaide), Paddy Dow (Carlton), Darcy Wilson (Murray Bushrangers), Lance Collard (Subiaco), Angus Hastie (Geelong Falcons), Hugo Garcia (Calder Cannons), Arie Schoenmaker (Tasmania Devils), Liam O’Connell (Cork – GAA)

THE OUTS
Jade Gresham (Essendon), Jack Billings (Melbourne), Nick Coffield (Western Bulldogs), Daniel McKenzie (delisted), Tom Highmore (delisted), Jack Bytel (delisted – Collingwood), Leo Connolly (delisted), Jack Peris (delisted), Oscar Adams (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
Very few foresaw how well the Saints would perform last year, but under returning coach Ross Lyon, in his second stint at the club after 12 years away, they defied the odds to make the finals. Unsurprisingly, with Lyon back at the helm, they had the No.1 defence in the competition, despite finishing 10th in the league for inside-50s on differentials, with All-Australian stars Jack Sinclair and Callum Wilkie marshalling the troops back there. Not only is Sinclair heading into season 2024 with back-to-back green blazers in his closet, but also having won the Saints’ last two best-and-fairests. He is truly at the peak of his powers. St Kilda’s pace and class off half-back and on the wings has been further bolstered with former Docker Liam Henry, fresh from a breakout season, teaming up with the likes of Sinclair, Bradley Hill and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. Thanks largely to Sinclair, Brad Crouch, captain Jack Steele, Wanganeen-Milera, powerhouse ruckman Rowan Marshall and emerging star Mitch Owens, the Saints ranked fifth for disposals and contested possessions in the AFL last year, which went a long way to ensuring their top defensive ranking. Marshall has become one of the league’s premier big men, and coming off the best season of his life, which saw him average 27 hitouts, 21 disposals (11 contested), five clearances, five tackles and five marks a game, at 28 and with 110 games under his belt, he could easily press for All-Australian honours this year. Another big man, on whose shoulders St Kilda’s hopes largely rest, is Max King. He’s been looking good this pre-season, and if he can remain injury-free and straighten up his goalkicking, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t aim for 70 goals this year. The Saints also have an exciting batch of youngsters featuring King, Owens, Wanganeen-Milera, Henry, Marcus Windhager, Mattaes Phillipou and Anthony Caminiti. Meanwhile, eight players played every game last year, and a further seven missed 1-3 matches. That kind of stability and predictability within a team is crucial, and if that run of good fortune in the medical room continues in 2024, the Saints will be bullish not only about a return to the finals, but going deeper than they did last year.

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THE WEAKNESSES
As good as the Saints were defensively last year, it was a very different story at the other end of the ground where they had the fourth-worst attack in the league. When one considers that their two main pillars in attack King and Tim Membrey played only 18 games combined out of a possible 48, it’s understandable why they experienced such severe scoring struggles. Youngsters Owens, Caminiti and Cooper Sharman did a commendable job in attempting to cover the holes, but ultimately, their team finished a woeful 15th for contested marks and 12th for marks inside 50 in the competition in 2023. A ruckman (Marshall) and a backman (Wilkie) were St Kilda’s best contested markers last year, and when a small forward (Jack Higgins) is your No.1 target in attack, you know there’s a problem. A fit-and-firing King and Membrey is what St Kilda desperately needs this year if it wants to make it past the first week of the finals. Speaking of which, St Kilda was exposed badly on the counter by GWS in their elimination final as the Giants regularly marched the ball from defence to attack with minimal resistance and scorched the Saints with their blistering transition footy. At one stage, GWS piled on eight consecutive goals in just 35 minutes of playing time, so defending the ground better would no doubt have been a focus for the Saints over the summer. St Kilda also finished fourth-last for clearances last year. Outside of Crouch, Marshall and Steele, there wasn’t much grunt around the stoppages. Perhaps a fully fit Zak Jones, who only managed four matches last season, will assist them in that department in 2024.

ONE TO WATCH
Saints fans are going to be very happy with the acquisition of Liam Henry. After struggling to cement a spot as a small forward in his first three years with the Dockers, Henry moved to a wing in the second half of last season with devastating effects. In his last 10 games, he averaged 24 touches and registered the top six disposal tallies of his 43-game career.

UNDER THE PUMP
Under Brett Ratten, Ben Paton was a walk-up start to St Kilda’s backline. But under Lyon, that has all changed. The talented defender played the first 11 games last season, before falling out of favour and managing just one more senior match after the bye. The pressure is now on the 25-year-old as he enters the final year of his contract with Wanganeen-Milera, Windhager, Jimmy Webster and Liam Stocker all overtaking him in the pecking order.

BEST 22
B: Josh Battle, Zaine Cordy, Marcus Windhager
HB: Jack Sinclair, Callum Wilkie, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
C: Bradley Hill, Brad Crouch, Liam Henry
HF: Mattaes Phillipou, Tim Membrey, Mitch Owens
F: Jack Higgins, Max King, Daniel Butler
R: Rowan Marshall, Jack Steele, Seb Ross
Inter: Mason Wood, Zak Jones, Hunter Clark, Cooper Sharman
Emerg: Anthony Caminiti, Jimmy Webster, Liam Stocker, Ryan Byrnes

As Lyon said last year: “Possession is nine tenths of the law.” That’s why Zaine Cordy retains his spot in the best 18 at the expense of Dougal Howard. Howard has been very serviceable in defence over the years, but he will now be made to fight to get his spot back. With Caminiti, Webster, Stocker and Ryan Byrnes also squeezed out of the 22 for now, it shows that the Saints have pretty decent depth. And with the likes of Riley Bonner, Paton, big Jack Hayes and Paddy Dow also waiting in the wings, the fight for spots will be pretty heated this year if the Saints can avoid bad luck with injuries. St Kilda’s top pick from last year, and No.18 overall, Darcy Wilson has looked very sharp in the pre-season so far as well.

*all team stat rankings mentioned are based on differentials, not totals (apart from overall offence and defence).