At just 21, Max King’s team’s fortunes already rest largely on his broad shoulders. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

ST KILDA
2021 record: 10 wins, 12 losses (10th)

THE INS
Tom Campbell (North Melbourne), Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (Glenelg), Michito Owens (Sandringham Dragons), Marcus Windhager (Sandringham Dragons), Oscar Adams (Glenelg), Jack Peris (Sandringham Dragons), Josiah Kyle (Dandenong Stingrays)

THE OUTS
Luke Dunstan (Melbourne), Dylan Roberton (retired), Shaun McKernan (retired), Jake Carlisle (retired), James Frawley (retired), Jack Lonie (delisted), Paul Hunter (delisted), Oscar Clavarino (delisted), Sam Alabakis (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
It’s hard to go past inspirational captain Jack Steele as the Saints’ biggest strength. Since crossing from Greater Western Sydney, Steele has gradually morphed into one of the AFL’s premier players. His last two years in particular have been exceptional, averaging 26 touches (13 contested), seven tackles and six clearances a game in that period, while also kicking 24 goals and polling 46 Brownlow votes, which saw him finish equal third and equal fifth in the 2020 and 2021 counts respectively. Last year he was ranked No.1 in the competition for tackles and 10th for contested possessions. The Saints also have one of the game’s most exciting young ruckmen at their disposal in Rowan Marshall, who has the potential to become one of the AFL’s very best players in the next couple of years. Steele and Marshall have a solid support crew in the middle featuring Brad Crouch, Jack Billings, Zak Jones and Jack Sinclair. Up forward they have an effective trio in Max King (38 goals last year), Tim Membrey (34) and Jack Higgins (27), that trio combining for 99, and they’ll only get stronger with the return of Jade Gresham from an achilles injury. King, in particular, could be absolutely anything, and if he straightens up his goalkicking, he will be an unstoppable force. St Kilda has an exciting array of talented youngsters down back too with the likes of Dougal Howard, Callum Wilkie, Hunter Clark, Tom Highmore and Ben Paton, who missed all of last year due to a broken leg, all 25 or younger. Contested marking is a really strong area from which the Saints can build. Last year, thanks largely to King, Membrey and Marshall, they were ranked sixth in that statistic on differentials. Wins against Brisbane and Sydney late in the season were the highlights, but also served as frustrating reminders of what could have been for them in 2021.

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THE WEAKNESSES
After such a promising 2020 season, which included their first finals win in 10 years, the Saints went backwards dramatically last year. And perhaps buoyed by a sense of not being far off the pace after making it to the semi-finals, they were seduced into loading up again with mature recycled players such as Crouch, James Frawley, Shaun McKernan, Paul Hunter and Mason Wood. Crouch has been a fine pick-up, but three of those players are no longer on the list and Wood hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, so the repeat performance fell well short of their 2019 spree when they picked up Paddy Ryder, Bradley Hill, Jones, Dan Butler and Dougal Howard. St Kilda slipped back into mediocrity last year, finishing the 2021 season with the 12th-ranked attack and the No.10 defence in the competition. The Saints’ midfield potency diminished as they came in 12th for clearances, 11th for disposals and 10th for contested possessions. That meant supply became a real issue because Brett Ratten’s side ended up 10th for total inside 50s, 14th for goals per inside 50 and 10th for marks inside 50 (on differentials). And they got hit the other way as well as an under-fire backline had to contend with being part of a side that was 10th for inside 50s conceded and also 10th for goals conceded per inside 50. All of those numbers point to a stark reality for the Saints – they are bang average and need to improve dramatically in many areas to change that. Unsurprisingly, St Kilda posted a woeful 3-8 record against the top-eight teams last year. Losses to the Western Bulldogs (111 points), Essendon (75) and Port Adelaide (54) were hard to swallow, but defeats to Richmond (86), Carlton (31) and their Cairns debacle against Adelaide (six) really exposed their soft underbelly. Every club suffers injuries, but in fairness, the Saints did have a rough time of it with Paton (22), Dan Hannebery (20), Gresham (19), Jarryn Geary (19), Dean Kent (15), Ryder (10), Marshall (nine), Jones (nine) and Hunter Clark (nine) injured or unavailable for a combined 132 games at an average of 15 per player.

ONE TO WATCH
All eyes will be on King this year. At just 21, his team’s fortunes already rest largely on his shoulders. Last year, in just his second full season, he led the club for goals (38), contested marks (48) and marks inside 50 (51). Make no mistake, this precocious youngster is already the main focal point up forward. However, his career accuracy of 54.5 per cent needs to head north sharply if he is to become the superstar that so many believe he can become. If he can fix his radar in 2022, the sky is the limit for him.

UNDER THE PUMP
Hannebery enters the fourth year of a lucrative contract this season, having played just 15 games for the Saints. It’s already one of the great list management bungles of the modern era and despite his undoubted impact he has on the odd occasion he gets out on the park, there’s no room for him in the best 23 at this stage because his body is just too unreliable. To his credit, he has renegotiated his contract and will accept less money this year, which has now become his final year of his contract after falling well short of benchmarks to trigger the fifth year of the deal. If the former Swan gets ravaged by soft-tissues injuries again in 2022, it’s hard to see how he stays on the list in 2023.

BEST 23
B: Jimmy Webster, Dougal Howard, Callum Wilkie
HB: Hunter Clark, Tom Highmore, Ben Paton
C: Bradley Hill, Jack Steele, Jack Billings
HF: Jack Higgins, Tim Membrey, Jade Gresham
F: Dan Butler, Max King, Cooper Sharman
R: Rowan Marshall, Brad Crouch, Zak Jones
Inter: Paddy Ryder, Jack Sinclair, Seb Ross, Jarryn Geary, Ryan Byrnes
Emerg: Josh Battle, Dan Hannebery, Jack Bytel

The loss of Nick Coffield, who tore his ACL a few weeks ago, is a big blow to the backline, but his absence gets offset somewhat by the returns of Paton, Geary and the brilliant Gresham who can play in the midfield or up forward. There’s no room for senior players such as Ben Long, Daniel McKenzie, Kent, Hannebery or Wood at this stage but, like Jack Bytel, Josh Battle, Leo Connolly and Darragh Joyce, they will definitely be in the selection frame throughout the year.