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Sport Nation
How to tune into Sport NationWhy Hird admires St Kilda's aggressive recruitment tactics
SEN • September 30th, 2025 6:45 pm
St Kilda have heavily revised their list building model, and James Hird believes it’s a transition that could launch them into the AFL’s upper echelon in the coming years.
After years of attacking the draft, the Saints have found themselves in no-mans-land, consistently finishing around the eighth-place mark without finding success, costing themselves any chance of landing premium draftees while also struggling to progress up the ladder.
In 2025, a 12th placed finish carried on their unwanted streak of 15 years outside the top five, having won just one final since their Grand Final loss in 2010. However approaching the off-season, the side’s list management, led by Stephen Silvagni, have opted out of their typical draft route.
Throwing haymakers within the AFL’s free agency and trade space, the Saints have already landed commitments from free agents Tom De Koning (Carlton), Jack Silvagni (Carlton) and Leek Aleer (GWS), whist West Coast’s Liam Ryan has requested to join the club via trade.
Beyond the already-interested talents, Gold Coast’s Sam Flanders has been offered a lucrative deal to join the St Kilda influx, while home-grown talents Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Marcus Windhager have recommitted ahead of 2026.
While their top-end spend and recruitment flurry appears to be a major win for the Saints, Trade Radio’s Tom Morris believes the club isn’t guaranteed success with their new-look list.
“They’re having a crack; they’re running towards the fire,” Morris told Trade Radio.
“This is going to go one of two ways: it’s either going to blow up, or it’s going to give them a chance to win their second premiership.”
Although Hird concedes their potential success is yet to be determined, he holds firm in his belief that the club is taking the right steps in progressing towards waters uncharted since 2010.
“(There is) more chance of them going towards winning their second premiership (than not),” Hird conceded.
“Everyone heard of the Tom De Koning offer, then the Nasiah $2 million (contract), then (Jack) Silvagni… it was a bit like, ‘wow!’ Not sure what was going on, and not sure how everyone felt about it.
“But the more and more you think about it, you go ‘that’s right’. Four years of drafting, and then you bring in free agency or you trade, that is the way the best clubs go.
“One of the things he did say was all about ‘build from a position of strength’. It’s very hard for the clubs down the bottom now without a position of strength to build, because who wants to come to your club?
“You talk about Christian Petracca; he doesn’t want to go to a bottom four club. You talk about Zach Merrett; he doesn’t want to go to a bottom four club. They want to go to clubs in a strong position, and that’s why the strong stay strong.
“I think what St Kilda has done, the President (Andrew Bassat) has come in and put the people in charge of list management in and said, ‘this is where we’re going’. It’s to be admired.
“I hope they do well, because they’ve taken the risk but it’s a risk with salary cap space as well.”
