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Cornes: Saints should have backflipped on TDK, not Aleer
SEN • October 10th, 2025 11:46 am
St Kilda would have been better off backflipping on their deal to bring Tom De Koning to the club than to have reneged their pursuit of Leek Aleer, according to Kane Cornes.
The GWS defender was left shattered after St Kilda pulled out of their pursuit for his services in a bombshell decision on Thursday.
The Saints had reported interest in the 24-year-old for more than one full year now, and after he requested a trade to Moorabbin last month, most believed it would be a fait accompli that he’d be wearing the red, white and black in 2026.
For Cornes, the decision will come back to bite the Saints.
“It’s an interesting way to do business in a time when handshake agreements mean everything,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast. “This is the most drastic backflip I’ve ever seen.
“They have backflipped on the wrong guy. If they backflipped on anyone it should have been De Koning. Aleer is certainly worth the investment because it wasn’t a big investment.
“As a player who in two or three years could be an explosive intercept defender, he’s already one of the best spoilers in the game with the biggest vertical leap. It’s a big call to turn your back on him.
“I know why, it’s because he’s not managed by a powerful group like De Koning is so it’s easy to say no to him. But for a second-round pick I’d have done that deal.
“It’s going to come back to bite you, and I feel for Aleer who has been badly let down by a club that’s been chasing him for two years.
“If you want to be really ruthless you turn your back on De Koning.”
The Carlton ruckman left as a restricted free agent to take up a contract believed to be in the realm of $1.7-1.8m with the Saints.
The Giants reportedly asked for a future second-round pick in exchange for Aleer, which was something the Saints decided not to agree to.
It has also emerged that talks between the Saints and Geelong over Rowan Marshall have fallen over, adding to Cornes’ intrigue around the Aleer decision.
“It’s an easy, weak decision from the Saints,” Cornes continued. “You won’t find anyone in the industry that thinks they have done the right thing.
“I would rather Aleer than Marshall if I’m the Saints. Marshall is better now but what does it look like in five years?
“I would have traded Marshall out and used that asset to get Aleer in the door because it puts you in a better position in the future.”
