St Kilda Saints: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds

Mick Stirling

St Kilda Saints: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds image

Whether St Kilda was really on the verge of a finals campaign in 2018 is up for debate, but there was definitely a wide belief they were at least heading in the right direction.

However, by the end of the season things looked grim and Alan Richardson only has the coaching turnarounds of Damien Hardwick and Nathan Buckley to thank for keeping his job.

Paddy McCartin, Blake Acres, Jack Billings, Hugh Goddard and Ben Long all failed to make any real progress towards becoming the players the Saints need them to be, and while a lot of their problems were due to injuries they’re of the sort that can continue to dog careers.

St Kilda targeted some big names in the trade period but fell short on all but Dan Hannebery, arguably because nobody else saw the battle-weary Swan as a wise investment.

As a result the Saints go into 2019 with a list that looks no stronger than the one that finished 16th, unless the untapped talent already inside Moorabbin can somehow make its way to the surface.

List changes

In

Dan Hannebery (Sydney), Dean Kent (Melbourne), Max King (Sandringham Dragons), Jack Bytel (Calder Cannons), Matthew Parker (South Fremantle), Nick Hind (Essendon VFL), Robert Young (North Adelaide)


Rookies

Callum Wilkie (North Adelaide)

Out

Ray Connellan, Nathan Freeman, Sam Gilbert, Hugh Goddard, Darren Minchington, Maverick Weller, Nathan Wright, Koby Stevens

Best Brownlow chances

Jack Steven $51, Dan Hannebery $151

Steven won his fourth best and fairest award in 2018 and finished equal eighth in the Brownlow – just imagine what he could do if his teammates lifted a bit and the Saints put a few more wins on the board.

#Jack Steven

In 2015 and 2016 Hannebery finished fifth in the Brownlow and was one of the most damaging players in the competition, but just two years later and he’s become one of the most damaged. Unless the medical team at St Kilda has access to the fountain of youth, odds of $151 seem optimistic.

Players to watch

Paddy McCartin, Jack Billings

It’s time for McCatin and Billings to stand up.

McCartin is a big man and they take longer to develop, but he’s had four years in the system and is yet to have even a moment that gives fans a reason to be positive about the future. To make matters worse, he isn’t compensating for his lack of marks and goals with forward pressure, averaging less than a tackle per match and ranking 642nd of the 658 players that took the field in 2018. Max King’s arrival is really going to up the pressure on Paddy.

#paddy mccartin

And Jack Billings isn’t travelling much better. The third pick in the 2013 draft is a modern-day Richard Tambling, always compared to the man taken with the next selection which in this case is Marcus Bontempelli. It looked like Billings had found his feet in 2017 but last season was a step in the wrong direction and, heading into season six and the end of his current contract, he wants to start making a statement now or he could find himself on the trade table.

A last chance to watch?

Dylan Roberton, David Armitage

Roberton had been a rare positive story at St Kilda since crossing from Fremantle at the end of 2012, turning his game around and becoming an influential and creative defender to the point of being an All Australian nominee in 2017 and runner up in the club’s best and fairest award. But then disaster struck and the 27-year-old collapsed during the round four clash against Geelong, missing the rest of the season and having a device installed in his chest to try and determine the cause of an irregular heartbeat. Roberton isn’t out of the woods yet and, while it would be a huge loss for the Saints if he doesn’t play again, heart problems aren’t to be taken lightly and his health will always be the priority.


 

After 12 seasons and 167 games, David Armitage is likely to be heading into his final year of AFL football. He’s only 30 years old but seems to be out of favour despite managing 15 senior appearances in 2018, dropped three times as Alan Richardson looks for youth to take the group forwards. ‘Armo’s dedication to St Kilda can’t be questioned and he still gives his all every time he pulls on the jumper, but it’s hard to see him getting the opportunity to strut his stuff too often in the future.

St Kilda Saints’ 2019 list

No. Name Games Date of birth Height, weight Position
8 Acres, Blake  56  7 Oct 1995  190cm 92kg Midfield
20 Armitage, David  167  16 Jun 1988  185cm 88kg Midfield
24 Austin, Logan  20  8 Jul 1995  196cm 92kg Defender
26 Battle, Josh  1 Sep 1998  193cm 88kg Forward
15 Billings, Jack  85  18 Aug 1995  184cm 81kg Forward
22 Brown, Nathan  167  17 Dec 1988  196cm 99kg Defender
27 Bruce, Josh  91  8 Jun 1992  197cm 102kg  Forward
  Bytel, Jack  14 Mar 2000 188cm 78kg Midfield
2 Carlisle, Jake  124  1 Oct 1991  201cm 104kg Defender
11 Clark, Hunter  15  26 Mar 1999  186cm 79kg Midfield
38 Clavarino, Oscar  22 May 1999  195cm 86kg Defender
33 Coffield, Nicholas  10  23 Oct 1999  191cm 82kg Midfield
7 Dunstan, Luke  85  29 Jan 1995  184cm 85kg Midfield
14 Geary, Jarryn  183  23 Jun 1988  182cm 82kg Defender
4 Gresham, Jade  62  24 Aug 1997  177cm 79kg Forward
10 Hannebery, Daniel  208  24 Feb 1991  181cm 79kg Midfield
  Hind, Nick  19 Aug 1994 180cm 70kg Midfield
39 Joyce, Darragh (R)  23 Apr 1997  194cm 90kg Defender
16 Kent, Dean  63  24 Feb 1994  179cm 86kg Forward
  King, Max  7 Jul 2000 204cm 90kg Defender
46 Langlands, Doulton (R)  29 Jul 1999  187cm 78kg Midfield
21 Long, Ben  14  21 Aug 1997  182cm 74kg Forward
18 Longer, Billy  65  12 May 1993  202cm 105kg Ruck
13 Lonie, Jack  50  13 Aug 1996  174cm 71kg Forward
43 Marshall, Rowan (R)  13  24 Nov 1995  201cm 101kg Forward
32 McCartin, Patrick  35  19 Apr 1996  194cm 100kg Forward
36 McKenzie, Daniel  34  17 May 1996  184cm 83kg Defender
28 Membrey, Tim  70  26 May 1994  188cm 89kg Forward
16 Newnes, Jack  135  24 Feb 1993  184cm 86kg Defender
  Parker, Matthew 0 25 Jan 1996 187cm 79kg Forward
45 Paton, Ben  19 Oct 1998  186cm 77kg Defender
30 Phillips, Edward  29 Mar 1998  187cm 80kg Midfield
42 Pierce, Lewis (R)  16 Nov 1994  203cm 104kg Ruck
37 Rice, Bailey  11  10 Feb 1997  184cm 88kg Defender
17 Roberton, Dylan  128  21 Jun 1991  194cm 91kg Defender
6 Ross, Sebastian  102  7 May 1993  187cm 88kg Midfield
5 Savage, Shane  141  5 Jan 1991  186cm 84kg Defender
35 Sinclair, Jack  64  12 Feb 1995  180cm 82kg Midfield
9 Steele, Jack  58  13 Dec 1995  187cm 90kg Midfield
3 Steven, Jack  176  28 Mar 1990  180cm 84kg Midfield
29 Webster, Jimmy  85  28 Jun 1993  188cm 79kg Defender
31 White, Brandon  10  13 Jan 1997  188cm 85kg Defender
  Wilkie, Callum (R) 0 10 Mar 1996 191cm 87kg Defender
  Young, Robert 0 2 Mar 1995 179cm 75kg Forward

Dan Hannebery

St Kilda Saints’ 2019 Fixture 

Round Date Opponent Venue
1 Sunday 24 Mar 1:10pm  Gold Coast Marvel Stadium
2 Saturday 30 Mar 4:35pm Essendon Marvel Stadium
3 Sunday 7 Apr 3:20pm  Fremantle Optus Stadium
4 Sunday 14 Apr 3:20pm Hawthorn Marvel Stadium
5 Saturday 20 Apr 4:35pm Melbourne MCG
6 Saturday 27 Apr 4:35pm Adelaide Marvel Stadium
7 Saturday 4 May 1:45pm  GWS Giants  Canberra Oval
8 Saturday 11 May 7:25pm  West Coast Marvel Stadium
9 Saturday 18 May 1:45pm Collingwood MCG
10 Sunday 26 May 3:20pm Carlton Marvel Stadium
11 Sunday 2 Jun 12:40pm  Port Adelaide  Jiangwan Stadium
12 BYE    
13 Saturday 15 Jun 1:45pm  Gold Coast  Riverway Stadium
14 Saturday 22 Jun 4:35pm Brisbane Marvel Stadium
15 Sunday 30 Jun 1:10pm Richmond Marvel Stadium
16 Sunday 7 Jul 3:20pm  North Melbourne  Blundstone Arena
17 Saturday 13 Jul 7:25pm  Geelong GMHBA Stadium
18 Sunday 21 Jul 4:40pm  Western Bulldogs Marvel Stadium
19 Saturday 27 Jul 7:25pm Melbourne Marvel Stadium
20 Saturday 3 Aug 7:10pm  Adelaide Adelaide Oval
21 Sunday 11 Aug 1:10pm Fremantle Marvel Stadium
22 Saturday 17 Aug 1:45pm Carlton MCG
23 TBC  Sydney SCG

Games played on

Saturday: 12
Sunday: 9

Teams played twice

Carlton, Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Gold Coast

2019 Preview and premiership odds

Expectations have changed greatly in the past 12 months and not many people will be thinking St Kilda’s 2019 can go into Spring, reflected by the $67 on offer for the flag – equal 15th - and, to be honest, shorter than the reality.

The Saints unveiled their ‘2020 vision’ in the 2014 pre-season, a blueprint that would see them top four in 2018 and with a flag two years later, but with the first step already a failure it will take a miracle to get the plan back on track.

Richardson needs to find a way of extracting the best from every player at his disposal, not only to get wins on the board, but to keep his job, so expect to see him emulate the let-‘em-play style of coaching that’s flooded the market since Luke Beveridge brought back ‘free love’ to a level that hadn’t been seen since Woodstock.

If McCartin, Bruce and Membrey can all fire up forwards, Hannebery get back to his best and lift the midfield around him, and Jake Carlisle become an inspirational leader in defence, then this club can start delivering on its promise.

But that’s a lot of ‘ifs’.

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Mick Stirling