That's all well and good but clubs must spend at least 95% of their TPP. If the Saints had an underspend this year. they must still have forked out at least $16.8M. Next season's TPP is rolled in with an increase of the soft cap but it's set at $18.4M for 2027 so, split the difference and go with $18M. That goes up to $18.9M if they did have a 5% underspend. With Nas and TDK raking in at least $3.8M, they've only got $15.1M to pay the other 40 odd players. Take out $800K for Leek Aleer and possibly another $800K for Silvagni, and that drops their available budget to $13.5M. That's around $350K each and Steele, Hill, King, Sinclair, Wilkie and Marshall all get considerably more than that. Haircuts and frontloading doesn't get you from $16.8M down to $15.1M or lower and they will be pushing players out the door.
I'm not saying that they can't afford to pay players next season but it's not sustainable and they won't be able retain their young talent.
By my maths, when you take away 5.45M from the TPP for TDK (1.85M), NWM (2M), SOS(0.8M) and Alir (0.8M), , it leaves an average of around 300K for the other 41 players. Enjoy the carnage Saints.
They will be adding Ryan and possibly McKenzie and/or Flanders. Those players won't be joining Stkilda on 300k a year...how are they affording it ?
Saints must have managed their list well with money still available to chase Ryan, Aleer,Mckenzie and Flanders. A lot of it seems to have been front ended with their present playing list hence they are in a position to have this war chest to attack the trade period. You can criticise who SOS has picked over the years but he does manipulate his draft hand well turning picks into more picks and now seems to be ahead of the game how he has managed the money and one thing that hasnt been discussed is how he has timed his buying spree during what is a perceived weak draft which is smart.
I think SOS is better at his job after the GWS and Carlton experience where he had his hit and misses. Its probably going to be his last recruiting job especially if the Saints fail to fire a shot in the next couple of years. Does he enjoy seeing us suffer and fail, yep Im sure he does, does he make it a priority in his job to try and screw us over, probably not. Will he stop at trying to recruit our best players??...I dont think so. Eg Id be predicting Sam Walsh gets a mega offer from several clubs including Stkilda and we might see another TDK scenario.
Agree, he gives effort and I like how he puts himself on the line in marking contests, needs to clean up some aspects of his game but its a good reward for his persistence.
Going to need to have a good 2026 and pocket some money for Sam Walsh too, Cal Twomey says he expects him to stay but we will need to have a good year and with three clubs according to him in the chase too its probably going to be another TDK scenario with monster offers to contend with.
I'm not knocking his output in recent games just wary of anointing him as the new Eddie Betts and naming a grandstand after him because he has played a couple of good games in a row. Seen it all before in our 30 year drought with players who teased then disappeared just as quickly as they arrived. I'll be more convinced vs regular decent opposition when he gets a bit more attention and is less of a novelty player with higher expectations.
Is anyone actually claiming that Franky is the next Eddie Betts or that he should get a long term contract?
It seems to me that most folk think that he should get another year on the rookie list as a handy depth player. He has played ten AFL games for us, against decent opposition, and after a slow start, has performed pretty well. His VFL player ranking this season is 9.5/10 as opposed to his previous highest ranking of 6/10 in the SANFL. His AFL stats are superior to Bobby Hill and Charlie Cameron in virtually every category, but he's a long way behind Kosi Pickett. As Vossy has stated, his body of work in the VFL and AFL since June has been outstanding.
As I said previously, this is his last chance and I reckon he has given it his best shot. I also suspect that part of his improvement is down to his teammates' improved confidence in his ability to perform his role, and he hasn't let them down.
Your comparing him to Bobby Hill and Charlie Cameron....?.....this is my point, a couple of good games and Frank is now Norm Smith Medalist and Premiership quality in some folks minds. Port might want him back, they have that 30 mill@ 12 year contract with the ink still wet, just change the name....be a real steal.
I'm not knocking his output in recent games just wary of anointing him as the new Eddie Betts and naming a grandstand after him because he has played a couple of good games in a row. Seen it all before in our 30 year drought with players who teased then disappeared just as quickly as they arrived. I'll be more convinced vs regular decent opposition when he gets a bit more attention and is less of a novelty player with higher expectations.
EB, respectfully I think you’re the only one with that fear, the rest of us are saying “at round 10 Frankie was delist material but we have seen something, give him 1 maybe 2 as list spot 44” At list spot 44 I think most teams would sign him up. What we need to start doing is nailing picks and trades
Respectfully NB I dont think any of the top teams would look at him given he has had two clubs, not shown anything and most have some quality small forwards. We are a bottom club with not much attraction so I get we cant be too picky and have to have some faith when a player performs. As I said I am ok with giving him another year to prove me wrong, if he can reproduce his last two weeks form on a consistent basis over 2026 then happy to give him a two year deal. We just have a history of giving average players lengthy contracts and getting burnt and we need to be bit more diligent in making sure we get it right especially with a small sample size like we have with Frank. Agree we need to start nailing picks and trades, we need better quality as Wright suggested but if players like Khamis are on the radar its just more of that fringe unproven type that wont get us anywhere so I hope we raise the bar and get some best 22 types.
Im not anti giving Frank another year but I wouldnt be giving him 2-3..... we are where we are for a reason and Wright has determined its not the coach and says we need better players and more depth so changes have to happen. Id be replacing the List manager but that seems unlikely..
Agree with a short extension only as like you said until he proves he can do it on a live game against decent opposition he only gets one year.
However I must say there is something about this bloke i like - he has real energy when he is involved and looks to play for the jumper. His game against GC was very impressive as that game did have something riding on it for them. Could become a bit of a cult hero if he can continue that sort of form into 2026.
His biggest quality is his ability to spot and then be able to hit a forward target -which as we all know this has always been an area we are well below par in. And yes while the last month is not as important as when the games mean something its still nice to see as blokes like Durdin, Hollands and Acres still spray em and kick straight to opposition regardless, so i was very impressed with that aspect of Evans game.
I'm not knocking his output in recent games just wary of anointing him as the new Eddie Betts and naming a grandstand after him because he has played a couple of good games in a row. Seen it all before in our 30 year drought with players who teased then disappeared just as quickly as they arrived. I'll be more convinced vs regular decent opposition when he gets a bit more attention and is less of a novelty player with higher expectations.
The Professional List Manager and crew have us 5-6 games outside the top 8-9 and playing dead rubbers since midway through the season and have our No 1 ruckman and CHB more than likely leaving the club....keep up the good work Nick.
Thing is, so did Richmond's in 2016 after 3 years in the EF. So did the Pies List manager who were 17th in 2017 as well. Melbourne missed finals in 2020 and Goodwin just survived. Our's also had an unlucky miss in 2022, PF in 2023 and 2nd place at round 20 last until before decimated by injury. We do need a few odd changes to keep with the current game but hopefully now we are on to that. We need players with good footskills and footy IQ, Evan's has a heap of that. Not going to Cyril but will be good to have around. Had a great VFL year, took his time to find his feet in our AFL side, especially trying to be a small forward at Carlton (what a rotten job that is) but eventually it clicked. Gold Coast game certainly wasn't a dead rubber for the Suns. They were full on, and Evan's was great, couldn't have been better. You can only do what you can with what's in front of you, and he has been great since he come back, especially given by then he was able to gel with teammates.
Im not anti giving Frank another year but I wouldnt be giving him 2-3..... we are where we are for a reason and Wright has determined its not the coach and says we need better players and more depth so changes have to happen. Id be replacing the List manager but that seems unlikely..
Did you guys not see the excellent lace out passing, particularly the one down Moir's throat a week or two ago?
Forget the finishing work. He was a "VFL player" delistee who isnt up to it, and has outshone vastly superior players on game day with his ball use, AND ability to make a good decision in the thick of it.
THAT is why he is being lauded.
Sometimes the armchair list managers find it hard to admit that the professionals know what they’re doing 😎
Evans is a marginal player. The fact that he’s at his third club indicates that three professional list managers felt that he was good enough but two subsequently decided that there were better options.
Evans body of work against VFL and AFL opponents in the second half of the season suggests very strongly that Austin and co made an astute decision in picking him up - as they did with leaving Liam McMahon to the Bombers.
I suspect that there’s also an element of last chance saloon and Franky is having a red hot crack at staying in the game.
19 disposals at 84%, seven contested possessions, three goals straight (should have been four!), 12 score involvements, five marks, five tackles and two clearances is a decent day at the office, against any opposition.
As you say Thry, his ball use and decision making has been very good and may be a consequence of his AFL experience at three clubs.
We’d be crazy not to extend his rookie contract.
The Professional List Manager and crew have us 5-6 games outside the top 8-9 and playing dead rubbers since midway through the season and have our No 1 ruckman and CHB more than likely leaving the club....keep up the good work Nick.
It’s funny how when we win the opposition is always VFL standard 🙄
Many of the blokes in our squad last night spent a significant part of the season in the VFL and the Essendon squad was just a tad more experienced than ours.
Essendon got within three goals of the Swans (twice) and Brisbane, flogged Melbourne and managed five other wins. Not bad for a VFL side 🙂
You forgot the bit about Essendon losing 12 in a row and having the record for 15 debutants in the one season including a record 4 mid season rookie picks.
Did you guys not see the excellent lace out passing, particularly the one down Moir's throat a week or two ago?
Forget the finishing work. He was a "VFL player" delistee who isnt up to it, and has outshone vastly superior players on game day with his ball use, AND ability to make a good decision in the thick of it.
THAT is why he is being lauded.
When a player gets the boot from two previous clubs where he had zero impact and was unsighted when it mattered in the first half of this season excuse me for not getting excited when he gets a few kicks in the dead rubber part of the season. Durdin, Fantasia, Motlop, White, Williams etc have all had the moments during the season and I see Evans as no different other than he has come from a lower base along with White being a supp add on player and all of them imo are in the unproven basket and need careful scrutiny for the future.
Still don't get the fascination for Evans, Young & White.
Agree, getting possessions vs Essendons VFL team and the other half ar$ed teams we have played in the back half of the season in dead rubbers isnt convincing enough for me. I want to see a consistent body of work vs the top 8 teams when the season is live , we are 5-6 games out of the eight for a reason and its either the coach, the list or both imho. This is where stupid teams start signing these players up to multi year contracts and getting burnt when these players fail vs the top teams when the heat is really on. We need to be really careful and only offer short term deals to any of these unproven players until we have more evidence they are the real deal.
Laverde and Durham out for Essendon, we should win by 15 goals. Usually these games are a must watch but it's hard to get interested given their injuries and nothing to play for apart from pride..
?.....this is my point, a couple of good games and Frank is now Norm Smith Medalist and Premiership quality in some folks minds.