We start our previews with the team that demanded everyone’s attention following the 2025 season. With a bold recruitment strategy, and a take-no-prisoners attitude to list management, St Kilda have great expectations on them this season.
Is it a bit too early to think they’ll be playing September footy? I mean, lists take time to come together, and there’ll be bound to be teething problems, right?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
We’ll find out pretty quickly, but with one of the most talented groups of young players in the game, and a young man who went from extremely bright prospect to absolute superstar in a matter of months, there is something bubbling at Moorabbin. Even if their fans have been burnt in the past, they just have to be feeling it.
As much as they’ll deny it, they feel it.
I feel it.
Do you?
Time flies, doesn’t it?
It feels like just yesterday that the Lions went back-to-back, and we watched them take the premiership cup back to Brisbane so Chris Fagan could take it down to his local café again and impress the locals.
But that was 2025.
We’re steaming toward a new season, and as we do, it is time to turn our attention away from the glory of last year and look at the possibilities of the new one.
The players have been on the track for a while now – the Christmas break is over, and as we work through January, the charge into the new season ramps right up.
This is where premierships are won and lost. This is where improvements are made and lists come together. This is where the kids show if they’re serious or not, and young projects become the next group of stars. New faces, new colours, old heads with renewed passion… so much feeds into the making of a contender. And as the days tick down toward the intra-club clashes, practice games, and eventually the real stuff, questions are raised about each team and how they’re going to perform in this new season.
And that’s where HB and The Mongrel come in.
We don’t do things by halves here, at The Mongrel Punt. When we do a season preview, we go all in to make sure it is the best, most comprehensive coverage you’ll receive. We pride ourselves on it. If you want to read one season preview for your team, or any team, this series will provide what you’re after.
The way it works is as follows.
Each club has a minimum of 15 questions asked about the upcoming season, their coaches, their players, and their expectations. The answers are not glossed over. We dive deep on each and every one of them – some singular answers would normally be long enough for an entire column. The first five questions/answers are free for you to consume. The next 10-14 for each club are for our members, including a special appearance from Mrs Mongrel to throw her two cents in the mix.
Isn’t it a bit early for a season preview? Well, I suppose, but do you know how long it takes to write seven-to-nine thousand words? That’s 18 x 8,000… gets out the calculator… that’s 144,000 words. The average novel is about 85,000 words, so buckle the hell up with these previews; HB goes deeper than anyone else covering the game..
Also, if there are any issues that arise after the publication of the preview for any team, they will be covered in standalone articles to act as additions to this preview.
You will not read a more comprehensive season preview than this – I guarantee it. This is where we start the run to the new season, and believe me – nobody does it better than The Mongrel.
The Saints have recruited Tom De Koning, retained Rowan Marshall, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, and Marcus Windhager, brought in Liam Ryan, Sam Flanders, and Jack Silvagni. And they lost Jack Steele, Zak Jones, and Zaine Cordy.
Even though Steele will be missed, this is a massive net gain.
With Ross Lyon at the helm, Mattaes Phillipou and Max King returning from long-term injuries (hopefully, in King’s case), and a host of high-quality kids coming through, the Saints look poised to make the leap.
And still… I worry about whether our expectations are too high.
I am a firm believer in teams taking a while to gel. There has been upheaval at St Kilda – yes, a fantastic upheaval – but there is a part of me that thinks that maybe, just maybe, it’ll take them 12 months to truly work into the type of cohesive unit that will cause some havoc.
Of course, I have been wrong before…
I guess it’s time to explore the Saints for 2026. Let’s jump into The Big Questions.
1 – DOES THE MESSIAH HAVE YET ANOTHER LEVEL?
It’s a scary thought.
Dominating off half-back, the Saints looked to get the footy into his hands whenever they could in the first half of the season. He was leading The Mongrel Punt Defensive Player of the Year Award for three quarters of the season, such was his prowess as a rebounding runner.
But then came the Ross Lyon sting in the tail.
Perhaps a little ahead of schedule, Nas went from half-back who moonlighted as a midfielder, to full-time on-baller. And the results were spectacular!
Over the last six games, he averaged 6.33 clearances per game and 5.7 inside 50s. Extend those numbers out across an entire season, and he would sit in the top 12 in clearances, and the top eight in inside 50s.
We all remember what he did against the Demons – that is something that will stick in our minds long after Wanganeen-Milera has hung up the boots. If he had not yet completely announced himself to the entirety of the footy world, that was the day all eyes turned to the young man in red, white, and black.
That was the day he genuinely arrived as a superstar.
But plenty missed the signs along the way.
They missed his 30+ disposal games in 2024. They missed his bullet-like passes as he took on the tough kicks through the guts nobody else would.
They missed that one of the most astute football minds in the business trusted this kid to be his best distributor from half-back.
And they missed the myriad skills he combined to intercept, rebound, and drive the Saints forward.
They were all there – all on full display. But really, only the St Kilda faithful understood what they had. They, too, marvelled at the magnificence of his “I’m the man” performance against the Dees, but they already knew what was coming. They’d watched. They’d taken notice.
His re-signing with the club gave the Saints everything they needed to lure others to the team. Without Nas putting pen to paper, I am not sure the Saints become the mover and shaker of the 2025 off-season. Just like on-field, Wanganeen-Milera made things happen off it, as well.
And now comes a season where he no longer gets to fly under the radar of anyone. How does he handle it?
Against the Swans, he will get James Jordon for company. Against the Dees, Ed Langdon will wander across to introduce himself. And against the Giants, Toby Bedford will look to make his acquaintance. There is no shortage of defensive mids salivating at the opportunity to be the man that shuts NWM down, just as they do when their teams come up against Collingwood and Nick Daicos.
Overcoming those players and their tactics is the level Nasiah will have to get to. Beating them – breaking them and their will – that is what will separate him from those others who are great when they don’t get defensive attention, but fall in a heap when they do.
It is what has always made great players something special. And even the great ones have needed a bit of help along the way.
I ask this – who runs interference for him when the taggers come knocking? Who steps in front o them and introduces Oisin Mullin or Finn Maginness to their hip and shoulder to buy him space. This will be one of the aspects the club will have to work through. Allowing a tagger free rein over Nasiah cannot be accepted, regardless of how good he is and what he can overcome on his own. They need to stand up for their guy so he can remain THE guy.
Nas will be 23 when the season commences. He has placed his trust in Ross Lyon, his system, and the club. Sure, a two-year deal is like dipping a toe in the water in terms of deals, but it is a wise move. Wanganeen-Milera wants success, and he sees what is possible with his current team. His role will make it happen.
At 29.9 disposals per game, the sky is the limit for him. 30+ in 2026 seems like a given, but more scoreboard impact, more clearances (he was at 3.1 per game across the entirety of 2025) and more inside 50 deliveries (4.0) is what will see his value increase even more. Given the way he ended 2025, is a top five spot in both the goal, now?
If he does, indeed, have another level to go to, St Kilda fans are in for one hell of a ride. They went 4-1 over their last five games with Wanganeen-Milera as the undoubted centrepiece of their side. What can they do with a whole season where he gets top billing?
I cannot wait to find out.
2 – HOW IMPORTANT WAS RETAINING ROWAN MARSHALL?
Rowan has said all the right things to this point. After a failed trade request to Geelong, he has indicated that he will give 2026 his all for the Saints. But there is an undercurrent to this plot.
What if this dual-ruck tactic genuinely works?
Marshall is a number one ruck. In his heart, he wants to be the number one guy, and the acquisition of Tom De Koning obviously meant the club didn’t completely share that opinion. Sure, they rate him highly – I think everyone loves what Marshall brings – but the cold, hard facts are that St Kilda ranked dead last for hit outs last season, with 32.6 per game.
You can be great around the ground, and bob up for a few marks here and there (Marshall averaged just 0.78 contested grabs and 2.39 intercept possessions per game in 2025) but unless you’re going to provide first use to your midfielders, are you really deserving of the number one ruck mantle? And should the club not attempt to improve?
Well, the Saints voted with their feet and brought in De Koning, whose leap is supposed to be ideally suited to the new “jump at the contest” ruck rules for centre bounces. And that leaves Marshall as the back-up.
A pretty damn good back-up, but a back-up, nonetheless.
So, scenario time.
We’ve heard that Max King is struggling a bit with the knee that caused him issues last season and prevented him from taking the field even once. This is both a crisis/opportunity should King find himself struggling to get going in 2026.
Marshall was shouldering the ruck burden without a heap of help last year. There was no real scope to send him forward for extended periods without disadvantaging the on-ballers even further, with little chance of first use. So, Marshall toiled away as the Saints looked to Cooper Sharman and Mitch Owens to contest in the air.
They held their own, but neither was ever going to dominate for long. They were drawing the best defenders, and the opposition’s zone-off players were ready to pick off anything even remotely askew.
With a TDK/Marshall tag team, the Saints have a continued big target inside 50. And not just a big target, but a massive body that can either stand under a pack, or in De Koning’s case, jump right over it.
This is a massive net-win for the Saints, who don’t lose too much whenever they rotate through the ruck position, and get themselves off the bottom of that ruck tap ladder in the process.
On that, I want to give the St Kilda on-ballers a bit of a wrap for their 2025 season. Despite the inability of the ruck to get first hands on the footy, the mids were able to scrap well enough to finish 11th in clearances. It’s a pretty tough thing to do when you’re basically roving to the opposition big man more often than not.
Could Marshall be tempted to stay at Moorabbin if things start to click?
That’s the ideal scenario. Geelong will come hard for him again following this season. They have been devoid of a good ruckman for years, but have still managed to contend. They see Marshall as a missing piece to a very difficult puzzle, but perhaps the Saints see Marshall as more than just a ruckman.
If Marshall and De Koning actually combine well, does Rowan decide that he wants to remain part of what St Kilda are building? Does a September push convince him that this combination is the right mix, and that playing as a one-out ruck is not all that it’s cracked up to be?
There is enough pressure on St Kilda to get things right quickly,. But the Marshall situation adds another layer. TDK is in for the long haul, and if the load is shared with Marshall, the Saints may find their reluctant big man feeling content with how things are playing out.
And who doesn’t love seeing the Cats miss out, huh?
3 – WHAT DOES A FIT MATTAES PHILLIPOU MEAN TO THIS CLUB?
Wanna know a secret?
I had this bloke’s name circled in my notebook this time last year as THE breakout player at St Kilda. Not Nasiah… I had Mattaes Phillipou!
I’d watched a bit of him in juniors and in his first couple of years in the league, and I believed he had the talent required to take a huge step.
Sadly, his body let him down, and restricted him to just seven games. Two of those games saw him subbed on/off, and that left his numbers looking pretty ordinary compared to his expected trajectory.
Footy can be a cruel mistress.
The upside here is that getting a talent like Phillipou coming into the side – at this point, he is like a ready-made recruit, and one with a massive upside – gives the Saints another aspect they were missing last season..
Phillipou was expected to be a significant part of the St Kilda midfield rotation in 2025, with time also spent across half-forward. This should still be the case in 2026, although I would not be too surprised if Lyon opts to ease him into the season and not throw him immediately into the guts.
Whilst the Saints would be wise to be cautious – he is a ten-plus-year player in the making – the temptation for Phillipou to get out there and make up for lost time must be excruciating. We must remember, this bloke is just 21 years of age – you don’t expect to have a season of injury like he had last year, at this stage of your career.
So, who does he have to displace to claim his spot in the team?
All of a sudden, there is a squeeze at Moorabbin. It’s a great problem to have, as it will continue to create an environment of depth. However, it can also create frustration. It is a delicate balance between the two.
Players like Max Hall, Cooper Sharman, Darcy Wilson, Mason Wood, Ryan Byrnes, Hugh Boxshall… they’re all either established, or establishing their places in the team. If Phillipou is to quickly re-assert himself as mainstay in this suddenly-powerful unit, it will likely be at the expense of one of these players.
It’s going to be a scrap, and I reckon Ross The Boss will love seeing his players push each other harder.
I remember sitting with some St Kilda supporters at a match sim a couple of years ago. It was only an intra-club at Moorabbin, but Phillipou looked incredible. Clean hands, great below the knees, with acceleration away from contests – he was having a ripper.
“Better get your notepad back out,” said one of the blokes as Phillipou darted inside 50 and slotted a goal. “Whatever you’re writing about him, add more.”
I did. Well, sort of – I was taking notes on my phone. I was so impressed with what I saw that day, and it is a little bit scary to think that if this young bloke gets a head of steam, the Saints may just unearth another absolute gun on the competition in 2026.
Stay healthy, Mattaes… this is the year.
4 – DOES A FORWARD 50 WITH DAN BUTLER, JACK HIGGINS, AND LIAM RYAN WORK?
Sharman, King, Keeler, Marshall, TDK, Owens, Phillipou… they’re all going to be cycling through that forward 50 at times in 2026. And to add to the crush, St Kilda suddenly has three small forwards vying for what will likely be two spots in that forward line, as well.
So, how does this play out, and who is in the box seat?
Jack Higgins is coming off a career-best season. With 46 goals, there was a fair stretch where Jack looked like he was going to be the All-Australian small forward. I have to admit, I felt a little vindicated when he was playing the way he was. I’ve long thought that his ceiling was an AA selection, and he was close last year. However, a mid-season lull meant he missed the cut.
People forget that Jack is just 26 years old. It feels like he has been around forever, doesn’t it? He is now in his peak years. I cannot see him missing time unless he decides that chasing and harassing are best left to someone else.
Dan Butler had a frustrating season in 2025. At 29, he is coming off a six-game season, and needs to step things up dramatically if he is to retain his spot in the team.
Liam Ryan’s strength is his marking, right? Despite being a small forward, his overhead abilities put him in another class and provide a headache in terms of match-ups. From the outside looking in, Ryan’s body is the only thing that will prevent him from cementing his place in the team. Like Butler, he is 29, but he did manage to play 20 games in 2025, so he is coming from a higher base in terms of accrued fitness.
As it stands, Higgins has a position to lose in the rotation, and I would take Ryan as the second option given he has a year’s worth of form behind him (even if that form was not great).
Pressure inside 50 will be telling for all three, and here’s where it gets interesting. Butler’s pressure has always been good, but what if I told you that Liam Ryan is one of the most effective tacklers in the game?
A couple of years back, I undertook this foolish exercise of watching every game, and monitoring how many holding-the-ball free kicks were awarded, who won them, and where they won them. It took ages to do – Mrs Mongrel almost killed me that season… I can’t say I blame her.
Anyway, Ryan was the standout.
He did not have the most tackles, but he was the most effective proponent of that skill when he did execute a tackle. Whilst others seemed content to lock the footy in, Ryan’s tackles came at moments when an opponent had a chance to dispose of the footy. It was as though his timing was a notch above others, and as such, he was rewarded with more free kicks.
Of all players in the league at that time, he was easily the most effective tackler. And when you have someone that causes defenders to look over their shoulder, you sow the seeds of chaos in your back half.
If the Saints get THAT version of Liam Ryan, he will be difficult to displace. Forget the screamers – I am sure there’ll be a couple along the way. Watch for the rundown tackles inside 50. That is where the value is in recruiting Liam Ryan. He might not do it as often as some, but when he does do it, he might just be the best in the game at it.
Of course, pre-season throws some curve balls along the way, but as it stands, I’d have Higgins and Ryan as the starting two small forwards, with Dan Butler banging on the door at the first opportunity to slot in and displace one.
5 – IS THE DEFENCE STILL AN ACHILLES HEEL FOR THE CLUB?
They’ve brought in Jack Silvagni to give them a versatile player who can spend time on mid-size, or key position players, but so much of what the Saints are able to do in defence will depend on whether they can keep Dougal Howard on the park.
And they have not been able to do that for a few years now.
Howard managed just three games in 2025 – the lowest number of his career. He has been a magnet for soft tissue injuries and seems to just be getting over one, when another strikes. It’s sad to think that there was a time when the league had two really solid, up-and-coming young key defenders who looked like future All-Australians.
One was Dougal. The other was Harris Andrews.
That’s the early trajectory of Howard’s career, which must frustrate him, to no end.
The Saints do have a brilliant one-on-one defender, in Callum Wilkie, but he has had to punch above his weight for long enough. As an interceptor, he could be the best in the league if he didn’t have to also play a lockdown role. What people likely don’t realise about Wilkie is that he is not a huge bloke. At 191cm, Jack Macrae is taller than him. He may be the best bang-for-buck player in the competition, but I’d love to see him freed up to do it without being encumbered by a lockdown role, as well.
The Saints have also looked to Anthony Caminiti to play in defence as they have searched for answers. Starting as a forward, Caminiti’s move to defence was one of necessity, but his back half of 2025 proved that he might just be the man for the job back there. Now 22, he averaged 12.5 one percenters in his last ten games. That’s elite – right up there with Harris Andrews’ numbers.
Does Jack Silvagni give them what they need back there? Is he the support that allows Wilkie to drift off and become a third defender and number one interceptor?
Well, my jury is out, but he does give them an established, strong body, who has 128 games of experience behind him. If he can take the purely defensive responsibility off Wilkie’s shoulders, and leave Cal to roam with a little more freedom, the Saints are suddenly looking a lot more potent in defence.
Combine this with the expected maturation of Alix Tauru, the run and carry of Jack Sinclair/Sam Flanders, and the development of Angus Hastie, and suddenly, the Saints could be looking pretty impressive in the back half… much like myself, I have to say. Wink wink.
As for the ball users, Nasiah’s move to the midfield meant that Jack Sinclair became the preferred distributor from half-back. Whilst not owning a full-time option in the role, I do expect Sam Flanders to do a little time across half-back and return some pretty big numbers as he rotates through the guts. His combination with Sinclair, and how the pair work together will be an interesting watch.
So yes, it is a conditional fix for the Saints. If Silvagni can free up Wilkie, brilliant. If Howard can get his old rubber bands that double as legs, to stand up, then wonderful. And if Caminiti becomes more comfortable as a key defender, the Saints are looking good.
Just watch out for the spear to the back of the foot. I reckon if it is going to hit anyone in that defence, it’ll hit poor old Dougal.
The remainder of this article, and the next 14 questions are for our members. They support me, and I provide for them. It’s a good deal.
Oh… a Mongrel paywall… the worst of all paywalls. We’re on the march to the 2026 AFL season and it all begins here. The Mongrel’s Big Questions Season Previews are THE best inthe business. If you know, you know… if not, maybe it’s time to find out. Pre-Season, Practice Games… we’re all in. Dump the mainstream lip service and dive into articles like this – you will never look back. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. You’re welcome to re-read the first five questions again, but if you do… there is a heap more below.
