St Kilda Saints Preview 2026

As a St Kilda supporting Tasmanian, I am going to have to make a “tough” decision soon. On one hand, it’s always been my dream to support my state at the highest level. On the other hand, St Kilda always seems like they’re a couple of years away from rewarding a lifetime of AFL frustration and misery.

This decision was starting to become a formality until that flicker of hope was lit with the signing of a single contract and the flow on affect that was enabled during the trade period.

The one good thing I’ve always had with St Kilda is the fact that, no matter how bad we are going, there have always been some very handy scorers for my various teams. I’m sure you know a lot of them, but I’m hopefully going to point you in the direction of a few you might have missed.

The GDS Anchors

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera

I'd first like to take a moment to thank the employees at champion data for letting us keep NAS as a defender for one more year. 

2025 was a breakout season on top of an already solid foundation for the young Saint. His massive average of 139.05 for the year doesn't even fully express how incredible he was for us considering he averaged close to 150 over the last 13 games!

Somehow this dominance still didn't manage to attract a tag from opposition coaches, possibly because his versatility would make it a hopeless cause. If he wasn't finding it through the middle he would just drift back behind and get involved that way.

Pre season match sim spying shows NAS has a licence to do whatever he wants this year and it looks like he wants to be on the ball. The changes to stoppage breakdowns this season will likely suit him more than anyone else as well. With the new rules, players will be forced to get rid of it a lot quicker and NAS’ constant drive bys for the handball offload will be very lucrative for us. 

In a format where we don't have to worry about benching players through the early bye rounds or finding money in the budget to squeeze him in, Nasiah should be a lock in every round he plays, but I suspect you already knew that…

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Jack Sinclair

The other dependable Saint who definitely won't be talked about as much this season is Jack Sinclair. 

In some ways, Sinclair almost feels like a boring option when it comes to our selections. He sits in what I call the “danger zone” of the position right on the edge of the elite pack. Almost every week we need to drop one or two players from this group in order to fit in our “unique”, round specific selections and Sinclair is often the first to go. I bet if you look back on your season you can't picture a moment where you actively sought out Sinclair as a starter. It's because people don't find him exciting. Some people don't even think about him! I'm here to tell you that these “boring” qualities are actually some of the best qualities you can have in a GameDay Squad player!

If you look at the numbers, Sinclair's median score and average are virtually the same number at around 121. That might not seem interesting (which is part of the problem) so to explain it simply, it just means he's incredibly consistent. I'd argue that he should be one of the last players we consider dropping each week given we can pencil him in for a decent score every week with limited risk. It's also nice to free up some mental load by tucking him away in the corner of your backline and not thinking about him again until the bye.

Put him in your backline now and thank me later. 

What’s new in 2026?

Sam Flanders

Flanders has frustrated me a lot as a Gameday Squad coach over the last few years. Those who have been around for a while will remember that incredible 2024 season where he pushed out a 127 average and earned himself an all star card. The frustrating part to this story is I only managed to pack him between the 2024 and 2025 season and we all know how last season looked. 

Flanders was allegedly carrying a minor injury through the entire season which prevented him from living out his midfield dream. Even with that injury question mark, he still played 20 games at an average of 78 points. That's close to a 50 point drop in one off-season! 

The good news is St Kilda brought him in to play midfield minutes and he won't be stuck behind the likes of Rowell and Flanders in the pecking order. Assuming he can stay healthy, this could be big for our teams.

The best news about Flanders is he's a Forward this season in GameDay Squad! Even an average of 100-110 will make him an essential card and I expect him to go even higher! 

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Tom De Koning

Big Tom was the second major signing this trade period for the saints and although there were plenty more great players brought in, this is where it ends in terms of GDS relevance.

There has been a lot said about how the St Kilda ruck department will look going into 2026 with Marshall failing to get a deal done elsewhere, and I'm not going to pretend to have the answers for you. All I can tell you is what we've seen in the pre-season, and what we know about each player. 

In the intra club hitout, both talls went head to head revealing nothing. There were periods where Marshall drifted forward and De Koning drifted back to cover him, but no clearly defined roles. 

Based on the skill mix up of the two, I imagine Marshall will spend more time forward as he's the better target option, but it'll be important to keep an eye on the match sims in the coming weeks.

Generally, we want out rucks to be doing the job solo to maximise their scoring potential, but that may become less common in 2026 with the extended benches, so the combination of the two might not be as detrimental as first thought! 

What I do like about De Koning is his ability to jump in the ruck contests. It might seem like an obvious trait for a ruckman but it's actually rarer than you think with a lot of the big men opting to control the space rather than launch at the ball. Now that the rucks wont be able to cross the centre line, I can see the new Saint cleaning up and winning a lot of frees while the other brutes work things out!

New 2026 Signings

Charlie Banfield (No.41 draft pick), Tom De Koning (free agent, Carlton), Kye Fincher (No.52 draft pick, Academy), Sam Flanders (trade, Gold Coast), Kobe McDonald (Category B rookie), Liam Ryan (trade, West Coast), Jack Silvagni (free agent, Carlton) - Based on official AFL website

Departed Players

Harry Boyd (delisted), Zaine Cordy (delisted), Max Heath (trade, Melbourne), Zak Jones (delisted), Angus McLennan (delisted), Arie Schoenmaker (delisted), Jack Steele (trade, Melbourne), Jimmy Webster (retired) - Based on official AFL website

2026 GDS Position Changes

Player	Club	2025 Position	2026 Position
Alexander Dodson	St Kilda	Ruck	Forward
Angus Hastie	St Kilda	Midfielder	Defender
Anthony Caminiti	St Kilda	Forward	Defender
Hugo Garcia	St Kilda	Forward	Midfielder
Jack Carroll	St Kilda	Forward	Midfielder
Jack Macrae	St Kilda	Forward	Midfielder
Jack Silvagni	St Kilda	Forward	Defender
Ryan Byrnes	St Kilda	Midfielder	Defender
Sam Flanders	St Kilda	Defender	Forward

Dynasty Strengths

Mattaes Phillipou

2025 should have been the year of the Phillipou but it didn't turn out how any of us expected. After finishing 2024 off strongly with four 20+ possession games with at least a goal in each, he was on the lips of everyone leading into 2025. Unfortunately, Ross Lyon had different plans, using him as a sub and then dropping him to the VFL, annoying fans and Mattaes alike!

Now that the 2026 pre season has rolled around, I'm feeling a sense of deja vu. All signs are (once again) pointing to this kid having a big year. He's training as a pure mid, he's looking jacked, and he has always had the class to take it to the next level.

The most valuable part about Phillipou is he's a forward in GameDay Squad who's also eligible for the Under 22 competition. In saying that, I would be stocking up on all of his cards because if what we've seen in training camp is anything like the actual season… he'll be sitting in all of our forward lines. Watch this space very closely!

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Darcy Wilson

It looks like Darcy Wilson ate Darcy Wilson over the Christmas period. The dude is huge! Since being drafted, this kid has always dominated the time trials and this was evident in the final quarters of most games where he was able to just keep finding pockets of space. The problem was just how easy it was to push him off the ball once he was in said space. 

Wilson also holds forward status which is great considering he'll likely push onto a wing and with that tank, he'll be around the ball a lot more than most other wingers. I’m assuming hell be a frequent flyer in our under 22 forward lines most weeks, just maybe not as much as his team mates..

Under 22 Eligable Players

Name	Position	Team
Charlie Banfield	MID	St Kilda
Kye Fincher	MID	St Kilda
Kobe McDonald	DEF	St Kilda
Alexander Dodson	FWD	St Kilda
Alix Tauru	DEF	St Kilda
Angus Hastie	DEF	St Kilda
Darcy Wilson	FWD	St Kilda
Eamonn Armstrong	DEF	St Kilda
Hugh Boxshall	MID	St Kilda
Hugo Garcia	MID	St Kilda
Isaac Keeler	FWD	St Kilda
James Barrat	DEF	St Kilda
Lance Collard	FWD	St Kilda
Mattaes Phillipou	FWD	St Kilda
Patrick Said	FWD	St Kilda
Tobie Travaglia	DEF	St Kilda

Fixtures and scoring Profile

We've made it! We're good enough to play opening round! Some tricky match ups before the first bye could misslead a few people in terms of what to expect.

Byes rounds: 4 and 16

First 5 Fixtures: Collingwood, Melbourne, GWS, Brisbane, Bye

PODs and Breakout Potential 

Mitchito Owens

Every year, Mitch Owens name gets brought out and thrown around as a potential future superstar. He's a tall, athletic player and has the skills to play anywhere. Unfortunately,  the problem with that is they're actually making him play everywhere! 

He was used as the 2nd ruck to give Marshall a rest, the target forward when King was out, the winger when we needed a better outlet and even had to drop back when we needed height. 

There is no doubt Owen could be very relevant for us in GameDay Squad but every year it's looking less and less likely. With the addition of De Koning, his backup ruck days should be over, but he's almost certainly missed his opportunity to feature in the midfield (at least for 2026). He may hold some value in primetime and showdown competitions, but that might be as far as it goes.

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Mason Wood

Wingers are back baby! Well… maybe. If the AFLW is anything to go by, the new interpretation of what prior opportunity is will mean players can't afford to get tackled and take the ball to ground. This means, quick offloads and down the line kicks will be crucial as our midfield beasts learn where the line is. And that's where players like Mason Wood come in. In 2025 he played 21 games averaging just over 80. Not great but not terrible for a forward. Anecdotally, a large chunk of those points came from his ability to be a target “out” player. And these situations will only grow in number, and so will his scores. 

In 2024 Wood averaged 97 points per game and in 2023 it was even higher with 107. In a year where our forward lines are looking bare, if he can get back to those numbers, he will be a very usable asset.

Risky Picks

Rowan Marshall

Hmm. I've touched on Marshall a bit already but I'm using this as a final reminder to wait and see before starting him. Yes his ruck minutes will drop. Yes, his average will likely drop, but so will the averages of a lot of rucks.

I'm a glass half full kind of guy and Marshall has been a servant to the club I've been born into loving, so I want to see this work (for both St Kilda and my GameDay Squad side). 

There are a few positives I can see. 

1. He’s a good forward and St Kilda needs one. With Max King perpetually out, St Kilda have recently (actually, its been a while) struggled in the tall department. Row will be a difficult player to match up on and he can kick straight. That's points right there. 

2. As the “backup” ruck he'll hopefully match up against the opponents number 2 when the number 1s need a rest and good luck to whoever that is. More points. 

Finally, 3. Hang onto him because he could be a forward in 2027! And that would be huge! Especially if he does find his way over to Geelong for a fresh start. I’d almost go as far as to say invest in the dip!

Final words

With St Kilda in a clear “transition” phase, there are plenty of questions that need answers. Even though I'm sure they'll find a new way to disappoint me, I still think they have some of the best GDS assets in the game! And that's all that matters right?