{"id":148529,"date":"2023-12-17T06:57:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-16T20:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=148529"},"modified":"2023-12-17T06:57:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-16T20:57:13","slug":"2023-aflw-draft-preview-st-kilda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2023\/12\/17\/2023-aflw-draft-preview-st-kilda\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 AFLW Draft preview: St Kilda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>ST KILDA had a season of two halves, starting slowly before a remarkable come-from-behind victory over Collingwood sparked a late season revival. It was not enough to get the Saints into finals, but they came close, and given they had one of the quietest Trade Period&#8217;s showed that they are happy with building on their current list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-off-season-changes\">OFF-SEASON CHANGES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In: <\/strong>Rene Caris, Paige Trudgeon<br><strong>Out: <\/strong>Rosie Dillon, Deanna Jolliffe, Erin McKinnon, Renee Saulitis, Jayde Van Dyk (delisted), Pick 31<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Draft Selections: <\/strong>10, 50, 70<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>St Kilda was not overly active in the Trade Period, instead opting to fill some needs with Giants ruck <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"30690\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/rene-caris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rene Caris<\/a> coming to her third club via a trade to replace the delisted <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"29849\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/erin-mckinnon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Erin McKinnon<\/a>, and Carlton defender <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"78628\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/paige-trudgeon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paige Trudgeon<\/a> coming in to fill the gap left by <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"42880\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/jayde-van-dyk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jayde Van Dyk<\/a>. The Saints also bid farewell to inaugural best and fairest winner <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"50278\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/rosie-dillon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rosie Dillon<\/a>, as well as <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"50378\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/deanna-jolliffe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deanna Jolliffe<\/a> and <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"30632\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/renee-saulitis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Renee Saulitis<\/a>, while moving on Pick 31 to have a large gap between their first and second AFLW Draft selections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FIRST PICK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>St Kilda enters the draft with another top 10 pick, albeit the last of that group. It does mean the Saints can recruit a player with some serious X-Factor in that range, and West Australian <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"102361\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/ella-slocombe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ella Slocombe<\/a> is the player heavily linked to the red, white and black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Slocombe is an explosive midfielder with great skills and decision making, able to play midfield or up forward, and bears traits similar to Saints young gun <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"30848\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/tyanna-smith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tyanna Smith<\/a>. When up and about, Slocombe is an ultra-exciting player with plenty of upside, and had a breakout 2023 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Saints could well add an additional tall defender in <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"126601\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/cleo-buttifant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cleo Buttifant<\/a> to try and snag her off the Dogs if they wait until their final pick to select her, while a variety of pressure players such as <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"85567\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/elaine-grigg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elaine Grigg<\/a>, <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"79340\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/chloe-adams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chloe Adams<\/a> and <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"96262\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/kayley-kavanagh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kayley Kavanagh<\/a> will be around the mark or a bit later. Not afraid to pick a draft bolter, local talent in Dragon, <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"128580\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/isabel-bacon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isabel Bacon<\/a> is another who might come into consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">REMAINING DRAFT CROP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>St Kilda will have a long wait until its second pick down at 50, with the majority of players off the board. If there is a tall left, the Saints may look to top up some depth in that area, with the likes of <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"139123\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/indiana-williams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indiana Williams<\/a> (Lions Academy) and <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"131749\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/gabby-eaton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gabby Eaton<\/a> (Swans Academy) two Northern Academy prospects with talent and could be long-term players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From a midfield perspective, <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"98794\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/holly-ifould\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Holly Ifould<\/a> is one who might be around, providing some great run on the outside and having improved her contested work as the season went along. Closer to home, Stingrays skipper <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"95274\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/jemma-ramsdale\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jemma Ramsdale<\/a> is another strong choice, while the Saints may pair up some Dragons and look to Sandringham skipper, <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"101936\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/annabelle-embelton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Annabelle Embelton<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Father-daughter prospect <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"65044\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/charlotte-simpson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charlotte Simpson<\/a> will likely be taken with Pick 70 &#8211; list numbers pending &#8211; though a club could be cheeky and put in a bid to force the Saints to match with Pick 50. Simpson is a strong inside midfielder who did play some forward time for Geelong Falcons last year, and is readymade to step into the Saints&#8217; midfield coming off a Lambert-Pearce Medal in the VFL Women&#8217;s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SUMMARY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>St Kilda retained its top 10 pick in this year&#8217;s AFLW Draft and will be able to pick up an exciting youngster. Expect the last two picks to be a combination of Simpson and a needs-based selection, as the Saints hope to go a little better in 2024 &#8211; courtesy of a stronger start to the season &#8211; and reach finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-dc-block-dc-mention _dc_mention\"><div class=\"section-heading_wrap\"><span class=\"section-heading is-small\">Mentions<\/span><span class=\"hor-border\"><\/span><\/div><ul class=\"js-overflow-list overflow-list\"><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/rene-caris\/\">Rene Caris<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/erin-mckinnon\/\">Erin McKinnon<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/paige-trudgeon\/\">Paige Trudgeon<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/jayde-van-dyk\/\">Jayde Van Dyk<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/rosie-dillon\/\">Rosie Dillon<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/deanna-jolliffe\/\">Deanna Jolliffe<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/renee-saulitis\/\">Renee Saulitis<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/ella-slocombe\/\">Ella Slocombe<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/tyanna-smith\/\">Tyanna Smith<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/cleo-buttifant\/\">Cleo Buttifant<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/elaine-grigg\/\">Elaine Grigg<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/chloe-adams\/\">Chloe Adams<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/kayley-kavanagh\/\">Kayley Kavanagh<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/isabel-bacon\/\">Isabel Bacon<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/indiana-williams\/\">Indiana Williams<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/gabby-eaton\/\">Gabby Eaton<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/holly-ifould\/\">Holly Ifould<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/jemma-ramsdale\/\">Jemma Ramsdale<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/annabelle-embelton\/\">Annabelle Embelton<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/charlotte-simpson\/\">Charlotte Simpson<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"js-dropdown dropdown overflowed\"><button class=\"btn btn-icon-only\"><span class=\"icon btn-icon\">\n                    <!-- icon - 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It was not enough to get the Saints into finals, but they came close, and given they had one of the quietest Trade Period&#8217;s showed that they are happy with building on their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":130762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3115,14920,18239,8,19772,137],"tags":[19058,15529,16487,20300,8899,16571,18930,3023,21250,20095,21158,20824,4779,18521,18564,15739,3348,2910,5739,3662],"class_list":["post-148529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aflw","category-aflw-draft","category-aflw-draft-analysis","category-news","category-st-kilda","category-womens","tag-annabelle-embelton","tag-charlotte-simpson","tag-chloe-adams","tag-cleo-buttifant","tag-deanna-jolliffe","tag-elaine-grigg","tag-ella-slocombe","tag-erin-mckinnon","tag-gabby-eaton","tag-holly-ifould","tag-indiana-williams","tag-isabel-bacon","tag-jayde-van-dyk","tag-jemma-ramsdale","tag-kayley-kavanagh","tag-paige-trudgeon","tag-rene-caris","tag-renee-saulitis","tag-rosie-dillon","tag-tyanna-smith"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148529"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148544,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148529\/revisions\/148544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}