The 2021 St Kilda Football Club season was the 123rd competing in the VFL/AFL and 137th in the club's history. Coached by Brett Ratten and co-captained by Jarryn Geary and Jack Steele, they are competed in the AFL's 2021 Premiership Season.
Squad changes Summary The Saints finished the 2020 season with a semi-final loss to eventual 2019 premiers, Richmond, and made their first finals appearance in nine years. Following the loss, Coach Brett Ratten signalled the Saints would look to improve their midfield in the upcoming off-season after the loss to the Tigers; "we'll go for a few things in the trade period. It'd be good to get another midfielder in, that would really help us, and maybe pushing them more into the forward line so we could get some more goal-scoring power as well."
At the conclusion of the finals series, the Saints held draft picks 15, 58 (received from Sydney for a trade in 2019), 71 (received from Port Adelaide in 2019) and 87 ahead of the forthcoming trade period.
Due to the late completion of the 2020 AFL Season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the free agency, trade period and draft were delayed by approximately one month compared to previous years.
The revised dates are: Free agency period - 30 October–6 November 2020 Trade period - 4–12 November 2020 List lodgement #1 - 20 November 2020 List lodgement #2 - 27 November 2020 AFL and rookie drafts - week commencing 7 December 2020 (actual date TBC) Final list lodgement - Mid-December 2020 (actual date TBC)
Retirements and delistings
PlayerReasonCareer gamesCareer goalsRefNathan BrownRetired183 (53 St Kilda, 130 Collingwood)7Doulton LanglandsDelisted32Ryan AbbottDelisted6 (1 St Kilda, 5 Geelong)5Jack BellDelisted00Jack MayoDelisted00Logan AustinDelisted20 (7 St Kilda, 13 Port Adelaide)0Matthew ParkerDelisted1916Ed PhilipsDelisted154Jonathon MarshDelisted26 (11 St Kilda, 15 Collingwood)3Shane SavageDelisted165 (109 St Kilda, 56 Hawthorn)63
Free agency
On 21 October, Adelaide midfielder Brad Crouch nominated the Saints as his preferred destination during the Free Agency Period following a contract offer from the club. Crouch is a 'Restricted Free Agent' under AFL rules, meaning the Crows can match the contract offer from the Saints to force a trade. Crouch had also attracted interest from Geelong, Richmond and Port Adelaide, although it is understood that only the Saints were prepared to offer a five-year contract. On Sunday 1 November, the Saints lodged the paperwork for Crouch, with the Crows having three days to decide whether or not to match the bid. Adelaide stated publicly that a compensation pick of anything less than #2 in the AFL Draft would result in the Crows matching the bid to force a trade. Crouch himself spoke publicly of his desire for the Crows not to match the bid, stating that "I want them to not match. I've told St Kilda I'm fully committed to them, so I want to see that out. At this stage I just want to be at St Kilda and the decision I've made I'm fully committed to them." He officially joined the Saints after Adelaide failed to follow-through with their threat to match the bid at the deadline of 5pm on 4 November. Adelaide received draft pick number 23 as compensation.
On 6 November Shaun McKernan joined the Saints as a Free Agent following his delisting by Essendon. McKernan was courted by a number of clubs including Melbourne, but ultimately signed for the Saints. McKernan was brought in primarily as injury coverage for the Saints' forwards.
Former premiership-winning Hawthorn and Melbourne player James Frawley (nephew of former Saints captain Danny Frawley) joined the Saints as a delisted free agent on 26 November. Frawley had announced his retirement from the Hawks at the end of 2020 but was lured out of retirement and was eligible for selection as a delisted free agent following the first list lodgement on 25 November.
Trade period
Prior to the conclusion of the 2020 season, it was reported that the Saints were interested in current North Melbourne and former Western Bulldogs player Shaun Higgins as well as GWS youngster Jye Caldwell. The Saints' Shane Savage and Jack Lonie are believed to be on the radar of rival clubs and may seek trades. Chief Operating Officer Simon Lethlean said of the upcoming trade period that "it's a busy time of year and we'll be as active as we can be to find players that us. We don't think we're finished with improving our list, we certainly think the five guys we all added (last off-season) have been almost in our best 10 players so if we can (find) more players that can make us better, that's our intention."
On 9 November Richmond forward-midfielder Jack Higgins requested a trade to St Kilda. The trade was ultimately completed on the final day of the trade period. DateGainedLostTrade partnerRef12 November 2020Jack HigginsPick 21 (Matthew Allison)Future 4th Round Pick (2021)Pick 17 (Max Holmes)Future 2nd Round pick (2021)Richmond12 November 2020Pick 67 (unused)Pick 74 (unused)Nicholas HindPick 77 (unused)Essendon9 December 2020Pick 43 (Tom Highmore)Pick 54 (Cody Brand)Future 4th Round Pick (2021)Hawthorn
National draft
At the 2020 AFL draft the Saints recruited two players, key forward Matthew Allison (first round, pick 26) and Tom Highmore (pick 45). The Saints traded pick 54 and a future fourth-rounder with Hawthorn on draft night to secure pick 45.
Pre-season supplemental selection period
In early February 2021, former North Melbourne forward Mason Wood was added to the Saints' playing group during the pre-season Supplemental Selection Period. The Saints used a second selection on 28-year old former Adelaide ruckman Paul Hunter in late February and hold one further Supplemental selection which they can use prior to round 1, or at the mid-season draft.
Mid-season rookie draft
On 2 June, the Saints' added junior ruckman Max Heath and forward Cooper Sharman at the 2021 AFL mid-season rookie draft. The Saints had a total of four available picks for the draft, but ultimately used only two.
Pre-season
As with previous years, the AAMI Community Series sees many teams playing at small suburban or country venues. The Saints were due to play matches in the northern Perth suburb of Leederville and at their spiritual home of Moorabbin Oval (currently known as RSEA Park due to naming sponsorship), however, the AFL announced on 31 January that the Community Series would be revised "to protect the health and safety of the competition and the community by reducing travel ahead of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season."
Practice matches RdDate and local timeOpponentScores (St Kilda's scores indicated in bold)VenueAttendanceRef.HomeAwayResultPracticeThursday 25 February, 12pm6.13 (49)22.8 (140)Won by 91 pointsArden Street Oval (A)TBA1Thursday 4 March, 7.10pm15.9 (99)19.11 (125)Won by 26 pointsMarvel Stadium (A)10,228
Premiership season
Summary In early January defender Dylan Roberton announced he was taking a break from his footballing duties to consider his future in football. Roberton has been attempting to make a full return to football following a collapse as a result of a heart condition in Round 4 2018. Roberton ultimately announced his retirement from the game on 6 March, stating that "I've come to a point where I need to put my family and future first...after lengthy discussions with my family and on the advice of my doctors, I've made the extremely hard decision to hang up the boots." In late January, Captain Jarryn Geary sustained a fracture to his fibula in the left leg while training. The injury will rule him out of early fixtures, but is likely to return to running and light training after six weeks of rehabilitation. It was announced in early March that Ruckman Paddy Ryder would temporarily step away from the club to spend time with his family and elders. Ryder received the full support of the club. Forward Max King was ruled out of round one following a concussion sustained while playing golf. The Round 2 game against Melbourne was named 'Spud's Game' in tribute to former Saints' Captain Danny Frawley, who died in 2019. The game focused on raising awareness and funding for mental health to '"promote a national conversation that can help lead to early intervention and fight the prevalence of mental ill-health in the community." The Saints' poor luck with injuries continued when Jade Gresham suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the round 3 loss to Essendon. Ryder returned to the club on 6 April and will undertake a preseason-style training regimen to return to full fitness, eventually returning in Round 7.