St Kilda rounds out the bottom six sides of this pressure gauge series. Overall, Ross’ men had a terrible season this year. They would appear brilliant in some weeks, but they were unable to translate their good form from the 2023 season into positive progress in 2024, failing to make the eight and play finals footy again as they approached the dreadful 60-year mark since they won a flag. So, who is under the most pressure? Is Liam Henry the talented outside runner who will compliment St Kilda’s similar midfield? Is it potentially Jack Steele? Who has led from the front each and every match he has played. Is it perhaps the list management team? Who made an ill-fated play for Bombers captain Zach Merrett where they were rumoured to have been offering as high as 1.5 million dollars a season. Read on to find out.

5. Zaine Cordy

The premiership Bulldog had a forgettable year in 2024, spending the majority of the season on the bench or in reserve. To make matters worse, he poleaxed the incredibly unlucky Mason Wood early last season in a collision described as horrible or horrifying. He also found himself in the VFL more frequently, with the trigger-happy Ross Lyon sending him down for several weeks after his return. Cordy is a crucial depth-piece swingman who can play forward or back, although he is no longer the first name on the squad sheet in any position, having been surpassed by younger and more mobile players. Heading into a contract year, it will be important for Cordy to be able to put his best foot forward, however, I am increasingly doubtful that he can do that. As a result, he may be getting delisted and finds himself with a firm grip on the fifth position on this list.

Pressure gauge: 7.0/10

4. Dan Butler

It is difficult to distinguish oneself when you’re playing one of the hardest positions on the ground, however, in his time at the Saints, Butler has been able to create himself a niche as a goal-scoring pressure forward. However, last season was the worst return on goals in St Kilda colours, and his worst since 2019 when he kicked five goals from seven games. Struggling at times last year, he had a hamstring strain to contend with, exacerbating his poor form.

Now he is a defensive-pressure forward, so it’s inappropriate to expect him to be able to kick two goals and have 20 possessions a week. However, he led St Kilda’s goalkicking tally the first year he was there, and finished second behind Jack Higgins another year. That indicates that he is a solid forward, but his offensive output is not justifying his defensive successes and, in turn, he may continue to struggle to get enough game time.

Pressure gauge: 7.2/10

3. Ross Lyon

He has always been a bit of a controversial figure among the footballing public. The fact of the matter is I am ethically opposed to people being given second chances in extremely high-paying positions when their previous departures have been shrouded in controversy. The reason he makes this list though is because the game style he encourages is to not lose games rather than outright winning games. That works for sides like the Roos-coached Melbourne side when they’re starting from an exceptionally low baseline; however, for St Kilda, a side that should be contending for the eight? It is not good enough.

He was brought in by a group of former St Kilda players to be the difference maker, and he has yet to fire a shot. Furthermore, I believe he bears little credit for the success he enjoyed at Fremantle or St Kilda the first time around, given those lists were created by Grant Thomas at St Kilda and Mark Harvey (2007-2011) and Chris Connolly (2002-2007) at Fremantle. I could write a 30,000-word essay on why I dislike Ross Lyon as a coach, but I’ll leave you with this: reports from St Kilda and Fremantle frequently depict Lyon as a man who was more concerned with the best 22 than a holistic whole-list approach, indicating to me that he lacks the wherewithal to be an effective AFL senior coach. I believe St Kilda will need to replace Lyon as coach unless their finishing position improves dramatically.

2. Hunter Clark.

The former 2017 first-round draft selection is entering his free agency year with no contract offer for 2026. He has steadily progressed from half-back to inside midfielder, becoming a more fluid component of St Kilda’s on-ball unit. Despite this, he is prone to injuries and, like his draft teammate Nick Coffield, has battled at times to bring it all together. He has never played more than 32 games in a row, and in 2023, he will play no more than 19. This appears to be a player whose physical limitations prevent him from reaching his full potential.

Furthermore, he has always struggled to assist goal scorers and has been pulled off the bench, spending just 62% of his time on the field in season 2024, a decrease from his career high of 81%. Furthermore, an outside professional like Clark must be involved in a large number of score launches and involvements. Despite this, Clark finished sixth and eighth in those statistics. With Brad Crouch’s forced retirement and the delisting of Jack Hayes, Seb Ross, and Riley Bonner, now is more than ever the time for Hunter Clark to seize this opportunity to secure a spot in the St Kilda engine room and push himself beyond his previous limitations.

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