The Saints did their business very quickly in the first week of the Trade Period. Landing Sam Flanders and Liam Ryan early, while famously landing free agents Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni, and then walking away from dealing with the GWS Giants for Leek Aleer (who has since re-signed at the Giants). The main focuses now for St Kilda, it would seem, are firmly on Rowan Marshall and Jack Steele.

Rowan Marshall
St Kilda have been adamant from the start that Rowan Marshall is a required player and that if Geelong were to acquire his services for 2026 and beyond, they would need to propose a convincing offer to prize him out of his contract.

• At this stage Geelong have offered a 2025 first round pick (currently Pick 19) for Rowan Marshall. This was swiftly rejected and is widely considered not enough for St Kilda.
• Geelong have a history of doing deals late on the final day, so no doubt Andrew Mackie will come back with something else, but again it would need to be a significant improvement on the first offer: potentially a future first-round selection, though that would be a high price for a ruckman.
• Ross Lyon was vocal in that St Kilda will not be trading contracted players unless the deal was in the club’s favour, and to this day they have stuck to that resolve. Marshall’s future will test the club’s nerve right up until the final minutes.

Jack Steele
The other player on the agenda is now former captain Jack Steele who was told to explore options.

At this stage, it seems very unlikely that their would be any genuine suitors for Jack, or that a compelling offer will land. Essendon explored some initial interest and a trade with Hawthorn to assist with the Merrett deal was floated, but nothing concrete has emerged.

• Steele, who has seen a St Kilda midfield growing in talent and numbers, has clearly stated he wants to remain at RSEA Park, preferring to back himself in 2026, maybe even reinvent himself as a forward/mid to get game time than to change clubs completely. He loves St Kilda and wants to remain a Saint. His departure seems highly improbable at this stage.

The final day always throws up curveballs, but as it stands from a St Kilda perspective, the bulk of the business was done in Week 1. From here it would seem unless a rival is willing to pay overs for Marshall, the Saints are content to see this out without losing any player, and would have brought in four quality players that strengthen the side for years to come.

Time will tell, but everything seems under control for the Saints list management team.