St. Kilda have been a far-cry from the inspired outfit they were in season 2020, with this year proving bitterly disappointing for the most part.
However based off of recent weeks' results, the Saints might not be in as dire as a position as they first thought, beating Richmond as well as outlasting Collingwood to stay in touch with the top eight.
Despite this there are still deficiencies in Brett Ratten's squad that need to be addressed, meaning activity in the trade period might be pertinent to the Saints campaign next year.
5 Trade Targets:ย Adelaide
5 Trade Targets:ย Brisbane
5 Trade Targets:ย Carlton
5 Trade Targets:ย Collingwood
5 Trade Targets:ย Essendon
5 Trade Targets:ย Fremantle
5 Trade Targets:ย Geelong
5 Trade Targets:ย Gold Coast
5 Trade Targets:ย GWS
5 Trade Targets:ย Hawthornย
5 Trade Targets:ย Melbourne
5 Trade Targets:ย North Melbourne
5 Trade Targets:ย Portย Adelaide
5 Trade Targets: Richmond
We continue our โFive trade targets for every clubโ series withย St. Kilda.ย
In no particular order, here are five players which the Saints recruitment team would do well to target and potentially poach.
3. Esava Ratugolea
The Geelong big man has had a stunted time in his stint at the Cattery, not being able to hold down a spot in Chris Scott's best-22 for an extended period.
At just 23 years of age, Ratugolea still has his best footy ahead of him, however he needs the necessary game time to flourish and right now Geelong aren't giving it to him.
In the 47 games that fans have had to watch Ratugolea, he's had some impressive performances.
His ability to mark overhead is great and his work in the ruck is formidable as well, and with Paddy Ryder not getting any younger, Ratugolea could be the option that the Saints need.
He would be relatively cheap to secure considering the bit-part role he has at Geelong and his age means that the Saints have a real opportunity to tailor his play-style to their standards.
Combine this with the fact he is out of contract at season's end, Ratugolea is very much gettable.
