St Kilda CEO Simon Lethlean has revealed the club's free agency and draft stance for the upcoming off-season, with the Moorabbin club ready to enter the next phase of their list build under coach Ross Lyon.
The Saints had a quiet exchange window last year prior to Lyon's arrival, adding only free agent Zaine Cordy as most of their focus was set on the National Draft.
While the club's list management crew, under the watch of Stephen Silvagni and Graeme Allan, will again be present at the top-end of this year's draft, the club is also set to weigh up list calls for players both inside and outside their own four walls.
The Saints have seen a wealth of their younger ranks reach new heights under Lyon's tutelage, giving the club's recruiting strikeforce a greater idea on where, or who, they can pursue this off-season.
Lethlean expressed his delight in the development the Saints' youthful stocks have undergone in the past 12 months, and has flagged the club will look toward both the draft and free agency mechanisms to further add to their list this year.
"The critical element to your football program, along with coaching, is your list management," Lethlean toldย SENย on Thursday.
"We are in the first phase with Ross in identifying what he thinks he needs going forward, he's assessing that and has been all year.
"We've had some young players like (Mitch) Owens, (Marcus) Windhager, Cooper Sharman, Mattaes Phillipou and others that are showing what they thought they would, and some other young players like (Ryan) Byrnes who are really fitting into Ross' game plan.
"That then opens up the gaps we need to fill. Stephen Silvagni and Graeme Allan, along with our recruiters Jarryd Roughead and Chris Toce, are busy looking to try and find what we can get from the draft. We want to stay relevant early into the draft and attract high-end talent to the club.
"We'll try to be (active in free agency). Free agents are the key market because they don't cost you anything in the way of draft assets. So we'll be deep in conversations like every club would be, especially on the players we think can help us."
The Saints have several key figures still unsigned for next year, with Jack Higgins, Hunter Clark, Mason Wood, Nick Coffield, Jade Gresham, Jak Jones and Jimmy Webster among those yet to know where their future sits beyond 2023.
While the large group of off-contract Saints may be of some concern to the club's faithful, Lethlean said the uncertainty will only give St Kilda greater flexibility in the off-season should they look to target external assets.
"You've always got (salary cap) room if you want to," Lethlean said. "If someone wants to come to us we'll find a way.
"We've got 14 or 15 players out of contract, which is probably more than normal. You look to renegotiate for the ones that you want to stay and you find room if someone wants to come.
"... Our list management team meets once a month. We talk about our own list, our own contracting and potential targets. The CEO is certainly part of that conversation."
Among the rival players that could be available to the Saints is off-contract Carlton tall Tom De Koning, who is yet to make a call on his future for 2024 amid widespread interest in his services.
The Saints are believed to be joined by Essendon, Geelong and Sydney in showing some level of interest in De Koning, with Silvagni potentially looking to lure the young ruck-forward to Linton Street after recruiting him to Carlton in 2017.
When quizzed as to whether De Koning was a man of interest to the Saints, Lethlean played a straight bat.
"I think he's one the whole of the industry is talking about," the Saints boss said.
"I don't think any clubs talk specifically about who they're targeting.
"If I said yes or no you wouldn't necessarily believe me."
St Kilda currently holds Pick 14 as their earliest selection for this year's draft following a promising start to life under Ross Lyon.
