St Kilda’s Jack Billings has used Melbourne as a positive reference point for his own side’s premiership hopes in 2022.
The Demons broke a long premiership drought last year having finished ninth in 2020 and 17th the season prior, following a preliminary final appearance in 2018.
In slightly similar fashion, the Saints played finals in 2020 after 14th and 16th-placed finishes in 2018 and 2019, before dropping to 10th last year.
Ahead of the new season, Billings was asked about the Saints’ chances, illustrating how the Demons have helped set a pathway for teams who dare to dream.
“Yeah I think so,” he said on SEN’s The Run Home when questioned if the Saints can win the flag.
“You look at Melbourne last year and you see the last couple of years they had. In ‘18 they had the prelim, in ‘19 they finished second bottom and all of a sudden they won the flag.
“The team didn’t change much but there’s obviously a dynamic and cohesion, change of mindset and that kind of thing, that if you can get right really makes a difference.
“In my time right now it’s probably the most confident I’ve felt that if we get everything right - it is a big if - we could do some damage.
“With Melbourne and these sort of teams, you just can’t really put a ceiling on any team, so we’ll wait and see.”
In response, Adam Cooney assessed St Kilda’s chances, admitting it would be a surprise to him if Brett Ratten’s side were to hold the premiership trophy aloft this September.
“I’d be absolutely shocked if St Kilda won the premiership,” Cooney said.
“I’m not going to say they’re no chance, but if I was to put a percentage on it I would say a five to seven per cent chance.
“In the shorter version of the game in 2020, they were second for average goals scored. That dropped away to 13th in season 2021, so scoring dried up.
“I think they have a reasonably talented list, but if you think about them and the narrative is they’ve got a lot of players who are very similar. Similar height, similar in the way they play.”
Cooney feels the Saints lack the “power” required to truly challenge the competition’s best outfits such as the Dees and last year’s runners-up the Western Bulldogs.
“If they play at their best they will push for the eight, but they can’t match it with the big dogs in the competition because they don’t have enough power,” he added.
“If they get back to the way they played in 2020, they beat the Bulldogs in a final, but they don’t have the big bodies all over the field that stretch out enough to be able to match it with Melbourne and the Bulldogs and some of the best teams in the competition who are starting to rise now.
“They’re ok and they’ll have a crack, but there’s something they lack.
“Jack Steele is their spiritual leader, he’s the big body, but they need another couple of him if they are to contend.”
The Saints are currently rated a $23 premiership chance with Sportsbet a month out from the 2022 season.
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