The compensation picks Saints and Tigers can expect if Battle and Martin leave in free agency

Could St Kilda let Josh Battle walk to Hawthorn via unrestricted free agency to net an early first-round pick in the 2024 draft?

That’s the question on a lot of Saints fans’ minds given the 15th-placed side currently holds pick No. 4 in the draft.

If they were to receive band one compensation for Battle’s departure, it could net the club pick No. 5 as well if they remained 15th, much as North Melbourne did with Ben McKay last year to get picks No. 2 and 3.

While Battle is no doubt an in-demand player, his status as an unrestricted free agent means that St Kilda can’t match a bid if he chooses to accept another deal from a rival club, ensuring they can’t dictate what kind of compensation they’ll receive as North Melbourne did with McKay.

AFL Media’s Cal Twomey thinks that to net an early first-round compensation pick, a rival's offer for Battle would have to be around $900,000 a year.

While he may not be considered at that level, clubs have paid big money to get free agents out of rival clubs given they don’t need to offer anything to give them up apart from that salary cap space.

He also confirmed that the 25-year-old has six-year offers on the table from both the Hawks and the Saints as he weighs up his future.

“It's a bit of a different one,” Twomey said on SEN Breakfast.

“This came about because he's an unrestricted free agent. So, it's very, very different, you don't get the chance to match.

“In different scenarios over recent years, there's always been the threat of matching and forcing a trade if the money's not at a certain level (for a restricted free agent), which would sort of guarantee a really good pick.

“You don't have that sort of power with an unrestricted free agent, so it’s a little bit of a different case.

“In saying that, Hawthorn has six years on the table. St Kilda has six years there as well.

“Melbourne's been interested as well, but I think they're probably behind the pack on those ones.

“It's going to take a deal of close to $900,000 to register a first-round pick compensation for battle.

“Look, the market is there for the tall types, and we know the value placed on the UFA status (so it’s not out of the realm of possibility).”

Another unrestricted free agent that’s been linked to a move is Richmond’s Dustin Martin.

Twomey was asked whether the Tigers, who sit 17th, could also get an early first-round compensation pick if Martin was offered a similar deal in terms of money from Gold Coast.

“I don't think it'd be getting more than maybe an end of second-round pick,” Twomey said.

“Age is a big factor in the formula and he will be 33 at the end of the year.

“I don't think that would generate too much of an early selection for in that case.

“But either way, I don't think the money is going to be at that level (at $800,000 + a year) if he does move.”

The AFL free agent compensation formula is decided on a points value assigned to the leaving player based on their guaranteed contract value and their age.