Mooney: St Kilda's big 'if' that could prove the difference in 2026

Will St Kilda’s off-season gamble pay off?

Off the back of a 12th placed finish in 2025, the Saints went all in over free agency and trade, acquiring four big name players to don the tricolours in 2026.

Landing Carlton pair Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni (via free agency), Gold Coast’s Sam Flanders and West Coast’s Liam Ryan (via trade), St Kilda secured top tier first-team talent to reinforce their list and bolster their chances of a September push.

Much of their work has been credited to the re-signing of superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, inspiring the influx of high quality talent, while holding onto wantaway ruckman Rowan Marshall keeps the side's pre-built base intact for at least another two seasons.

With quality recruits and the maintenance of the club’s core, the Saints have built a pad to launch off heading into next season, however, a mass introduction of new faces isn’t always conducive to results.

Carrying a wild range of expectations into 2026, Geelong legend Cam Mooney believes that they are most certainly the team to watch ahead of next season.

“They’re my biggest watch this year,” Mooney told SEN Breakfast.

“I’m really interested to see what happens to them. They’ve brought in a lot of names; they did try that a few years ago and it didn’t quite work, and already we’ve seen some injuries.

“They are, for me, the biggest watch. They have to jump up.”

Of all the names entering the club ahead of 2026, Mooney believes that the biggest difference maker already existed within the walls of Moorabbin.

Expecting the return of injured star forward Max King in 2026, Moons is full of belief that his presence inside 50 will have just as much influence on St Kilda’s potential rise as any of their shiny recruits.

“They desperately need him, clearly. They desperately need to see him play 20+ games,” Mooney said.

“His brother, what he is doing on the Gold Coast – one thing about the Kings is that you are not going to get a 15 possession, three or four goal game from them. They are a seven, eight possessions, and they’ll kick your three or four. That’s who they are.

“So, if he can just stay fit - and that is a big if, because what we’ve seen out of the last few years hasn’t been great - if he can stay fit and he can kick his 50+ goals, that is a huge bonus for them. Massive!

“De Koning is going to be big, Silvagni, I don’t know, I think his injury might be worse than reported, not that I thought he was going to be the big deal breaker for them to play finals, but he is a very solid citizen.

“But again, he has been injury prone, so I thought that was a big risk. I thought they should have gone with Leek (Aleer) to be honest.”

One of the major talking points surrounding St Kilda’s recruitment revolves around their now-loaded ruckman stocks.

The Saints splashed out on Carlton’s Tom De Koning, signing the star ruckman on a huge contract via free agency despite having Rowan Marshall contracted for a further two seasons.

And while Marshall attempted to orchestrate a move to Geelong, St Kilda rejected the request, labelling the 30-year-old as a required player for 2026.

With two top ruckmen sharing the field, the setup mirrors that of Melbourne’s attempt to utilise both Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy in 2023 – a combination that failed rather dramatically.

Given neither De Koning nor Marshall have played as natural forwards in years past, Mooney isn’t overly confident as to how the pairing will work.

“It depends on what they want to do now with the fifth player on the bench,” he said.

“You can probably now play that extra tall. Marshall is not a centre half forward – he is a ruckman, and I think he is a top six ruckman in the competition, maybe a little bit more, maybe a little bit less but he is around that area.

“I think he is a really good player. Now, De Koning is going to be their number one. I’m not sure that De Koning can play as a really good key forward either.

“He might have some quarters, he might have some moments, but they are both number one ruckmen, and it is really tough for one of them to have to miss out and try to play a role that they’re not used to, and they’re not great at.

“That’s going to be a big talking point as well, and again, this is why they are a must watch.”

St Kilda’s new-look side first takes to the field against Essendon in late February as part of the AFL’s pre-season schedule.