Ox's lofty pass mark for St Kilda

Despite not being sold on St Kilda’s list, former Demon David ‘Ox’ Schwarz believes that the Saints must find a way to succeed in 2026.

St Kilda went all in over the off-season, with incomings of Sam Flanders, Tom De Koning, Jack Silvagni and Liam Ryan expected to elevate the aide to the upper echelon of the competition.

Under coach Ross Lyon, the club will be expecting a return on investment, particularly following their expensive additions.

Back-to-back 12th placed finishes, Ox believes the bar is high ahead of this season.

“Top six. They have got to be top six,” Ox stated on SEN WA Breakfast.

“If they are not top six, I think they have underachieved greatly.”

That said, their aggressive off-season tactics may not have the desired effects.

“They played finals a couple of years ago, their best footy is pretty good – their list is okay, but it’s not great,” he continued.

“They’ve tried to find the Lego pieces to fit in and finish off the puzzle, but I don’t know if the puzzle is that great.

“With what they’ve spent, what they have got in and what they are promising, I think they would be looking at top six.

“Anything less would be a bit of a disappointment.”

Beyond their season objectives, Ox also believes that the club should look to move on from injury prone star Max King, on the proviso that he doesn’t manage to get going this season.

“If he doesn’t play 15 games and kick 50 goals, put him on the table,” he said.

“Get something for him, because you’re going to get offered something decent for him if, for whatever reason, he doesn’t get a chunk of games under his belt this year.”

The new-look side take to the field to face Essendon in their opening Community Series match-up on February 28.