Don’t ring the alarm bells on the 0-2 Saints just yet.
That’s according to St Kilda great Leigh Montagna as the club looks to avoid an o-3 start to the season ahead of a must-win clash against GWS on Saturday.
There’s an added spotlight on Ross Lyon’s side after its aggressive $4.5 million off-season recruiting drive and bravado from club bosses in a year it’s been tipped to charge up the ladder.
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But losses to the Magpies and Demons — who St Kilda is set to be competing with for a finals spot — have set a harder task for the Saints from here.
And it’s still hard to see exactly what brand Lyon wants his troops to play after they fell to Collingwood in a rigorous and stingy affair, before falling to Melbourne in a shootout.
Despite the winless start, Montagna isn’t overly concerned. Not yet, at least.
The 287-game legend thinks his former club has “played pretty well without winning.”
But ultimately Montagna thinks the pre-season hype went a little too far.
“It feels like the expectations on them was different to where I had them,” Montagna told foxfooty.com.au.
“I think anywhere from that 11 to 13-win mark is probably what I was expecting, if they got into a Wildcard weekend or bottom part of the eight. I don’t think anyone had them finishing top six.
“So 0-2 is not an ideal start, but it’s not the end of the world either.
“The challenge is they were two games against teams that will probably teams be around them on the ladder, so you would’ve liked to at least won one of them, if they are to play finals.
“Now they have their work cut out for them.
“There’s still a long season to go to get into that Wildcard spot, but they’re going to have to get a hurry on otherwise the pressure will continue to mount because of the summer they had.”
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SO ARE THEY ALL IN OR STILL BUILDING?
One of the big discussions around St Kilda is whether or not its lucrative off-season spending spree meant the club is chips in on this season.
Or whether it’s a means to help get them to the next level, thus making their 2026 fate less relevant.
Montagna is very much in the latter camp.
As much as adding Tom De Koning, Sam Flanders, Jack Silvagni and Liam Ryan helps the club win now, he thinks it’s the development of St Kilda’s younger core will ultimately drive the club to greater success in the coming years.
“No doubt it’s a three to four-year window to be challenging. And when you say challenging, you want to be a top four team that’s around the mark to win it,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone expected them to be contending this season.
“Sometimes the narrative is that they’re all in, but I don’t know what all in means.
“They brought in senior players to fatten the senior core, but really it’s going to be dictated by how quickly the kids come on to when they’re going to be a team that looks like it can be a top six contender.
“There’s time, but there is the added pressure of what they did over the summer and Nas’ signature and those sorts of things.
“They’d definitely want to be showing improvement and they’d be very disappointed if they’re not at least playing in the Wildcard weekend.”
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Montagna said the Saints showing they’re “building a list and game style that can stack up” for when they’re hypothetically ready to contend is “more important” than wins and losses right now.
Therefore the emergence of their next wave of stars, like Mattes Phillipou and Alix Tauru, is the greatest priority.
“For me it’s more going to be about if we see they have enough quality, up-and-coming A-graders. Because you need a whole bunch of top-end talent,” he said.
“The whole point is you’re going to be a serious team when you’re younger players fulfil their talent. It will be on the back of Mattes Phillipou, Alix Tauru and Darcy Wilson.
“Does Max King get back and what form is he in?
“Can a Hugh Boxshall or Hugo Garcia or someone else like that pop and be a surprise, high-end player like Max Hall already has?
“That’s what St Kilda fans would be hoping to see to know they’re on the right direction.
“The bigger concern than losing would be if those guys don’t come on, it’s going to make it difficult for St Kilda in the next couple of years.”
THE POSTER BOY FOR RECRUITING SPREE
Tom De Koning was always going to have a target on his back after signing the richest deal in AFL history.
De Koning has come under fire following his ruck duel with Max Gawn after the Demons star got hold of the marquee Saints recruit in the fourth quarter.
It would be frankly hard for any player to live up to a $1.6 million annual price tag, let alone a player like De Koning still coming into his own.
But Montagna “doesn’t get as hung up on the money” as others and thinks it’s an overrated part of the conversation.
“If everyone wants to compare him to the price tag, well then you’re expecting him to be the second-best player in the competition. But that’s not necessarily how the salary cap works,” he added.
“He’s a quality ruckman and for three quarters I thought he did a great job against Max Gawn, then got outworked from one of the all-time greats in the fourth quarter.
“We know what we’re going to get with De Koning, he’ll be a very good ruckman over a long period of time. I’m not too concerned about him.”
The false idea that De Koning would be some sort of messiah is one Montagna believes rings true for all four of St Kilda’s recruits.
“The recruits sort of are what they are, we knew what St Kilda was getting,” he said.
“Sam Flanders is going to get a lot of the footy, Silvagni will be a rock solid defender and Liam Ryan will show flashes and provide some spark. But I don’t think they’re basing their elevation as a team on the back of them.
“We know what we’re getting from these senior players and they add to the core that need to play well every single week. It’s the younger players around them that need to continue to work on their games and evolve and elevate.”
IS NAS BEING USED RIGHT?
Another high-priced player, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera — the game’s first $2 million player after signing an extension with St Kilda last year — has come under the microscope.
The Saints jet is dealing with the same thing every breakout superstar before him has faced — added attention from the opposition.
It’s clamped ‘Nas’ from having his usual impact, with his average disposal count well down from 29.9 in 2025 to 18.5 through two games in 2026.
To quell those tags Wanganeen-Milera, has been used in different roles including the 23-year old doing damage up forward with four goals to his name.
Even Ross Lyon has copped criticism for claims he hasn’t put his ace in the thick of the action enough.
Montagna has sympathy for Wanganeen-Milera given “how hard it is to get 30 touches when you’re copping a full-on tag.”
He argued the Saints star was still impacting up forward against Melbourne and and getting to stoppages all around the ground.
“He was the least of the problems, it was almost an unrealistic expectation that ‘Nas’ had to have 10 touches and kick three goals in the last quarter for St Kilda to win,” he said.
“He’s just going to have to work through it, his teammates will have to continue to support him and help him when you get tagged as a young player.
“And he’s got to help the team and look at ways he might have to sacrifice some of his game for the betterment of the team.
“That all comes with experience, this is just a learning curve for him. I’m sure he’ll get better with it as the year goes on.
“You’d want some others to really elevate their game, too – guys like Flanders and Phillipou – they need to play better to take a bit of pressure off ‘Nas’ to not feel like he has to do everything.”
THE ‘MISSING PIECE’
The ace up the sleeve. The ‘missing piece’. Whatever you want to call it. Ross Lyon does have a secret weapon hidden away — Max King.
The issue is we don’t know when we’re going to see him. And what version of Max King we’ll get.
The star forward hasn’t played at AFL level in two years due to persistent injuries including a right knee issue and calf setback delaying his start to 2026.
King is all the more valuable to the Saints as the exact type of player they still desperately need — a reference point up forward and star-factor player who can kick goals and create scores from half chances.
That’s presuming King can get back to his best, with the former No. 4 pick kicking 52 goals in just third season in 2022.
He’s still only 25 and we’re seeing his twin brother, Ben, rip up the competition in real time for the Gold Coast Suns.
All Saints fans can do a cross their fingers that Max, who signed a massive six-year contract in October 2024, can get a clean run from here.
“I think he is essential. And the best version of Max King is what everyone is hoping we can see from him whenever he gets back,” Montagna added.
“The one area they are struggling at the moment is probably that class and high-end talent in the forward line.
Sharman and Owens do a good job they’re more your number two or number three option that need some support. They tried Rowan forward in the first game and we didn’t get a good look at how that’d go but he’s back this week.
“But Max King is no doubt a 50-plus goalkicker at his best. For them to be a serious team, they need him back, so that is a big piece that’s missing.”
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