Why Saints need to ‘pay up’ for young star; emerging duo put off contract talks – Trade Whispers

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WHY SAINTS WILL ‘PAY UP’ FOR GUN

The rumoured godfather offer St Kilda put in front of Giants jet Finn Callaghan is set to have an “inflationary effect” at the club, as the Saints look to tie down some of their own superstars.

It was reported that St Kilda offered Callaghan $17 million across ten years in what would have been one of the biggest deals in the competition.

Callaghan rejected the offer, instead choosing to re-sign at the Giants.

While the Saints have made no secret of trying to land a big fish, they now have to turn their attention to getting the likes of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera to recommit to the club.

“It might almost be time that they stop throwing the war chest at players at other clubs and maybe reward some of their own,” Herald Sun journalist Lauren Wood began on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle.

“The obvious story is that Port Adelaide and Adelaide… they both want him. I actually think he’s reasonably happy, there’s not a massive homesickness factor,” Herald Sun colleague Jon Ralph added.

“He signed a contract and Mark Robinson talked to him and he said, ‘no, I want to stay the course here’. But it’s the inflationary effect of the Finn Callaghan deal.”

Callaghan did not finish in the top 10 of the best and fairest at GWS last year, whereas Wanganeen-Milera was in the top 5 at St Kilda.

“He’s already a million-dollar player per year, does it become a $1.2-$1.3, and that’s the problem. You swing and you miss and all of a sudden everyone else puts their hand out and so they should as well,” Ralph continued.

“I think it’s really positive in terms of his future there, but they’re going to have to pay up for him.”

BLUES SMALL TO WAIT

Carlton small forward Jesse Motlop is set to put contract talks on hold ahead of a crucial year.

Motlop is set to be the Blues’ main small forward this season, with Orazio Fantasia under an injury cloud and Matt Owies now at West Coast.

“It’s an interesting scenario, he’s likely to be Carlton’s best small forward this year… but there won’t be an early resolution to his contract situation,” Herald Sun journalist Glenn McFarlane told Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle.

“He’s out of contract at the end of the year, both he and the club have decided to just park it for a period to get some form, some game continuity and just to get himself going again.”

Motlop was limited to just seven games in 2024 as he dealt with injury and form woes, but has had a strong pre-season which included a fantastic showing against St Kilda in Carlton’s AAMI Community Series clash.

“I think he’s going to have a real breakout year, and I think he’s pretty keen to stay at Carlton. He lives with Corey Durdin, he has got a great connection with some of those players, but he’s just going to park it for the moment while he gets his ducks in a row in terms of actually getting his body right to play,” McFarlane continued.

“I think it’s really positive that he loves the club, they’ve supported him, they’ll have to pay him good money if he kicks a lot of goals, but he wants to stay at the footy club and Carlton don’t lose too many these days,” Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph added.

‘MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR’ IN EMERGING GIANT’S DECISION

Leek Aleer turned down rival pursuits last season but says the number of senior opportunities he gets under Adam Kingsley this year will be a factor in whether he stays at the Giants.

Aleer is entering the final year of his contract and wants to wait and see where he fits in Kingsley’s plans before choosing his next path forward.

The 23-year-old was an emergency for the Giants’ clash with Collingwood last week, but the defender is at the stage where he just wants to be a regular contributor.

Drafted at pick 15 in 2021, Aleer has played just 12 matches in the past three seasons.

“That will obviously be a major contributor to my decision,” Aleer told The Age.

“I love the Giants, I love the boys, I love the coach, and all the staff – and I love Sydney as a whole. But I’m a very aspirational person. This year, I’m very focussed on just playing footy and enjoying what is going to hopefully be a fruitful season for us as a football club.

“Playing as many games as I possibly can is my main priority. When I get to that crossroad at the back-end of the year, to decide what I want to do, I will talk about and deal with those things then.”