St Kilda coach Ross Lyon suggests local media frenzy over Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera in Adelaide could impact his contract decision
The South Australian-born 22-year-old, who is bound for All-Australian selection in 2025, is believed to be at the centre of a bidding war between Adelaide and Port Adelaide, with the Saints also hopeful of hanging on to him.
His manager, Ben Williams, denied a report suggesting Wanganeen-Milera wouldn't join the Crows due to a racism incident involving former Adelaide captain Taylor Walker in 2021.
Wanganeen-Milera has close links with Port players, including Jason Horne-Francis, and the pair were spotted together at a frozen yoghurt shop in Adelaide where Wanganeen-Milera spent the bye week catching up with 'fam' according to Lyon.
While there have been reports that Wanganeen-Milera, who has played 75 games with the Saints since his debut in 2022, has issues living in Melbourne, Lyon said the 'melting pot' in Adelaide, which included TV cameras following the young gun at the airport, showed what life could be like if he moved.
'What's interesting is the environment over there,' Lyon said on Tuesday.
'He's been doorstopped twice and terrorised twice (by media). It talks to the intensity over there, getting doorstopped at the airport during the bye. It's interesting how a non-story becomes a story. Clearly it's good to have competitive tension.'
Lyon said the Saints were confident the development and support Wanganeen-Milera had been offered at St Kilda and their plans to be a 'great club' were the best way to ensure he remained on a deal that could reach seven figures annually.
'Build it and they will come. Develop our players, support them, make it a safe environment and then at the end of the day you are either good enough to keep them or you're not,' he said.
'I'm not losing too much sleep over it.
'We want to make St Kilda great. We've got a lot of hard work to do over a long period of time.'
Lyon was also unmoved by the catch-up with Horne-Francis, a fellow Indigenous star, adamant St Kilda did a lot of work for its own First Nations players.
'The brother boys, they love getting together,' he said.
'We've got Pauly Vandenbergh (AFL diversity pathways manager) coming into the club today who works closely with our First Nations players.
'That's just one aspect of the game.'
The Saints will tackle the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night just 52 days after copping a 71-point smashing in round 6.
Midfielder Jack Macrae is set to push for selection against his old team after recovering from a punctured lung.
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