AFL news: St Kilda chief executive responds after Ross Lyon cops backlash over 'brutal' footage

Yahoo

28-04-2025

St Kilda chief executive Carl Dilena has defended coach Ross Lyon after describing eye-opening footage of his spray towards the playing group as akin to a parent disciplining their children. Fan footage emerged of Lyon ripping into his players on the St Kilda bench at quarter time, paying particular attention to Hugo Garcia. He subsequently benched the 19-year-old during the second quarter of Saturday night's 45-point loss to AFL premiers Brisbane.
Critics such as AFL commentator Kate McCarthy and journalist Josh Gabelich described it as "brutal" treatment of a young player, with the former suggesting Lyon's angry tirade would have been better directed at a senior player, such as skipper Jack Steele. "He's pointed the finger at Hugo Garcia for not playing the 'stay forward' mid. But in the first quarter, Lachie Neale's direct opponent was Jack Steele - the captain of the club - and he allowed Neale to waltz into an open goal and kick the first goal of the game," McCarthy said on 'The Round So Far'.
St Kilda CEO Carl Dilena has defended coach Ross Lyon after he was seen spraying Hugo Garcia on the bench during Saturday night's loss to Brisbane. Image: Getty/St Kilda TV
"For me, if you're sending a message, it's a player like that you send a message through, not a 16-gamer who's still learning the ropes. If you don't want to play him or give him the opportunity to learn from his mistakes, don't play him... roasting a player on the bench before quarter-time and subbing him out in the second quarter is not going to help a player learn. It's going to send them the other way."
Ross Lyon's spray for players divides AFL world
Others, such as dual-premiership Kangaroos legend David King and St Kilda great Leigh Montagna defended the actions of Lyon and said he was right to be furious with the cheap manner in which his players were giving up possession of the footy. 'They just coughed up the ball far too easily - that's your main man in the midfield, Jack Steele, who I would give a spell to (in the VFL) if he's going to continue to do that sort of stuff,' King said on Fox Footy.
Ross gives a shit and certainly hates losing. This is a long journey but this is the most animated he's been since he came back to Moorabbin. pic.twitter.com/keDrNH2ovK
— Saints TV (@saintstvpod) April 26, 2025
'I think you need to make a statement; we've seen it around the league at the moment, and unfortunately for marquee players, it's worked. You can't just be nice Ross all the time. And I think selection is the ultimate leveller. You've got to make a statement as a team.'
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Montagna added: 'He (Lyon) gave the spray, he didn't get the response he wanted during the second quarter, so he had to make a statement. I don't necessarily agree that young Hugo Garcia was a scapegoat; (Lyon) just had to change something. He had to take someone off and try to mix it up. That was the way that he went.'
St Kilda CEO defends Ross Lyon over angry tirade
Fronting the media to discuss the issue on Monday, Saints CEO Dilena agreed that Lyon needed to show some tough love to his players, and denied suggestions he went too far after likening it to a parent lecturing his kids. "I'll just make a personal comment - I love that aspect," Dilena said.
"Anyone who's been a parent and has dealt with kids, you can cuddle them and nurture them as much as you like, but occasionally there might be a couple of stern words that go in there as well. Ross is an experienced coach. He's just driven to get the absolute best out of our players and raise the standards of our club.
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon directed an angry tirade at his players during the 45-point loss to AFL premiers Brisbane. Pic: Getty
"He'd been very tolerant and been very cuddly for a while. For him to occasionally come out and just give someone a bake, I think that's good." The Saints rallied to get within 17 points in the third quarter, before defending premiers Brisbane ran over the top of them to inflict a third consecutive loss.
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"It's a bit of a bumpy road. We always knew it would be a bit up and down," Dilena added. "You don't have that sort of straight-line, linear progression towards improvement. And so you do go through moments, like we are at the moment, where it's a bit frustrating and you think we're not performing to what we should be doing.
"Early in the season we had some great wins against Geelong and Port, and that really set the tone, but it also raises the expectations." St Kilda will hope to get their season back on track when they take on Fremantle at Marvel Stadium on Friday.
with AAP