Latest news with #RossLyon
News.com.au
a day ago
- Business
- News.com.au
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has no interest in angry fallout from disparaging comment about Gold Coast Suns
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon says he was oblivious to the dramatic fallout of his 'nepo baby' comments about the Gold Coast Suns despite a furious response, adamant his focus remains solely on making his team the 'best St Kilda team ever'. Lyon was hit between the eyes by both Suns coach Damien Hardwick and chief executive Mark Evans for his comment, made before last Sunday's game at Marvel Stadium, won by Gold Coast. Hardwick labelled the comment 'disrespectful', while Evans said it was 'offensive and out of order', having also made the club's displeasure known to St Kilda chief executive Carl Dilena. It was also called a 'whinge' coming as part of a lengthy campaign from the Saints against draft concessions given to the expansion clubs and the impact it has had on their own list building. But on Friday, Lyon, who was preparing to board a flight with AFL executives to Alice Springs for his team's cash with Melbourne, said apart from a 'few calls' he took little notice of the blowback. Instead he delivered a message about how the Saints, who sit 14th with four wins from 11 games, were 'executing' on their own strategy implemented when he returned for a second stint as coach. 'I had a few calls from people on (TV) shows. I haven't read one article or listened to one show,' he said. 'I moved on to the review, we really need to improve our footy.' Key to the criticism of what many perceived to be a planned attack on the Suns was previous instances of St Kilda officials bemoaning their position. But Lyon said he and the club would continue to stay the course and not be 'derailed' by outside noise, with support of some of the club's greats. 'We've 25 list changes in two years, gone from second and fifth oldest to third youngest (list),' he said. 'In that period of time, we played a finals series … we've beaten some decent teams this year, we're inconsistent, and we're still trying to build out our list. 'We know we have that strategic vision we are working on, getting our salary cap in order, trying to target free agents, going to the draft, signing our really good players. 'We want to become the best Saints ever and we feel by definition winning a premiership will do that. The overarching view is we are executing. 'I get texts all the time, Barry Breen says stay the course. It's a bit rough, keep playing the kids, which we are doing.' Key to the success of the strategy is signing superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, with Lyon dispelling any idea he was 'gettable' for other clubs. 'All I do is coach him,' he said. 'I said to him last week 'how about 1000m gained'. He said no worries and delivered 920. He said 'they missed me on a couple of handballs'. 'I don't want to get caught in that week-to-week narrative. 'I see the headline 'gettable' but opinion isn't fact.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Don't b**** and moan': Great unloads on Saints in scathing verdict
St Kilda have been encouraged to stop throwing stones at others and worry about their own glasshouse in a scathing assessment of the club's antics by Fox Footy's Ben Dixon. Speaking on Wednesday night's episode of First Crack, Dixon, who played 203 games for Hawthorn, backed up Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick's comments after Ross Lyon's 'nepo baby' remark towards the Suns before St Kilda's 19-point loss at Marvel Stadium on Sunday. Lyon's words were targeted at the Gold Coast's academy concessions with recruiters believing as many as four top ten picks in this year's draft could come from the Suns' academy. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. It followed St Kilda president Andrew Bassett using his speech at last year's club Best and Fairest night to complain about academy selections and father-son picks in the draft. Dixon was not a fan of the behaviour from Lyon pre-game, saying it told fans they expected to lose. 'Throwing a hand grenade over the top before a game, if I was a Saints supporter watching, and I'm not a Saints supporter, and he said 'oh chock full of talent yada yada', I'd be thinking he's put the white flag up and we're going to get completely rolled today,' Dixon said. Only 13,486 fans attended the loss to the Suns, the lowest crowd ever for a St Kilda home game at Marvel Stadium, as Saints fans have had little to cheer about in recent times. They have won just one of their last seven matches, and have won four times for the season so far to sit 14th. Dixon admitted that St Kilda are in the midst of a rebuild with the fifth youngest list in the AFL. But the Saints have on average put out the seventh youngest team in the competition this season, and fielded a more experienced side than Gold Coast on Sunday. He stressed than they need to get to work to turn things around quickly with their next five games coming against tough opposition in Melbourne (in Alice Springs), the Western Bulldogs, Collingwood, Fremantle (at Optus Stadium) and Hawthorn. 'They could be sitting at four and 12. Is that where you want to be sitting in a rebuild?' Dixon said. 'If you want to keep throwing hand grenades over at other coaches and clubs about what they're getting, and your not getting, I drive home through Toorak, I don't bitch and moan about he's got a bigger mansion than me and he's inherited that. I just want to get to work and buy my own. 'That's what the Saints have got to do.' Dixon also believes that the complaints coming from St Kilda's hierarchy does not bode well for their pursuits of players from rival clubs. The Saints have put forward a staggering offer of around $1.7 million per season to Carlton's Tom De Koning, and are actively on the hunt for other prized recruits after missing out on the likes of Finn Callaghan and Luke Davies-Uniacke despite reportedly offering the former $17 million over ten years. Dixon suggested that they need to make Moorabbin more appetising, and such comments as their ones targeted at the Suns would not come from the likes of Craig McRae, Sam Mitchell, Damien Hardwick or Chris Fagan, who all coach sides in the top six at present. 'If you're selling a strategy and you're trying to recruit players to your club, it's got to be a destination club and your messaging is so important,' Dixon said. 'You hear 'Fly' talk, you hear 'Mitch', you hear 'Dimma', you hear 'Fages', when they talk, you believe. 'And everyone's watching, potential players and even your current players might watch back. 'Your messaging is so clear in terms of where you want to go as a footy club. 'If potting the opposition before, in terms of what he said (about) the Suns, who haven't played finals yet and yes, they're going to play finals now. 'I just think it's sour grapes. Throw the toys out of the cot and that's just not Ross. 'If that's your strategy, I just don't like it.' St Kilda finished 12th last year with 11 wins after winning 13 games the year prior, the first in Lyon's second stint in charge, before losing an elimination final against the Giants at the MCG. Concerning for Lyon is the Saints poor defensive numbers this season. They have conceded on average 91.3 points per game, and cough up 52.1 points per game from turnovers - the worst they have been in those statistics since finishing 16th in 2018. 'Look at their defence, that used to be Ross' backbone. Seven-year low,' Dixon said. 'In terms of points against and turnover, they're getting punished. 'That used to be his strength. 'Concentrate on your strength.' Their struggles so far this season have also come off the back of a startling drop off for several of their most important players. Bradley Hill (86th to 189th), Rowan Marshall (93rd to 258th), Mason Wood (97th to 202nd), Jack Steele (163rd to 184th) and Darcy Wilson (193rd to 251st) have all gone backwards this year in Champion Data's player ratings. All of that quintet bar Wood finished in the top ten of the club's best and fairest last season. And Dixon believes the poor form of their best players, as well as the off field drama, could contribute to the likes of star half back Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who has been linked with a move home to South Australia, walking out the door. 'The finishes are irrelevant when you're rebuilding but you've got to be developing your players. You've got to bring your players along for the journey,' Dixon said. 'And they're just inconsistent. Not saying they're terrible but your top end talent and your leaders have just dropped a way a little bit. 'They've got to come along for the ride too. 'Getting back to 'Dimma's' point about 'worry about your own backyard', just get to work on the players. 'Get to work on the young players. Get the messaging right because (Nasiah) Wanganeen-Milera hasn't signed with that footy club yet. 'If you're selling the dream to him, why hasn't he signed? What doesn't he believe at that footy club?' Dixon's fellow panellist Leigh Montagna came to the defence of his former club. The two-time All-Australian said that the Saints are 'fighting for their club' when they discuss the way the draft is compromised by academy and father-son selections. 'They want fairness and the opportunity to try and rebuild properly and be a contender,' Montagna said. 'And they're feeling that the northern academies and the advantages they get don't give St Kilda the same opportunity. 'They are trying to galvanise as a club. They are saying we are not going to stand for this anymore. 'They are ruffling feathers. That is their strategy. 'So Ross is on board with that strategy, and we are hearing there might be change with the way the academies (draftees) can be selected going forward.' The third member of the First Crack panel, two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King was not so sure that the Saints' actions were having as strong an impact on the AFL as Montagna believes. 'I think it's contributed, I'm not sure it's the absolute reason,' King said of potential changes to the draft points system.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘It's sour grapes' – Dicko whacks Lyon!
AFL: Ben Dixon has taken issue with Ross Lyon's comments regarding the Suns, suggesting the Saints coach has bigger issues to worry about.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘I don't care about his opinion anymore'
AFL: Suns star Sam Collins has taken a swipe at Ross Lyon, after the Saints coach labeled Gold Coast as the AFL's 'nepo babies'
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Plot thickens as full extent of AFL clubs' feud emerges
The feud that has emerged between St Kilda and Gold Coast since their AFL clash on Sunday has origins, at least from the Saints' camp, that date back months. Asked about the prospect of coming up against the finals-bound Suns on Sunday, St Kilda coach Ross Lyon called them 'the AFL's nepo baby', and said they would be a 'formidable' opponent. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: AFL set to bring in draft changes amid St Kilda furore. Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick bit back in his post-match press conference, suggesting the Saints worry about their own backyard before commenting on other clubs. He was followed by Suns CEO Mark Evans, who spoke to SEN on Monday, calling Lyon's words 'offensive and out of order'. On Monday night's episode of The Agenda Setters, Caroline Wilson revealed 'there are several levels' to St Kilda's gripe with the Suns. 'And it's not just the 'nepo baby' fact that Gold Coast get a lot of early picks through their academy that has riled the Saints in recent weeks,' Wilson said. 'They think that Damien Hardwick should have been picked up on by the AFL for comments about his player, Matt Rowell, recently.' Stream full episodes of The Agenda Setters for free, live or on-demand, at 7plus St Kilda coach Ross Lyon's 'nepo baby' comment has stirred up a hornets' nest at the Gold Coast. Credit: AAP In a post-match presser on May 4, Hardwick said Rowell 'doesn't get enough protection for a ball-player'. 'Players — I'm not saying tonight, but I'm saying consistently — they target him; they hold him, they scrap, and all that sort of stuff, so he needs some help,' he said at the time. But there is still more to St Kilda's pointed move, Wilson says. 'So, on one level, the Saints can't believe that so many coaches, particularly Damien Hardwick, are getting away with baiting the umpires about protected players, etc,' she added. 'But during the off-season, and this was a high-level strategic push by a football club that has won one premiership in 150 years, and whose mantra has been 'strength through loyalty'. 'It was led by (St Kilda CEO) Carl Dilena, who also worked on the re-branding of the North Melbourne Football Club, which led to the re-branding of the shinboners spirit some years ago. 'There were focus groups, the board was consulted, supporters were consulted, and the findings were, St Kilda decided — very strongly led by Andrew Basat and Ross Lyon, driven by them really — they needed to be tougher, they needed to be bolder, they needed to have a crack at the opposition when it was warranted, and they needed to be unapologetic about that. 'It began at the best and fairest when Andrew Basat had a crack at Brisbane. I think if he had his time again, he would have been less strong at Brisbane, the reigning premier. 'But he was strong on father-sons, strong on academy picks, and the advantages other clubs are getting. 'Andrew Basat, as we know, has doubled down on several occasions this year, and Ross Lyon hasn't just had a go at nepo babies — but he's had a go at other coaches.' On March 14 before their Round 1 clash with Adelaide, Lyon put the heat on Crows coach Matthew Nicks, who has yet to take his side to finals, six years into the job. Then again on May 18, Lyon suggested first-year West Coast coach Andrew McQualter, who played under Lyon in his first iteration as St Kilda coach, was walking into a 'hot bed' coaching the Eagles in Perth.
