'Last chance' for senior Saints, Ryder wants to play, Lyon 'not looking for' Roos job

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“If they stay in the team they will be lucky and they will get a chance to respond and if they don’t stay in the team they have to work really hard to come back.

“It’s not just about our young lads, their performance fluctuates, it’s about the players in our team who have been around for a while and we need them to get picked up, we need more of them in terms of how they do it.”

Ratten said it was disappointing they still face the same form inconsistency as 12 months ago.

“It’s disappointing – we put ourselves in a pretty good position to be eight-three and then post-bye to be where we are with just one win.

“We can’t have a fickle momentum where five, six, seven goals in a row and we don’t get to the scoreboard and that’s what we’re dealing with.”

Best and fairest two-time winner Seb Ross will return after losing the Bulldogs via COVID-19 protocol while Ratten says defender Hunter Clark will also play.

Clarke underwent surgery after breaking a nasal bone in their win over Carlton earlier this month.

Ratten said injury-condemned veteran Dan Hannebery will play one more VFL game before being available for selection.

AP

‘I’d rather not go’: Ryder wants to play in 2023

Amid fears his decorated AFL career is coming to an end, St Kilda veteran Paddy Ryder has expressed his intention to play next season.

Paddy Ryder really wanted to play in The Saints.Credit:Getty Images

The 34-year-old is sidelined with a calf injury and whether he will return this season will likely depend on the final game of 10th-placed Saints.

But the bum is out of contract looking to extend his career in 2023, regardless of how the year goes.

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“At this time of year, as an older man, your contract comes up and there’s always doubt around it, but my best footy when I was fit was still pretty good,” Ryder told reporters on Thursday.

“I’m just going to get through the next few weeks with the calf and reevaluate everything.

“I will always think about it, but I hope to keep playing.”

Ryder said he had not entered into contract negotiations with St Kilda.

But the former Essendon and Port Adelaide troublemaker wants to stay with The Saints, whom he joined via a trade deal in late 2019.

“Nothing yet but that’s not to say that nobody is interested or anything, we’re just focused on playing footy, winning games and everything like that,” Ryder said.

“It’s not on my mind yet, but I’m sure over the next few weeks, now that I have a bit of time, there will be some conversation going on.

“I’d rather stay than change clubs all the time.

“I enjoyed my time at The Saints and I have some close friends there and family and Bradley Hill, so I’d rather not go.”

Ryder admitted he felt his calf was getting tired before sustaining the injury in last week’s loss to the Western Bulldogs, and said he had addressed the issue with the club’s medical staff.

The veteran is confident his body can survive next year and has been buoyed by his ability to overcome his nagging Achilles problem this year.

Ryder has been one of St Kilda’s most important players in his 12 appearances this season, based on his dangerous combination with Rowan Marshall.

Saints coach Brett Ratten said a decision on Ryder’s future would come down to management’s roster.

“He’s played really good football this year and that’s very encouraging… but we have to sit down as a group to make that decision,” Ratten said. “And it will come maybe in the next three or four weeks, but we may need until the end of the year to get it done.”

Marshall will lead the Saints fray division in an important meeting with the West Coast on Sunday.

AP

Lyon denies coaching speculation in North Melbourne

Nell Geraets

Former Fremantle coach Ross Lyon has slammed speculation over whether he has been contacted by North Melbourne about their head coach position following the departure of David Noble last week.

Lyon, who led St Kilda and Fremantle between 2007 and 2019, are seen as potential replacements, alongside the likes of Alastair Clarkson and Leon Cameron.

But the 55-year-old vehemently denied any connection between him and the club, which is awaiting the results of a football department review by Geoff Walsh, and is languishing in 18th place on the ladder this season.

“So simple, no story here,” Lyon said at Nine’s Footy Classified on Wednesday night.

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“I’m not investigating, and they haven’t called.”

Lyon said he understood why he would be linked with the situation given his long coaching history, but said he had enough on his plate as a property investor and media player.

“It’s not on my radar yet because my hands are full. I’m like you guys on the treadmill, I’m trying to keep up, doing my property, doing my media, trying to keep up and trying to have something reasonable to say at some point,” Lyon said.

Asked if he would take the call if North Melbourne approached him, Lyon said he would “out of respect”, but believes there are others on their radar and no developments have been revealed.

“In a sense, it’s satisfying that you’re connected because we all have egos. I don’t have a definite position. They speak to everyone in football, so they should – Mark Williams, they go and speak to [Mark] ‘Bomber’ Thompson, talk to them all.”

Lyon believes it is pointless to let the team “waddle” for the foreseeable future, and offered some advice on how the struggling club could bounce back.

“I think they have built a young midfield… [But] it is a sunk fee. On the economic front, once you spend it you never get it back,” Lyon said.

“But you can take care of the future. I think you finish it in a year. Do it now and then no matter what happens in the AFL expansion, the North are not vulnerable, and they need to be in good shape because they have potentially two options, a gap on the draft, the end of the first round, and you lighten or remove any possible excuses for them.”

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