St Kilda’s new executive general manager of football, Geoff Walsh, admits there is a sense of irrelevancy surrounding the club.
The veteran administrator, who has held key roles at Collingwood and North Melbourne across his 35 years in the caper, has stepped into the job at Moorabbin at a time of change at the top for the Saints.
Walsh’s addition comes alongside Simon Lethlean’s transition into the CEO position on the back of a disappointing 2022 season where the Saints missed finals under Brett Ratten having spent a large portion of the year in the top eight.
Walsh acknowledges the club has underperformed in recent times and is hoping to bring his hard-edged and no-nonsense ways in order to make St Kilda relevant again.
“One of the things I can bring to the table is to make a hard call or to have a hard conversation,” Walsh said on SEN Breakfast.
“To not walk past something if you see it and you know it’s wrong, I’m willing to call it out.
“You’d have to ask Simon Lethlean and (President) Andrew Bassat if that appeals to them in me, I don’t know.
“This might sound abrasive and Saints fans might get upset, but one of the things that I think when asked about how do I see St Kilda, I think the competition would say there’s been a degree of irrelevance.
“That should be abrasive. That should choke down people’s throats and I hope that going forward I can contribute to a profile that gives the Saints the due respect that they crave.”
In order to do that, the club must improve its playing list after falling away badly in the second half of the 2022 season.
Walsh touched on St Kilda’s trade period activity which will include bringing in Zaine Cordy from the Western Bulldogs, but will mainly centre around the National Draft.
“I know (list manager) James Gallagher has spoken at length with Zaine Cordy and his management,” he said.
“I think all things being equal and as long as there can be a reasonable outcome with the Bulldogs that we would like to get Zaine into a St Kilda guernsey.
“Other than that, I think there are a few little bits and pieces that are related to picks and trying to perhaps group a couple of picks together to get further up the order, like everyone does.
“Essentially it might be a time where we go to the draft as opposed to trade.”
Listen to Walsh on SEN Breakfast below: