Jack Steele on Battle’s departure, early Macrae signs and who plays key back in 2025

St Kilda captain Jack Steele is looking forward to the 2025 AFL season kicking off.

The Saints have had an up-and-down off-season so far after finishing 12th in 2024 with some young guns exciting but several injuries hitting the side over summer.

The Saints also lost Josh Battle via free agency to Hawthorn but bolstered their midfield by bringing in Jack Macrae via trade from the Western Bulldogs.

With plenty of big questions facing the side ahead of 2025, Steele answered some of those with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson on SEN Breakfast.

On Josh Battle leaving for Hawthorn last off-season

“Josh played eight years with us before he left at the end of the last year,” Steele said on SEN Breakfast.

“He was obviously a very good teammate of ours for that period and a very good mate for a lot of us.

“So, it’s hard, we wish he was still here but he made the decision to go and we’ve got to live by that.”

On Jack Macrae’s arrival and how he’s looked over pre-season

“He's been great.

“He's a very good person and a very good player.

“He's helped me learn a lot and he’s helped a lot of the younger mids here at St Kilda learn a lot.

“It’s just his knowledge of the game. He sees it so well. He’s so clean with his hands too, so he's really taken a few of the younger boys under his wing with the way he goes about his craft behind the scenes.

“He's not a very loud person, but he certainly has those relationships, and he's built those connections with the younger players already.

“I’m going to love having him next to me out in the midfield this year. He’s certainly going to be fun to play with, that’s for sure.”

Who plays in key defence with Battle gone and Howard injured?

“At the moment, it's sort of up for grabs with Dougal Howard going down, it’s left a big hole back there.

“There's a couple of people that are vying for that position, Anthony Caminiti is one, Zane Cordy is another, Arie Schoenmaker has shown some really good signs, and Angus Hastie as well.

“So, we've got some young kids that are really lining up to show what they've got.”

On pick No. 8 Tobie Travaglia

“I'm not exactly too sure when he'll play, but I know he will play early in the season, that's for sure.

“He's a very good kid, he wants to learn, he comes in every day and just wants to get better.

“I’m not exactly too sure what position he'll find himself at. He can play half-back, wing or half-forward.

“He's pretty crafty and a bit of a utility, but I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do.”