Russell questions Fagan's comments on 'dangerous' St Kilda contracts

Dwayne Russell has shunned Brisbane head coach Chris Fagan, challenging his apprehensive comments over the AFL’s escalating contracts.

With star premiership player Zac Bailey expected to explore his options ahead of his contract expiry, Fagan expressed his concerns over the growing contract demands, particularly noting St Kilda’s contract offers towards recruit Tom De Koning and superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera.

De Koning, who joined the club from Carlton via free agency, signed a reported seven-year, $1.7 million deal, while Nasiah became the competition’s first ever $2 million player when he re-signed with the club over two years.

With that in mind, Fagan wouldn’t be surprised if Bailey was offered a significant deal to leave Brisbane at season’s end.

“I suppose everyone's got a moving price, haven't they?" Fagan told AFL.com.au.

"I'm hoping those numbers we saw last year, via St Kilda, don't become a reality. I saw that as a bit of a danger for the game.

"I think the best players in the competition deserve to be paid the most money and that's not the case at the moment.

"That's not an insult to Nasiah. I think he's going to be a really good player and how far he goes I don't know.

"And 'TDK' has shown a lot of promise for a long time but hasn't probably played up to expectations, and they're getting paid extremely well.

"I'd rather see the better players get all the big money."

Dwayne Russell could not understand the premise of Fagan’s comments, stating that those clubs who aren’t your typical ‘destination clubs’ have little to no other method of recruitment.

“What mechanisms do a team like Essendon or North Melbourne or St Kilda have to try and get it back to even keel?” Dwayne told SEN Afternoons.

“The only real opportunity that St Kilda, or any of those clubs have really got, is to pay overs to try to get a player to their club.

“Like a Tom De Koning, pay overs to try to get a Zak Butters to your club. Pay overs to keep a Nasiah Wangaaneen-Milera at your club.

“That’s the only mechanism they have got, isn’t it?”

Beyond St Kilda’s spending on recruitment, Dwayne also questioned Fagan’s remarks surrounding Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, arguing that the young gun is already one of the best players in the competition.

“Isn’t Nasiah already one of the top five players in the comp?” he said.

“Is Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera better in my mind? I think he is top five, six or seven in the comp already now!

“I had to have a look and double check, because in the games I saw last year, he was one of the most dominant players in the comp. He was fourth in the AFL for possessions last year, he was second in the AFL for kicks, he gets his own ball, and he was top 10 in the Brownlow.

“In fact, he finished higher in the Brownlow than any Brisbane Lions player. He is a damn good player, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, and for Chris to say, ‘not an insult to Nasiah, he is going to be a really good player’… I think he is already top five!

“If I was to name my top five by the end of this year, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera is in my top five, and he’s in there now anyway!”