With just two rounds remaining in the 2026 AFL home-and-away season, St Kilda Football Club’s slim shot at securing a wildcard finals spot is on life support, forcing senior coach Ross Lyon to step forward and accept full responsibility for the team’s underperformance this year.
Speaking to reporters at a media briefing on Wednesday, the veteran coach addressed the club’s current position: sitting 11th on the league ladder, two full wins behind 10th-placed Carlton, which currently occupies the final wildcard spot. This Saturday, the Saints will face Richmond in a critical clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, before closing out their regular season at home against Gold Coast. To keep their finals dreams alive, St Kilda has no margin for error: they must win both of these remaining matches, and they also need Carlton to drop both of their closing games against the Western Bulldogs and ladder-leading Fremantle. Even if everything goes the Saints’ way, their campaign will end; even the best possible outcome leaves them dependent on results they cannot influence, making their finals survival anything but certain.
Lyon pushed back on the narrative that coaching staff and players have been at odds over the team’s form this season. “We don’t say to the players we’re coaching good and you’re playing bad,” he explained. “It’s more like we need to coach you to play better, that’s the space I come from. Ultimately, I take full responsibility for where we are at, I don’t shy away from that. At the end of the day, we just haven’t been able to get across the line in games we have wanted to.” The coach acknowledged incremental progress across the season but admitted the improvement has not been enough to push the club into playoff contention, a gap he owns as the team’s leader.
The Saints’ path was further complicated by a season-ending injury to star midfielder Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who sustained a hamstring injury during Sunday’s high-stakes loss to Carlton. Scans completed on Monday confirmed the 2026 campaign is over for the young star. Lyon, however, emphasized that Wanganeen-Milera remains an active leader within the group even as he begins his rehabilitation. “Players are very resilient. They know injuries are part of the business,” Lyon said. “He’s obviously disappointed but we don’t tend to walk around moping because you’ve got to lead and you’ve got to keep your body language strong. They’re very focused, he’ll be right into his rehab and he’ll continue to contribute strongly in the meetings. He’s still leading. He will come back and lead in pre-season.”