St Kilda recruit Sam Flanders has declared his new club's on-ball brigade as one of the best in the AFL, and is the reason why he chose the Moorabbin club over rival suitors.
Melbourne, Essendon and briefly Carlton were lining up for Flanders' services, but ultimately lost out to the pitch by Ross Lyon and the Saints crew.
The 24-year-old was traded for Pick 7 in this year's draft, gifting Gold Coast another top pick they used to lure Melbourne's Christian Petracca.
But after being pushed to the outer skirts of a half forward and wing, Flanders sought a more prominent midfield role, which was available at St Kilda.
"Yeah, obviously there's a couple of teams that I met with over the past couple of weeks," Flanders said.
"But the biggest attraction for me was the opportunity that Ross (Lyon) and the coaching staff put in front of me that tied in with the list.
"It's one of the better (midfields) in the AFL. I just want to play midfield. It was a decision for me personally, around the opporutnity, around the role. I feel like I have a lot of strengths that I can add to this team and take us forward.
"Obviously NAS (Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera) re-signing. The inclusions of a couple of players. Liam Ryan, (Jack) Silvagni and TDK (Tom De Koning).
"It's a very exciting list."
St Kilda is set to unveil a new-look midfield group, headed by Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera after his breakout 2025 campaign.
Mattaes Phillipou is tipped to join him after overcoming a chorus of injuries, while Marcus Windhager and veteran Jack Macrae will also see prominent on-ball minutes.
Flanders, as well as the acquisition of athletic ruckman Tom De Koning, are a nice pair of additions to Ross Lyon's kitbag, and suddenly the Saints pose as a force to be reckoned with.
