Rival clubs are said to be "assessing" the trade value of St Kilda captain Jack Steele, who is under contract at Moorabbin for a further two years.
Steele is viewed as one of the few senior players at the Saints who could pocket the club valuable draft assets at the trade table, with St Kilda potentially weighing up how they could add to their current draft hand.
Ruckman Rowan Marshall is another, with the Saints big man potentially moving to a secondary ruck role if St Kilda secure the services of Tom De Koning.
Keen to build a strong list for the future by attacking the high end of the draft, St Kilda could find themselves in a position where rivals begin to ask questions of their most valued senior players.
According toย AFL Media'sย Cal Twomey, Steele is a name who has clubs "looking at him as a trade option" for this year's off-season window.
"I'm interested in what they do from a draft perspective," Twomey said of the Saints.
"Do they find another way to generate another pick somehow? So if 'TDK' comes in, what happens with Rowan Marshall?
"Is there a club out there that would take a little bit of a bite at Jack Steele as a midfielder? I think there's clubs looking at him as a trade option and assessing that trade value of the St Kilda skipper.
"He's got a few years to go on his contract, so it wouldn't be easy to get him out, but obviously you have to assess what's coming in and then what you can get for them in terms of this draft rebuild, which St Kilda is sticking to.
"The only way to get out of this hole is to go to the draft."
The Saints currently hold Picks 5, 41 and 61 for this year's AFL Draft, with a further early pick meaning they would have multiple first-round selections for the third straight year.
The 2024 draft saw the Saints recruit Tobie Travaglia and Alix Tauru with Picks 8 and 10 last November, while they used Picks 18 and 28 on Darcy Wilson and Lance Collard respectively the year prior.
A successful play for De Koning would likely see the Saints acquire the Carlton ruckman without having to hand over any draft capital given his free agency status.
De Koning is under the restricted free agency tag, meaning the Blues can match a rival's bid and force a trade, however they are unlikely to be able to match St Kilda's offering financially.
