There’s a plethora of questions any time a top-tier talent is drafted to a club. Where are they from? Who do they play like? What can they do? Top of the list when it comes St Kilda’s own draftee pair of Tobie Travaglia and Alix Tauru is where exactly will they play?

Travaglia and Tauru were touted among the most versatile prospects of this year’s draft class, each piecing together commendable U18 campaigns in a variety of roles to eventually land at the Saints via pick No. 8 and 10 respectively at the opening night of the 2024 Telstra AFL Draft.  

While their time in red, white and black is only in its very infancy, discussion as to where they’ll slot into the St Kilda machine has already picked up steam.

The hard-running Travaglia impressed for Bendigo Pioneers and Vic Country off half-back but has already had his aerobic capacity linked to a shift on-ball in the coming seasons, while Tauru thrived as a high-flying intercept defender for Gippsland Power and Vic Country who can also swing forward and impact the scoreboard.

“Both of them can play in a few different positions, especially Tobie, but it’s hard to say (where) now… they’ve been at the club for 10 minutes,” EGM Football David Misson said.

“We’ve got hopes he can play a range of roles for us, including midfield. He’s got great running capacity and is just a really good all-round player.

“All of his parameters, both football and physical, fit into our system so we just needed to tick off background and character, which he absolutely did.

“He runs hard and runs long and we were really impressed with that, so I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

Tauru rocketed into high-end draft calculations following his call-up to Vic Country after not being picked in the initial squad, impressing at every turn through his marking prowess which earned him the nickname ‘The Flying Viking’.

“Obviously Alix’s marking capacity at both ends of the ground and his competitiveness is something that could aid any team, so he probably too hard to pass up at the pick he was available,” Misson said.

“We’re super excited with him. We feel like we’ve got a couple of really good long-term players for the footy club.

“He looks like a real St Kilda player already. We saw vision of Nick Riewoldt’s draft interview when he was drafted at pick No. 1… a few similarities there, but it’s really the footy ability and their character that impressed us.”

With the additions of Travaglia and Tauru, St Kilda’s previous three drafts have netted first-round selections Darcy Wilson (2023), Mattaes Phillipou (2022) and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (2021), all of whom form the nucleus of the Saints’ push towards success.

Although dipping out on finals football this year, Ross Lyon’s side heads into 2025 with momentum on-side — and aspirations of returning to September — after winning six of its last nine matches to close out the season just gone with an 11-12 ledger.

“It’s what our supporters want to hear, and it’s a possibility mindset for us: anything is possible,” Misson said.

“We’ve got players who we feel have got a lot to give the Saints and our supporters haven’t seen the best of. They’ve got a lot of potential.

“We’ve got some great kids that we picked up tonight and we’re really hopeful that we’re providing the coaching structure and high-performance structure that can allows to play at their best.

“They’ve just got to get to work and we feel we’ve got environment for them to come into.”