Last year it was Jake Carlisle. The year before that it was Tim Membrey. In 2013, the Ben McEvoy deal helped acquire not only Shane Savage and Luke Dunstan, but also Blake Acres. While Josh Bruce was lured from the Giants for just pick No. 48 in the same period. A year earlier, Dylan Roberton landed in Seaford for nothing.

Since the introduction of free agency at the end of the 2012 season, and the extra boost to player movement that came with it, the trade period has become a crucial time for clubs trying to improve their list and draft position. For the Saints, it’s a time of year that has helped secure some crucial puzzle pieces as the club plots a return to September and beyond.

St Kilda Chief Operating Officer, Ameet Bains, has played a pivotal role in the Saints’ list management strategy since the advent of free agency, along with List Manager, Tony Elshaug, with the pair overseeing some key additions and departures in the last four years.

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Bains explained that the clubs desire during this highly scrutinised period is to maintain or improve their draft hand, whilst also acquiring highly sought-after cattle without selling the farm to get them. He referenced the McEvoy trade to explain how both clubs can and should win from deals during this period.

“I think overall if you look at the guys that have been playing and that we’ve brought into the club from other clubs, most of them have played, played consistently and developed their football along the way,” Bains told NAB AFL Trade Radio.

“We’ve had two main objectives within that period, one is to bolster our draft hand which we have done and some of those kids are coming through. But then also some of the other trades for guys we didn’t have to give up a lot for necessarily trade wise like Josh Bruce and guys of that ilk as well.

All you need to know about the 2016 AFL Trade Period

“The McEvoy deal (is an example of a win-win trade), which I think was a great deal for both clubs; he’s a two-time premiership player at Hawthorn, so they’re rapt and we were able to bring in Luke Dunstan, Shane Savage – who has played 50-odd games at our club as well.”

During last year’s trade period, the Saints secured highly rated young midfielder Nathan Freeman, before adding star key defender Jake Carlisle. Both players didn’t feature for St Kilda in 2016 for different reasons, which have been well documented, but both still loom as key planks in the Saints’ future.

While marquee deals like Patrick Dangerfield last year and Jaeger O’Meara this year dominate discussion and sell newspapers around the trade period, St Kilda has done some shrewd work via delisted free agents since the inception of free agency.

The Saints secured Dylan Roberton from Fremantle at the end of 2013 when the rebounding defender wanted to return home, before swooping on opportunity starved Swans forward Tim Membrey a year later, who was low on the depth chart in the harbour city, but has since flourished at Linen House Centre. 

While former Geelong defender Joel Hamling played a crucial role in Western Bulldogs' flag, the Saints pair are arguably the two best delisted free agents to date. It's hard to believe now that Membrey cost so little, given the year he produced in 2016.

St Kilda’s player movement during the Free Agency Era

2015

Nathan Freeman + pick No. 68 from Collingwood for 2016 second-round pick + pick No. 63

Jake Carlisle + pick No. 14 (Jade Gresham) from Essendon for pick No. 5 + No. 24

2014

Pick No. 21 (Hugh Goddard) from Geelong for Rhys Stanley + pick No. 60

Tim Membrey signed as a delisted free agent from Sydney

2013

Ben McEvoy + pick No. 24 + No. 59 from Hawthorn for Shane Savage + pick No. 18 (Luke Dunstan) + No. 19 (Blake Acres)

Billy Longer + No. 48 from Brisbane for pick No. 25 + 41

Josh Bruce from Greater Western Sydney for pick No. 48

Luke Delaney from North Melbourne for pick No. 77

2012

Tom Lee + pick No. 24 + No. 45 from Greater Western Sydney for pick No. 12

Tom Hickey + pick No. 25 + No. 46 from Gold Coast for pick No. 13 + No. 36 + No. 55

Trent Dennis-Lane from Sydney for pick No. 46

Pick No. 40 + 43 from West Coast for Jamie Cripps + No. 45

Dylan Roberton signed as a delisted free agent from Fremantle

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