Saints say goodbye, but Ross wants to play on
Roy Ward
Veteran midfielder Seb Ross wants to play on in 2025 after St Kilda told him they won’t offer him a contract.
Seb Ross, middle, walks off the ground with St Kilda at a loss in May.Credit: AFL Photos
The Saints publicly announced their plans on Wednesday sending the 31-year-old from Horsham on his way after 211 games, 13 seasons and two best and fairest awards.
Ross was drafted by the Saints with pick 21 in 2011 and made his debut the next season spending seven seasons in the leadership group. He’s now pledged to keep his football options open for next season after playing 13 games this campaign.
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“St Kilda will always be the place that gave me the chance to live out my childhood dream of playing AFL football, and I will forever be grateful for that,” Ross said.
“While I’m not closing the door on football moving forward, I leave the Saints with some lifelong friends and some incredible memories.
“I’d like to thank all of the teammates I’ve shared the journey with over the years, as well as all my coaches, the staff and the broader St Kilda community for making my time here so special.
“I’m comforted knowing that whatever comes next, I have my incredible wife Marnie and our children, Charlotte, Vinny and Henley, by my side. They truly are my world.”
Saints football general manager David Misson said it was difficult to let Ross go after such exceptional service.
“These types of decisions are never easy to make, particularly given Seb’s calibre as both a person and a player, which has yielded incredible respect from teammates and supporters alike. However, as we position our list for the future, this decision, albeit incredibly difficult, needed to be made,” Misson said.
“Seb has given everything to St Kilda over the journey and has experienced more than his fair share of hardship throughout in terms of team success, but his commitment through it all has a defining feature of his career and character.”
Suspension stands: Blues fail to overturn Owies’ tackle ban
Jacob Shteyman
Carlton forward Matthew Owies will miss his side’s elimination final against Brisbane after a marathon night at the AFL tribunal where his one-match ban for a dangerous tackle on St Kilda’s Jack Higgins was upheld.
Matthew Owies kicks long for Carlton against St Kilda, but won’t be available for his team’s first final.Credit: Getty Images
The 27-year-old’s failure to overturn his suspension is a major blow to the Blues, who will miss Owies’ talents in front of goal.
His 33 goals this season were crucial in helping his side sneaking into the finals in eighth place.
Owies was charged with careless conduct, medium impact and high contact for the driving tackle, even though a similar tackle from Western Bulldogs defender Liam Jones on Aaron Cadman on Sunday was met with only a fine.
Higgins returned to the field soon after the tackle, having been cleared of concussion symptoms.
Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson said Owies’ tackle was unreasonable and had the potential to cause injury, even though Higgins was uninjured.
“We find that this was rough conduct and that the grading is careless, high contact and medium impact,” he said.
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Owies told the tribunal on Tuesday night he loosened his grip on Higgins’s arms as they were going to ground but was unable to immediately release his hold as they were moving too fast.
His club’s lawyer, Peter O’Farrell, said his challenge was no more impactful than Jones’s tackle on Cadman.
“The extent of force was minimal from Owies, we would submit,” he said.
Nick Pane, representing the AFL, said Owies could have released Higgins’s arms after he released the ball, allowing the tackled player to brace his fall.
“This was an inherently dangerous tackle, and the force with which player Higgins’s head hit the ground meant that there was potential to cause a more serious injury,” he said.
After the tribunal returned its guilty verdict in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, O’Farrell argued Owies’ penalty should be reduced because of exceptional and compelling circumstances.
Namely, he had an exemplary record and could attract players to AFL from basketball as a result of his background playing the game.
The tribunal retired to deliberate, again, before saying they were not satisfied that the circumstances were exceptional or compelling enough to overturn the ban.
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Owies’ hearing, which was initially scheduled to kick off at 8pm Melbourne time, was delayed until 10pm after the evening’s earlier hearing for Demons forward Kysaiah Pickett lasted a mammoth three hours.
Pickett will miss the first three games of the 2025 AFL season after failing to overturn a three-match suspension for a bump on Collingwood’s Darcy Moore.
The challenge during the Demons’ 46-point defeat on Friday night, which forced the Magpies captain from the field with concussion, was judged as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
“We are required to consider whether there was unreasonable conduct that was likely to cause injury,” Mr Gleeson said.
“We find that there was.”
Melbourne missed out on finals following their 14th-placed finish, so the ban carries over into next year.
Pickett apologised to Moore for the injury and said he did not expect him to go to ground so quickly.
“My intention was to protect space by taking Darcy off the line and win the ball in front of me,” he said.
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“This is the normal way I’ve contested the ball and made a play on the ball in other games.”
It’s not the first time Pickett’s bumping has got him into trouble.
Pickett missed Melbourne’s first game of this season after being banned for a high bump on Patrick Cripps in last year’s semi-final loss to Carlton.
He also received a one-match ban for a bump on Adelaide’s Jake Soligo in Gather Round (round four).
