St Kilda’s off-season acquisition set to debut as Ross Lyon makes six changes for Saturday’s Sir Doug Nicholls round clash with Fremantle Dockers

Come Saturday, May 18, Saints midfielder Paddy Dow will make his club debut as Euro-Yroke goes up against Walyalup at Marvel Stadium for the opening week of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

The 24-year-old had a delayed start to his career with the Saints due to bone-bruising his knee early in the season in February. He has, however, worked his way back into getting selected with three weeks of remarkable performances in the VFL.

Originally acquired by Carlton as pick number three at the 2017 National Draft, Dow played 73 matches for the Blues across six seasons, in which he earned a Rising Star nomination and an award as Carlton's Best First-Year Player in his maiden campaign.

Dow joined the Saints during the 2023 AFL Trade Period via a four-way trade between St. Kilda, Carlton, Essendon and the Western Bulldogs.

Dow will be the club’s seventh new player of the season after Liam Henry, Riley Bonner, Darcy Wilson, Lance Collard, Angus Hastie and Hugo Garcia.

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Saints coach Ross Lyons expresses disapproval over the team’s performance in round nine

AFL Rd 9 - Adelaide v St Kilda

Following the Saints loss to Hawthorn in round nine, coach Ross Lyon says he is not entirely comfortable with the way his side is currently playing. With them playing insipidly in the first half, he said he believes their approach is primarily contributing to their losses, including one by less than a goal.

Last Saturday's five-point loss to Hawthorn counted for the third time the Saints have been defeated by less than a straight kick this season; including a previous clash against the GWS Giants where they had late revivals in the second half and began the first sluggishly.

CoachLyon expressed his disappointment with the team's tendency to lag behind past half-time, despite their efforts to make a comeback into the contest in the second half to create close finishes.

Lyon emphasised the need for the team to be aggressive in their attacks from the get go, even at the risk of a late-game loss, as seen in Round 3 against Essendon, rather than be idle. He told reporters post game:

“I’d just like to have a bit more than what we’re displaying at the minute. It doesn’t sit very comfortably, “I just spoke at half-time that I didn’t really like how we were playing. I thought there was a mundaneness to it, a sameness, and I just said ‘we’re better than that. “Let’s get some run, some overlap and go and be bold. I thought the kids started to use their legs and cut in, and even though we stuffed a couple up, I thought that’s what we want to be more (like). “It’s just our connection piece, I didn’t like it. I thought we created some opportunities, but it was again some inability to cash in.”

With the 10th round of the season beginning, tonight we look forward to the Saint’s match against the Fremantle Dockers at Marvel Stadium.