Cats footy boss has dig at Saints over AFL compensation

St Kilda’s AFL compensation for losing Josh Battle has prompted a dig from Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie, who says comments from Saints president Andrew Bassat were “well timed”.

Mackie’s eyebrows were raised when the Saints received draft pick No.8 for losing Battle to Hawthorn as a free agent.

Likewise, Harry Perryman’s move from GWS to Adelaide gave the Giants the No.16 selection.

Combined, they push the Cats from 15 to 17 in the draft order.

Those compensations came after Bassat was highly critical of the AFL draft system early last week at the Saints’ best-and-fairest function, calling it “rubbish”.

Speaking at the start of the AFL trade period on Monday, Mackie said those compensations “felt generous”.

“Andrew Bassat would be feeling pretty good about things, (his speech was) strategically well timed,” Mackie told AFL tradio radio.

Predictably, Saints football boss Dave Misson also said on Monday that the compensation for Battle was “fair and reasonable”.

“I loved that the leader of our club stood up for our club,” Misson said of Bassat’s speech.

“As a club, we acknowledge that we’ve probably been our own worst enemy for a long time – which Andrew did in his speech.

“But we must stand up for ourselves as a club … as well as getting our own house in order. So we, as a football department, loved that the leader of our club stood up and put a stake in the ground.”

The Saints will try to trade for Port Adelaide ruckman Ivan Soldo, but their main priority remains the draft.

“We have a look at two really strong drafts, probably three. History will tell you that you need at least four drafts to start to build a final-four team,” Misson said.

“So we’re looking at another really strong drafting period.

“We have a lot of confidence in our list management and recruiting team.”

On Sunday, the Saints announced a six-year contract extension for key forward Max King, securing him until the end of 2032.

“It’s just a great thing for the club and Max to show belief in each other,” Misson said.