Garry Lyon has named his six takeaways from Thursday night’s pre-season game.
St Kilda defeated Carlton in a 125-99 shootout last night, with 34 goals kicked in total.
The former Melbourne captain has made some snap judgements on players from both teams.
Firstly, the St Kilda defender who stood out to him.
“Callum Wilkie may well be an All-Australian defender by the end of this year,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.
“That bloke, the story is wonderful, he didn’t come through the conventional pathways, he’s now a member of their leadership group, that’s how highly regarded he is.
“He is an outstanding defender. I think he could be an All-Australian defender. He takes Dusty Martin, he took Patrick Cripps last night, he just doesn’t get beaten.”
His second takeaway also related to a St Kilda defender.
“The half-back flank, where you go when you need a lifeline, has claimed another victim and that’s Jack Sinclair,” he said.
“Sinclair’s been a bit in and out, a bit of midfield, a bit of a goal kicker, a talented kid – goes to half-back and looks like Russell Greene.
“He had 28 possessions, half-back is the place to go.”
Lyon was impressed with the effort put in by Carlton forward Jack Silvagni.
“This might sound really stupid, but I rate this. Jack Silvagni tries hard every time,” Lyon said.
“(Everyone) is supposed to (try hard every time) and they don’t. He just wills himself to contests. He’s not the best player on the team, but he tries hard.
“If you’re a coach, having a bloke that tries hard every time, he won’t die wondering. He was great last night.”
Another Carlton forward also caught Lyon’s eye.
“Zac Fisher’s got 40 goals in him, at least I reckon,” he said.
“The story emerged late last year … the penny dropped and he said ‘righto, I’ll embrace being a small forward’.
“I was just able to watch him because I didn’t have to watch the whole ground and he’s worked at his craft as a small forward, he is very hard to defend.
“Too many small forwards are easy to defend, he was constantly on the move, darting in and out, he was flipping Jimmy Webster around and turning him inside out.
“I think he’s got 40 in him.”
Lyon is also bullish on a young St Kilda midfielder who continues to get better.
“Hunter Clark is as good as everyone says he is,” Lyon said.
“It’s pretty simple. He looks like someone that’s going to go to another level.”
Lyon’s worry coming out of the game for Carlton was how easily they were to score against, in particular the team’s rebounding defenders Adam Saad and Sam Docherty.
“Saad and Docherty will get slaughtered if they were as loose as they were in the first quarter,” he said.
“Maybe that was the tempo, Saad had his tongue hanging out early and after half-time he was so much better.
“They’ve got a balancing act there. Docherty likes to play off and dictate and be that man in the hole and Saad likes to run and gun.
“The small forwards for St Kilda slaughtered them last night. Slaughtered them. They’re going to have to weigh up whether one of them has to play tighter than they would like to.”