Saints de-list Fiora to continue cull - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Saints de-list Fiora to continue cull

31/10/2008 06:16:56 PM Comments (0)

St Kilda have de-listed winger Aaron Fiora, bringing to eight the number of players the AFL club has axed since the end of the season.

Fiora was the highest-profile casualty among the list of players de-listed by clubs.

All 16 clubs had to finalise their playing lists by Friday before the November 29 national draft.

Fremantle also cleared a path for midfielder Josh Carr to re-join Port Adelaide via the pre-season draft by de-listing the 2008 vice-captain.

Fiora played 62 games for the Saints after 78 with Richmond, and 17 in the 2008 season, but coach Ross Lyon decided the 27-year-old did not fit into the club's future.

The No.3 pick at the 1999 draft followed the de-listings of Charlie Gardiner, Shane Birss, Matthew Ferguson, Jayden Attard and Michael Rix earlier this month, along with rookies Glenn Chivers and Luke Van Rheenan.

St Kilda's culling - along with the departures of the retired Robert Harvey and Fraser Gehrig - gives the club plenty of room to stock up with young players in the draft.

However, the Saints are set to recruit one other player who spent time at a rival club, as they remain the frontrunner to draft Ben Cousins if the former West Coast star is given the go-ahead by the AFL Commission to enter either the national draft or pre-season draft.

The Saints gave flankers Xavier Clarke and James Gwilt a reprieve by signing the pair on one-year deals.

Clarke played only eight games last season after battling with more injury problems, while Gwilt played 13.

St Kilda list management general manager Matthew Drain said the club was confident the pair still had a lot to offer.

Melbourne de-listed defender Chris Johnson, who sought a release to enter either the national or pre-season draft after playing 31 games in four seasons.

Johnson is believed to have been in discussions with Carlton.

Meanwhile, Collingwood have former Melbourne, Footscray and St Kilda player Luke Beveridge as development manager, who will oversee the club's younger players.

Beveridge played 118 games from 1989-99 and is the grandson of Jack Beveridge, who played in the Magpies' 1927-30 premierships.

He joined Collingwood after coaching amateur side St Bede's to three successive premierships from 2006-08.

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