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Ross Lyon makes immediate admission over Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera’s short two-year deal

The Saints are rightly celebrating their coup but even the coach knows it has also reset the clock.
Roger VaughanBy Roger Vaughan
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera will have to decide his future again in two years’ time.

Ross Lyon makes immediate admission over Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera’s short two-year deal

The Saints are rightly celebrating their coup but even the coach knows it has also reset the clock.
Roger VaughanBy Roger Vaughan

St Kilda have two years to prove beyond doubt to Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera that they’re the real deal.

The Saints young gun became the AFL’s first $2 million-per-season player on Monday when it was announced he had re-signed.

The 22-year-old’s future was the biggest trade speculation in the game, with Adelaide and Port Adelaide trying to lure him back to his home state.

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The Saints know that interest will most likely only increase, with Wanganeen-Milera signing for just the two seasons.

“Two years is a commitment that we need to shift the dial. He gets to look at us and we get to look at Nas,” coach Ross Lyon admitted on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters.

“Nothing else was happening (with St Kilda’s list management) until we got Nas done.”

The Saints’ big recruiting target is Carlton ruckman Tom De Koning.

The restricted free agent will also command a hefty contract and the speculation is Wanganeen-Milera and De Koning will take up 20 per cent of St Kilda’s salary cap between them.

But Lyon is adamant they are ready, adding it would have been “catastrophic” had they lost Wanganeen-Milera.

“No difficulty at all, because we’ve made a lot of hard decisions on highly renumerated players that we didn’t think we were getting bang for buck,” he said

“We think we’ve made good decisions.

“Our salary cap is incredibly well-managed ... we’ve been really disciplined.”

Lyon also confirmed in the off-season, they rewarded some senior players with extra payments and contract extensions as the club briefed them on recruiting plans.

“It’s just a show of good faith,” Lyon said.

For his part, Wanganeen-Milera is determined to be a key part of a St Kilda resurgence.

The Saints were well off the finals pace this year, but have won their last four games.

”Obviously we want to build to success and we want to win at all costs. That’s something I feel this group can do,” Wanganeen-Milera said in a club-produced interview.

“We have a young crew coming up and some good older boys as well.

“I feel like this crew is really driving to change the club and what it’s been in the last few years.

“I’m keen to achieve something special with this group.”

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