Star Blue axed in mass cull

Carlton has reacted swiftly to its finals defeat after a stuttering end to the 2024 season, axing five players including injury prone forward Jack Martin.

David Cuningham, Caleb Marchbank, Alex Mirkov and Dom Akuei were also delisted by the Blues on Friday, less than a week after elimination final defeat to Brisbane.

Martin though was the most high-profile, and highly paid of the five players and was let go having not played more than 12 games in any of the past four season, including only three in 2024.

He will now be free to join any club as a delisted free agent.

Blues list boss Nick Austin praised Cuningham, Marchbank and Martin for working through constant injury setbacks.

“David and Caleb have persevered through adversity throughout their extended careers at Carlton,” Austin said.

“Their resolve to continue to front up and give themselves every chance to overcome each challenge is a testament to them and will hold them in good stead with whatever the step is that they choose to take.

“Jack also showed a resilient mindset through his five seasons and has made some lasting friendships at the football club.”

The delistings come as the club confirmed star forward Charlie Curnow would have surgery on the ankle injury that forced him to miss the loss to the Lions

Saints dump club hero

St Kilda will not offer a contract to Seb Ross for next season, but the veteran midfielder wants to play on at another club after an injury-interrupted year.

The Saints delisted Ross, 31, on Wednesday as several more key decisions loom on a handful of out-of-contract older players.

Ross, who played 211 games for the Saints and won two best and fairests in 2017 and 2019, said he was “not closing the door on football” after learning of the Saints’ decision.

“St Kilda will always be the place that gave me the chance to live out my childhood dream of playing AFL football, and I will forever be grateful for that,” he said.

“While I’m not closing the door on football moving forward, I leave the Saints with some lifelong friends and some incredible memories.

“I’d like to thank all of the teammates I’ve shared the journey with over the years, as well as all my coaches, the staff and the broader St Kilda community for making my time here so special.

“I’m comforted knowing that whatever comes next, I have my incredible wife Marnie and our children, Charlotte, Vinny and Henley, by my side. They truly are my world.”

St Kilda football boss David Misson thanked Ross for his “exceptional service” as he said the decision was painful but necessary to “position our list for the future”.

Unrestricted free agent Josh Battle is expected to depart Moorabbin, while the Saints are yet to confirm whether Tim Membrey, Mason Wood and Zak Jones will play on next season.

Jones’s late-season form while Ross was sidelined with calf injury could have saved the former Swan, who handballed to Jack Higgins for the matchwinning goal against Carlton and made a desperate smother to stop the Blues going forward at the subsequent centre bounce.

It is understood Dan Butler, 28, and Jimmy Webster, 31, are both on the verge of signing new deals to remain at the club.

St Kilda axed four players on Tuesday, including journeyman ruck Tom Campbell and recruit Riley Bonner, who played 19 senior games after he was picked up as a delisted free agent from Port Adelaide.

Untried talls Matthew Allison and James Van Es were also not offered new deals.

Demons part with No.2 pick

Former No.2 pick Josh Schache’s AFL career could be over after he was delisted by his third club Melbourne on Tuesday.

The Demons’ decision not to offer the 27-year-old tall a new contract comes after he only managed one senior game in 2024 despite the club’s forward-line dysfunction and Max Gawn’s late-season injury.

Schache, who was taken with pick 2 by Brisbane in the 2015 draft, played 27 games in two seasons at the Lions before he moved back to Victoria to join the Western Bulldogs.

He never managed to play more than 14 games in a season in his five years at Whitten Oval but found form during the Dogs’ 2021 finals campaign as a defensive tall forward and played in the grand final loss to Melbourne.

After four games in two seasons at the Demons, including as an unused substitute in their semi-final loss to Carlton, Schache was axed along with category B rookie Kyah Farris-White.

Melbourne list boss Tim Lamb said the decisions on which out-of-contract players to retain and cut were “always challenging”.

“On behalf of everyone at the club, we would like to thank Josh and Kyah for what they have given to our program over the past two years,” Lamb said.

“We wish them both all the best for the next chapter in their respective journeys.”

Bombers cut ties with son of a great

Essendon has moved fast to turn their list around after a disappointing fade out in 2024, delisting three players including Tex Wanganeen, the son of club legend and Brownlow medallist Gavin.

Just two days after the season ended with a loss to the Brisbane Lions, Essendon’s seventh loss in the final 10 games, Wanganeen, Nick Hind and injury-plagued defender Kaine Baldwin were told their services were no longer required.

Hind played 15 games in 2023, his last being in round 19, but many as the sub and ends his time at Essendon with 74 games, having played 21 at St Kilda.

He infamously caught Covid after visiting the shops to buy a hot chicken when the pandemic hit the AFL.

Father-son selection Wanganeen signed with the club during the 2022 pre-season supplemental selection Period and played five games in his debut season in 2022.

But injuries held him backs and that’s the number of AFL games he’ll finish on at Essendon.

Baldwin, another SSP signing in 2021, managed just eight games across his four years in the red and black, with a navicular injury ruling him out for the entire 2024 season.

“Nick, Tex and Kaine have all been popular members of our footy club who showed resilience and determination to get the most out of their footy careers during their time with us,” Essendon football boss Daniel McPherson, said.

“We thank them for their contribution to the red and black and they leave knowing they will always be a part of the Essendon footy club. We wish each of them all the best for the next stage of their careers both on and off the field.”

Essendon’s season turned into a disaster, having sat in the top four at the halfway mark of the season before missing the finals.