On Friday, Saints chief executive Carl Dilena said: โThe market system dictates behaviour and prices. Historically, northern clubs have paid the biggest contracts in the history of the game, but now benefit from talent-access concessions which have flipped the script.โ
Fagan questioned whether midfielder Wanganeen-Milera and ruckman De Koning, recruited from Carlton, were worthy of their huge salaries.
โIโm hoping those numbers we saw last year, via St Kilda, donโt become a reality. I saw that as a bit of a danger for the game. I think the best players in the competition deserve to be paid the most money and thatโs not the case at the moment,โ Fagan said.
โThatโs not an insult to Nasiah. I think heโs going to be a really good player, and how far he goes I donโt know. And TDK has shown a lot of promise for a long time but hasnโt probably played up to expectations, and theyโre getting paid extremely well. Iโd rather see the better players get all the big money.โ
Saints president Andrew Bassat defended the splurge in an interview with this masthead last month, as his club seeks to rise from the mid-table mire it was stuck in.
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The Saints were a first-round finals exit in Lyonโs first year back in charge in 2023, and have finished 12th in each of the past two seasons.
Lyon last year created headlines when he referred to the Gold Coast Suns as the โAFL nepo babyโ, in reference to their academy and draft concessions they had been given by league headquarters.
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