Darryl Wakelin retires

[B W and R all over]

All the best to him. I enjoyed his time at St Kilda and he always gave his all. Seemed like a good bloke and its no coincidence that we've struggled with our key defenders ever since he left seven years ago.
Good luck in retirement, Daggs!

Wakelin to give up

PORT Adelaide defender Darryl Wakelin will retire at the end of the AFL season.

Wakelin, 33, has played 259 AFL games in a career which started with St Kilda in 1995.

The veteran Power fullback was a member of Port Adelaide's 2004 premiership side and told his teammates of his decision today.

Wakelin injured a groin during last Sunday's win over Geelong but remains hopeful he'll be fit to play in the finals.

"There's a still a window of opportunity there for me and it will be up to me to get my body right and to show the coaches on the track that I'm ready to go,'' Wakelin said.

Port appears likely to finish second should it defeat Fremantle at home this weekend.

Wakelin, whose brother Shane plays for Colingwood, is the second AFL twin in trwo days to announce his retirement after Brisbane's Chris Scott yesterday.

[Davo027]

Matty Lappin also announced his retirement

[Dan Warna]

wakelin was ok as the 3rd tall, never a KPP IMO.

good career and gratz on a premiership.

[Cityboy]

I reckon it was one of the biggest Trade mistakes we made in the last 20 years getting rid of the much maligned Wakelins.
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Herbalaire

[Animal Enclosure]

Yeah getting Aaron Hamill for a 3rd rate defender was a mistake!

Letting Shane go for nothing maybe, but check your facts.

[Solar]

Yeah getting Aaron Hamill for a 3rd rate defender was a mistake!

Letting Shane go for nothing maybe, but check your facts.

even the shane situation can be dabatable, was struggling with really bad achillies? injury plus was only showing glimpses down forward.

Loved daz when he was with us and congrats on a great career.

Having a think about it, we have the best backline set up right now for over 10 years. It's better then 97 where we had a 18 yr old max, dazza and shanna. I would rate or current backline when fit as better and more exciting.

How many that played in 97 for the saints are left? Harvey, Everitt, maxy, the wakelins and lappen, oh and joel smith.

how the times have changed. I feel old now!

[n1ck]

Thommo, and Barry Hall, Solar.

[Cityboy]

Yeah getting Aaron Hamill for a 3rd rate defender was a mistake!

Letting Shane go for nothing maybe, but check your facts.

Check your facts! My facts are just luffley thanks.

When the 2 6ft 4 Wakelins (I may have made that height up) were shipped off, we've been scurrying for replacements ever since. Max plays above his height and weight, coz he's a fricken champ, but having a couple regular, non injury prone, big fellas floating round woulda been very handy over the last 6 or whatever years it's been.

I love Hammill as much as the next Hetrosexual, and if there was a guarantee that he'd play more often then not, I'd do the same trade.
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DRUG TEST KIT

[Solar]

Thommo, and Barry Hall, Solar.

yeah I noticed the hall one in the last thread. Can't help but block out the fact that he was once a saint.

Not many left ey

[Animal Enclosure]

Apologies Solar if your post didn't infer that we LET both Wakelins go for nothing...

Despite Hamill's injury woes over the last 2 years, I would take him every day of the week over Darryl. Hammer has played 98 games for the Saints & is still sorely missed from our side today.

Letting Shane go because we thought the golden staff infection in his achilles would just about finish his career is something entirely different. We got nothing for Shane.

We got Hamill for Darryl (Daryl to Port for No.4 pick, Pick 4 to Carlton for Hamill). Our backline has been pretty good since we made that trade, in fact had Luke Penny not retired and had we kept D.Wakelin, he would have struggled to get a game (behind Penny, Max & Goose).

An excellent trade that was great for almost 5 years (2001-2005). Had Aaron not tried to end Steve Johnson's career then it would still be one of the best ever (especially considering giving up no.4 in the same deal ended up being Luke Livingston).

[Solar]

Apologies Solar if your post didn't infer that we LET both Wakelins go for nothing...

Despite Hamill's injury woes over the last 2 years, I would take him every day of the week over Darryl. Hammer has played 98 games for the Saints & is still sorely missed from our side today.

Letting Shane go because we thought the golden staff infection in his achilles would just about finish his career is something entirely different. We got nothing for Shane.

We got Hamill for Darryl (Daryl to Port for No.4 pick, Pick 4 to Carlton for Hamill). Our backline has been pretty good since we made that trade, in fact had Luke Penny not retired and had we kept D.Wakelin, he would have struggled to get a game (behind Penny, Max & Goose).

An excellent trade that was great for almost 5 years (2001-2005). Had Aaron not tried to end Steve Johnson's career then it would still be one of the best ever (especially considering giving up no.4 in the same deal ended up being Luke Livingston).

I think you mis-read my post. Totally agreed on the fact that trading dazza was a good trade. Maybe you miss read my post. Totally agree that our backline is better then it has been for 10+ years.

Shane was, as I said, unfortunate because of his injury history. Did very well to get back to full fitness and find a niche at FB for the pies.

[saintspremiers]

well I think we ditched the Wakelins as they didn't benchmark up to the top standard required to win a flag....that's how it was all done back then...all positions were benchmarked against the best side/sides in the comp.....

I always liked both of them, and as for Skinny I was spewing we got rid of him when we did in the late 90's.....always had heaps of potential back then.

[meher baba]

There was a time in the mid-1990s when Darryl looked like turning from a reasonably good player into something approaching a great. But it never really happened that way. Shane was never quite as good IMO.

I think they were lboth osses to the side, but not to the extent that we should be tearing our hair and gnashing our teeth.

I reckon that, of all the players we have lost in recent years, Hall is the only one about whom I feel major regrets.

The others - even Lockett - all have some redeeming points, either in whom we got in exchange (with even Fiora for Black looking a bit better than it did), the additional salary cap room they created, or because there would have been significant downsides in their staying at the club (eg, Everitt: and just note the relative changes in fortune for the Hawks and Swans so far in 2007, although I acknowledge the season isn't quite over yet).

[Solar]

There was a time in the mid-1990s when Darryl looked like turning from a reasonably good player into something approaching a great. But it never really happened that way. Shane was never quite as good IMO.

I think they were lboth osses to the side, but not to the extent that we should be tearing our hair and gnashing our teeth.

I reckon that, of all the players we have lost in recent years, Hall is the only one about whom I feel major regrets.

The others - even Lockett - all have some redeeming points, either in whom we got in exchange (with even Fiora for Black looking a bit better than it did), the additional salary cap room they created, or because there would have been significant downsides in their staying at the club (eg, Everitt: and just note the relative changes in fortune for the Hawks and Swans so far in 2007, although I acknowledge the season isn't quite over yet).

for mine the loss of smith (because of injur) was huge, could have been ANYTHING

[meher baba]

for mine the loss of smith (because of injur) was huge, could have been ANYTHING

Absolutely, and I was very sorry to see him go, but he hasn't really turned out to be that much of a loss: an effective contributor at the Hawks, but not really a danger man.

[Animal Enclosure]

Sorry Solar it was the other post I was disagreeing with!

Agree that Joel Smith was a tragic loss...I've never really forgiven Hawthorn for that.

[wolfpup]

Sorry Solar it was the other post I was disagreeing with!

Agree that Joel Smith was a tragic loss...I've never really forgiven Hawthorn for that.

I thought Smith was a great player, in 1997 whenever we seemed in trouble in a game he would score a goal at critcal times (being in the lead with a team catching up to us), he must have done that at least 5 times that year.

Heath Black used to do that for us as well, critical goals or critcal play when we needed it.

I think we are missing that kind of player.

I still don't understand the wakelin trades, they would have been very handy for us they went on to be important defenders for their teams and played in grand finals (as Darryl did for us)

[Riewoldting]

Apologies Solar if your post didn't infer that we LET both Wakelins go for nothing...

It didn't.

You inferred, Solar implied.

[johnpeterbudgefanclub]

Good thread guys. If I can add my two bobs re: Shane. Was a fantastic addition and clubman for our club. Even this year in the absence of Prestigiacomo and Clement he has had to take on mammoth jobs as the most experienced defender. Only had guys like O'Brien, Goldsack and H. Shaw as support.

Like his brother a true professional to the sport.

[Animal Enclosure]

Well apologies to you Riewoldting for my poor grammar!

I stand by by statement though that the D.Wakelin trade was one of the best in St.Kilda's history. Letting Shane go for nothing was quite the opposite.