2021 St Kilda Football Club season

On 21 October, Adelaide midfielder Brad Crouch nominated the Saints as his preferred destination during the Free Agency Period following a contract offer from the club. Crouch is a 'Restricted Free Agent' under AFL rules, meaning the Crows can match the contract offer from the Saints to force a trade. Crouch had also attracted interest from Geelong, Richmond and Port Adelaide, although it is understood that only the Saints were prepared to offer a five-year contract.[10] On Sunday 1 November, the Saints lodged the paperwork for Crouch, with the Crows having three days to decide whether or not to match the bid.[11] Adelaide stated publicly that a compensation pick of anything less than #2 in the AFL Draft would result in the Crows matching the bid to force a trade.[12] Crouch himself spoke publicly of his desire for the Crows not to match the bid, stating that "I want them to not match. I've told St Kilda I'm fully committed to them, so I want to see that out. At this stage I just want to be at St Kilda and the decision I've made I'm fully committed to them."[13] He officially joined the Saints after Adelaide failed to follow-through with their threat to match the bid at the deadline of 5pm on 4 November. Adelaide received draft pick number 23 as compensation.[14]

On 6 November Shaun McKernan joined the Saints as a Free Agent following his delisting by Essendon. McKernan was courted by a number of clubs including Melbourne, but ultimately signed for the Saints. McKernan was brought in primarily as injury coverage for the Saints' forwards. [15]

Former premiership-winning Hawthorn and Melbourne player James Frawley (nephew of former Saints captain Danny Frawley) joined the Saints as a delisted free agent on 26 November. Frawley had announced his retirement from the Hawks at the end of 2020 but was lured out of retirement and was eligible for selection as a delisted free agent following the first list lodgement on 25 November.[16]

Prior to the conclusion of the 2020 season, it was reported that the Saints were interested in current North Melbourne and former Western Bulldogs player Shaun Higgins as well as GWS youngster Jye Caldwell.[17] The Saints' Shane Savage and Jack Lonie are believed to be on the radar of rival clubs and may seek trades.[18] Chief Operating Officer Simon Lethlean said of the upcoming trade period that "it’s a busy time of year and we’ll be as active as we can be to find players that compliment us. We don’t think we’re finished with improving our list, we certainly think the five guys we all added (last off-season) have been almost in our best 10 players so if we can (find) more players that can make us better, that’s our intention."[19]

On 9 November Richmond forward-midfielder Jack Higgins requested a trade to St Kilda.[20] The trade was ultimately completed on the final day of the trade period.

At the 2020 AFL Draft the Saints recruited two players, key forward Matthew Allison (first round, pick 26) and Tom Highmore (pick 45). The Saints traded pick 54 anda future fourth-rounder with Hawthorn on draft night to secure pick 45.[23]

In early February 2021, former North Melbourne forward Mason Wood was added to the Saints' playing group during the pre-season Supplemental Selection Period.[24] The Saints have two further Supplemental selections they can use prior to round 1, or at the mid-season draft, should they wish to utilise them.

In:

Out:

Times are local

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the AFL's announcement of the 2021 fixture was significantly delayed compared with previous years. The AFL announced the round one fixture on 20 December and a tentative full fixture on 21 December. 2021 sees the Saints play fellow 2020 finalists Richmond, Port Adelaide, Geelong and West Cost twice. The Saints will for the first time play an AFL match in Cairns, Queensland, when they host Adelaide in round 13; the game will be played place of the Saints' fixture against Port Adelaide in Shanghai, China (which it played in 2019, but was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic).

• Fixture as at 21 December 2020

Notes: Final dates and times from Round 7 are yet to be confirmed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.