West Coast lose their skipper, gain pick two; Butters’ Blues training connection, Saints land Flanders

He kicked 151 goals for the Eagles, was their leading goal-kicker in 2023, and was co-captain in 2024 and 2025.

But his final year at West Coast brought with it plenty of controversy after he met with former Eagle and rival coach Sam Mitchell, and fuelled speculation of his departure months later when he told a local radio station negotiations with the WA giants had “broken down”.

“Clearly I haven’t signed a contract with the club. Negotiations have kind of broken down to a certain extent,” Allen told Mix 94.5.

“I’m in the same boat as everyone else. People think I’m lying to them when I say I’m not sure what’s going on.

“We’re genuinely still trying to figure things out. That’s where it sits now.”

“The biggest thing for me was around opportunity and obviously I’m from Melbourne, so to get back to the friends and family was a big contributing factor as well.”

Flanders, who joins former Carlton pair De Koning and defender Jack Silvagni as new Saints, said the club’s signings had been a factor in him joining the club.

“You look at the list, some of the boys they brought in and who they’re looking to bring in as well,” Flanders said. “It’s very exciting, they’re definitely heading in the right direction. It was a big factor in choosing the Saints.”

Former West Coast defender Mitch Brown, the first AFL player to publicly reveal he is bisexual, was unimpressed.

“Perhaps something that didn’t mean to be hurtful can quickly become hurtful when it’s picked up,” Vescio, who came out as non-binary in 2021, said on Wednesday.

“It provides an opportunity to understand that what you do matters and what you make fun of really can create a lot of upset for people.

“If you think it’s not something that you should be worried about, it’s probably because you’ve never been impacted by that or never been the butt of the joke.

“If we minimise this stuff as well, it just sends the message that it’s OK for certain people to always be the butt of the joke.

“I love a dress up. I love a wig. I’m all about celebrating the season, and I think it can be a really fun part of the year.

“But just making sure we’re not punching down is really important and understanding that what you do matters.”

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– AAP