St Kilda win Dal Santo’s final AFLW game as independent review approaches

St Kilda claimed their first AFLW win of the season on October 10, beating Collingwood by two points in Nick Dal Santo’s final game as coach. The club is preparing an independent review of its women’s program.

The Saints won 5.9 (39) to 5.7 (37) after eight successive defeats this season. The result followed the announcement of Dal Santo’s departure a day earlier. Former Carlton football administrator Brad Lloyd will lead the review.

Dal Santo accepted responsibility for the team’s difficult season. St Kilda had scored only 0.1 (1) against the Western Bulldogs the previous week, equalling the competition’s lowest score. He said the club had already identified a need for an outside assessment about a month earlier.

The departing coach also responded to claims about the treatment of women’s players. Commentator Kelli Underwood reported accounts from sources close to the club alleging unequal access to cooked meals and requests that players pay for additional tackling sessions.

Dal Santo said he had not read the report and had not heard players raise the food issue with him. He described the team as receiving cooked meals, takeaway food and snacks. His response disputed those concerns, while the reported allegations remain separate from the review’s eventual findings.

He acknowledged constraints associated with facilities and sharing an oval, saying the program would like to do more. He also said men’s coach Ross Lyon supported him and the women’s program through their conversations.

Collingwood’s record fell to one win and eight losses. Coach Sam Wright said the club needed to address its own problems. For St Kilda, the narrow victory provides a positive farewell for Dal Santo as the club examines how to improve the program.