ST KILDA has conducted a mid-year review of its football department as it positions itself to start climbing the ladder under first-year senior coach Alan Richardson.
One of the League's financial battlers, the Saints are set to benefit from new equalisation measures and the internal review highlighted a number of aspirations in the football department that could be possible with a looming financial injection.
The review was chaired by head of football Chris Pelchen and held over two half-days two weeks ago.
It is believed the recommendations included an additional staff member in each of the areas of player welfare, psychology, development and recruiting.
AFL.com.au understands the recruiting position would be a 'pro scout', employed to assess existing AFL talent and help shape the Saints' list through trade and free agency.
Chief executive Matt Finnis would not comment on specific outcomes from the club's review, but he said development would continue to be a key focus with the Saints' young list.
The Saints' development academy is managed by Simon McPhee, with Paul Hudson, Lindsay Gilbee and new appointment Peta Searle in development roles.
"We've just conducted a review of our football department and that contained a number of recommendations for the remainder of this year and also some longer-term initiatives," Finnis told AFL.com.au.
"We haven't made any decisions in terms of particular priorities for next year at this stage.
"You can imagine that with the age of our list a key focus for us is going to continue to be around the resources and focus we have on the development of our players."
The AFL is yet to confirm how St Kilda will benefit from new equalisation measures, which are designed to bridge the gap between rich and poor clubs.
The League has said that clubs will be notified of expected financial outlays or gains due to equalisation in time for their budgeting processes, which would be within the next four weeks.
The Saints reported an operating loss of $1,198,587 for the year ending October 31, 2013 and were forced to reduce their football department spending for the 2014 season.
The Saints were keen on appointing a strategy and innovations coach as part of their last review, and it is understood that remains a discussion point.
As director of coaching and strategy at Port Adelaide during that club's on-field revival in 2013, it is possible Richardson could be keen to find a similar senior figure to join him at the Saints.
"I think clearly given Alan's background we're aware of the value of those roles," Finnis said.
"I think we've seen those roles evolve over several years alongside an increase in the number of young coaches taking on senior roles.
"We've got a very experienced senior coach so we'll need to factor all those things into consideration around what are the priority investment areas for our club.
"That's not something we've landed on at this stage."
The Saints conducted a review of their football operations last October, before Richardson was appointed and six-and-a-half months before Finnis started as CEO.
The club also unveiled its 2014-2018 strategic framework in March, before Finnis had started at Seaford.
Weeks after arriving at the club Finnis reviewed and restructured the Saints' administration, cutting the roles of chief operating officer Terry Dillon and general manager of commercial operations Shane Wakelin.
To replace the two positions, Finnis hired Christine Finnegan from the Melbourne Rebels, who he had worked with previously at the AFL Players' Association.
