Ross Lyon missed Richmond’s stunning win over Carlton but said it showed anything was possible in the AFL

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has put the frustration of losing “most of our forward line” to injury late in the pre-season to one side and turned the pressure on his Adelaide counterpart Matthew Nicks ahead of their season-opening clash with the Crows on Sunday.

Mitch Owens is the latest St Kilda star to be ruled out, falling just short of being ready to play after hurting his shoulder, joining key forward Max King, Dan Butler and Cooper Sharman in missing round 1.

In their absence the Saints will unveil three debutants including Irishman Liam O’Connell, who joined the club as a Category B rookie, as well as Harry Boyd and 2024 mid-season draftee Max Hall.

The Saints head to Adelaide as underdogs and while Lyon said “hope is important” for footy clubs, he wasn’t caught up in Richmond’s stunning Thursday night upset of Carlton as an indication of what his team could possibly do.

“I watched White Lotus (TV drama) last night. I didn’t hear anything until this morning,” Lyon said on Friday morning.

“I think it talks to how tough the competition is. It talks to efficiency and taking opportunities. Certainly, anything is possible.”

Lyon said his young group, with at least three debutants likely for the clash, were “statistically” as young as Richmond in age profile but had higher expectations than many had for the Tigers, who most pundits tipped to finish last before taking down the Blues.

Instead, he said ongoing improvement with emerging players was going to be “incredibly exciting” with even bolder hopes when the full list of players become available.

“We know from where we are now, this group, with 30 or 40 games in them, it’s going to be incredibly exciting,” he said.

“We think with everyone available and paying great footy we can win lots of games.”

Lyon also put Nicks in the gun, twice mentioning the Adelaide coach’s lack of finals success going into his sixth year at the helm, having squandered a golden opportunity to play finals in 2024.

“Clearly, huge expectation on them, Matthew Nicks is going into his sixth year,” he said.

“They are fit and available and they have recruited heavily and it’s a home game, it’s a formidable opponent.”

Despite injury interrupted pre-seasons, Lyon said star ruckman Rowan Marshall and All-Australian Jack Sinclair were fully ready for the club’s season opener.

He dismissed any concern over the lack of face time with players who’d had as much as 10 weeks off during the off-season, a factor some believe has contributed to an increase in injuries.