St Kilda FC any large short-term financial assistance, and would need to add interstate teams and charge them a multi-million dollar license fee to enter the competition to alleviate overall debt and generate more revenue. During this period of mooted expansion, with some public plans for new teams interstate revealed, Barker worked to attempt to help negotiate St Kilda FC out of its debts, to try to get a fresh financial start for the club. St Kilda FC's administration and Captain found creditors to be approachable and willing to negotiate. In the end, some creditors took as little as 10 cents in the dollar in exchange for agreeing to write off St Kilda FC's debts to them, so the Saints could continue in the competition. Current and former players of the time who were owed money for their unpaid playing contracts agreed to a final settlement of 10 cents in the dollar, which was brokered in part by Barker himself. The clubs debt were almost totally wiped out by agreements with happy to help creditors, who were initially unaware of the extent of the financial woes. By the time the league administration announced the entry of the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears into the competition for the start of the 1987 Premiership Season, for a license fee of 6 million dollars each, St Kilda FC was almost totally debt free thanks to the generosity of its creditors. Barker stood down from the Captaincy at the end of the 1986 Premiership Season. 1987 Expanded competition and new beginning St Kilda FC appointed 1966 Premiership Captain Darrel Baldock as its new coach for the start of the 1987 season, with Barker remaining on the playing list. St Kilda was attempting a fresh start with massively reduced debts compared to the previous decade, no player or coaching staff wages owing, and looking forward to competing in an expanded competition that was undergoing restructuring which resulted in a permanent national draft and salary cap. The league administration had also been changed over to a "Commission" style committee intending to operate independently of the club's themselves. St Kilda had recruited well, including future club legends like Tony Lockett and Nicky Winmar. Barker was restricted to 14 games during St Kilda FC's top 5 competitive 1987 VFL season, which finished at an underwhelming 10th place on the official standings. St Kilda won 5 consecutive games