Almanac Footy: Significant Signposts As A Diehard Saints Supporter
In case you don’t know, my beloved St Kilda Football Club has won one premiership in 151 years.
It’s an unenviable record of under achievement and 2025 doesn’t appear to be anything different based on what we saw on the weekend versus Port Adelaide in the last practice match.
I was only three years old when we won our only flag in 1966 so my journey of terminal disappointment began in 1971 watching the Saints blow a twenty point lead at three quarter time to lose by twelve points to Hawthorn.
The significant moment was when Hawks coach Kennedy moved Bob Keddie who had barely touched the ball, to full forward to replace their concussed champion Peter Hudson.
Keddie kicked four of seven last quarter goals as I fell into a deep despondency for the tri-colours, a despondency that has attached itself to me like a mange for the past fifty four years.
Living in WA as a child, we relied heavily on The Winners on Sunday nights, so seeing Saints games was rare. They were always mine and my younger brother’s team but we seemed to get more footage of North Melbourne because the 70’s were their halcyon days.
It was Malcolm Blight that became our hero and it was he who would come back to haunt me in 1997.
Stan Alves did a terrific job during his time at The Saints and with a bit of help from Ray McLean transformed the culture from mediocre to a high performance environment.
In the 1997 Grand Final he was up against his old North premiership team mate Blight who coached a star studded Adelaide.
Shane Ellen, a former Footscray defender, was placed at full forward where he kicked two goals and incredibly another three from half back after half time.
But the dagger through the chest came from maestro Darren Jarman who kicked five goals straight in the last quarter. Every one of those goals was like an electric shock.
Another unsteady period at the club followed the sacking of Stan including a spasmodic appearance by Malcolm Blight, another kick in the guts for me personally.
The next big opportunity came in 2004. We had a powerhouse team but in the Preliminary Final versus Port Adelaide in Adelaide, the Saints were all over Port early when Fraser Gehrig kicked his 100th goal.
A cavalcade of supporters led by dour defender Stephen Baker’s Dad, charged onto the oval and disrupted the game so ridiculously that ‘The G Train’ had to be escorted off the ground. Momentum lost, game over.
Actually it didn’t affect the game that much given it was so early, but it was just totally unnecessary. By all means if it was a home and away game, but we were two hours away from a Grand Final spot you idiots!
It was a great game and this was the one that would have rewarded some of the club greats with a flag. Port would go on to defeat Brisbane the following week.
The 2009 season under Ross Lyon was arguably the best I have seen as a supporter. Rock hard defence and fast, bold transitions made viewing a delight. The round fourteen game with Geelong is considered by many as the best home and away game ever played and it was inevitable these two sides would meet in the Grand Final.
Scarlett shins the ball to Ablett who kicks to the top of the square, contest, front and square Varco, handball to Chapman, left foot snap, all over. Had Scarlett missed the ball, we were off and standing on the pedestal, but not to be. At the end of the day we didn’t kick straight.
I guess the infamous bounce that avoided Stephen Milne is the nightmare moment of the first 2010 grand final but I really didn’t feel like we were ever going to win the draw. The Heath Shaw smother the following week set the tone for what was a terrible day.
The last fifteen years has seen some woeful recruiting decisions and more coach changes at The Saints.
As a Saints tragic you always feel like you’re on a raft in heavy seas. There never seems to be a definitive level of leadership that can steady things and provide comfort.
It’s interesting to benchmark Ross Lyon versus Chris Scott for instance, someone whose considered the best coach in the AFL. Lyon appears to be the boss, a controlling figure even higher than the CEO and President, making the call on who the club hires and it’s direction.
Scott appears to leave everything other than coaching to his management team. He acknowledges that and seems to have ultimate trust in his backroom. Their capacity to never drop off is extraordinary and due so much to the mercurial recruiter Stephen Wells.
The Saints have recruited some talented kids now but we now have another few years waiting to see if they come to fruition. What we desperately need is some class through the midfield, like, oh I don’t know…..say Bontempelli or Petracca!!
Until then I will continue to catch the train to Marvel with my fellow diehards from Ballarat, a town that produced so many Saints champions over the decades.
Of all of them, Plugger, Spud et all, my favourite was Geoff (Joffa) Cunningham. He was recruited from Golden Point in the Ballarat Football League. No tougher a footballer, Joffa played in an era of mud and blood at Moorabbin and like Trevor Barker stayed loyal throughout.
The Golden Point Oval is now called White Flat Oval and sits out the front of our house in Ballarat Central.
We have renamed it Flat White Oval in response to the number of Melbournians moving here but it’s a beautiful, pristine old ground and is like a field of dreams for me.
I can walk out the front of our house and imagine Joffa and his brother Daryl taking the ball from Spud, linking up though the midfield and delivering laces out to Plugger landing it right into that cushion of a gut he used to possess.
I don’t hold great expectations for 2025 but as long as the effort is there I can get on the train home with some level of gratitude and hope. Go Saints!
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About Ian Wilson
Former army aircraft mechanic, sales manager, VFA footballer and coach. Now mental health worker and blogger. Lifelong St Kilda FC tragic and father to 2 x girls.
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I completely relate with you regarding St Kilda’s predicament.
I also put it down to bad luck. St Kilda is certainly a jinxed club and has been long before we started following them. My father told me so and the best players he ever saw were Darrel Baldock and Ian Stewart. St Kilda were also cursed by injuries long before our only premiership to date.
The bad luck also started after St Kilda won the 1966 premiership. The zoning laws were changed and Hawthorn acquired St Kilda’s prized Mornington Peninsula zone, which helped Hawthorn win several premierships. Who knows how many flags St Kilda would have by now if the zoning laws weren’t changed.
In the 2009 Grand Final, it was poor kicking for goal, especially in the first half, which cost St Kilda the flag. In the 2010 Grand Final draw, a more favourable bounce for Stephen Milne in the dying minutes of that Grand Final, would have seen a flag for St Kilda in 2010.
As mentioned, St Kilda should won the 1971 Grand Final, having been 20 minutes up at three quarter time. In the 1997 Grand Final, St Kilda were hot favourites to win the flag and led by 12 points at half time. That was one that got away because they really were a better team than Adelaide but were jinxed by not having a recognised ruckman in Vidovic or Everett that day.
I’ll forgive St Kilda for the 1965 Grand Final loss because they won the flag the following year in 1966. In the 1913 Grand Final, St Kilda had chances to win that Grand Final too.
As far as not recruiting Petracca and Bontompelli are concerned, to me, that was definitely bad luck. St Kilda went for their needs which was a tall forward in Paddy McCartin to replace Nick Riewoldt. As luck would have it, St Kilda were jinxed that McCartin suffered many concussions. He would have been a very good tall forward for St Kilda.
As far as Billings was concerned, St Kilda needed a small forward to replace Stephen Milne, who had just retired, and as a junior, Billings was very highly rated.
At the time, St Kilda’s midfield was also good with Jack Steven and Seb Ross playing well, so the midfield wasn’t a priority back then.
Also, when St Kilda recruited Billings and McCartin, no one was saying back then that they had made the wrong decisions.
In hindsight, I’m sure St Kilda would have won another flag had they recruited both Bontompelli and Petracca.
Also, what’s forgotten is had St Kilda picked Chris Judd instead of Luke Ball in the 2001 National Draft, imagine how many more flags St Kilda would have won by now! Back then, St Kilda thought they made the right decision as Judd had bad shoulders back then.
Look at St Kikda’s top 10 draft picks in the last 10 years, all cursed by injuries in McCartin, Billings, Hunter Clark, Nick Coffield and Max King.
I really hope that St Kilda can win another flag (their 2nd flag) in our lifetimes.
Although jealous, I can only look at all the other teams that have broken their long premiership droughts this millennium and think that with with a bit luck, St Kilda can also break their premiership drought too, hopefully sooner than later.
Carn The Mighty Saints!
Hahaha. Flat White oval. Very clever
Joffa sure was a fan favourite at Moorabbin especially with the gents in the Animal Enclosure!
Zoning had a detrimental effect on the Saints – losing the Mornington Peninsula to Hawthorn…
Ian even the port players acknowledge without the crowd invasion in 04 they were just about gone the break allowed them the chance to regroup unfortunately.Recruiting wise we all go ohh that was a mistake for mine development coaching plays a huge part also and some clubs were poor in that regard.I umpired –
Aaron Fiora as a junior he was incredible but sadly didn’t kick on to become the absolute superstar I thought he would be – thanks Ian
I to am a victim of the tragic tale of being a St Kilda supporter.
I did not arrive in Melbourne till 1970 and follow the SAINTS due to my father working with Barry Breen’s father then . We had come from Brisbane and as a 15yr old I knew nothing of
VFL football. No new home to move into straight away we lived iin the Breen family home in Cheltenham for about 1 month. Met Barry and was taken to Morrabbin to watch the Saints.
I was impressed and from then have been a loyal supporter.
Seen live every Grand Final loss from 1971 onwards. Is it bad luck or does the club just not have that shot of confidence and bravado to drive home a GF win.
I agree with these other comments here and do hope that a Premiership will happen in my lifetime.
We have had much to admire over my supporting devotion and have produced some excellent individual players e.g Lockett,Harvey,Riewoldt,Hayes,Burke,Winmar,Frawley, Goddard,Milne and Loewe but have not created a team dynamic that can win a premiership.
I wait in hope..
Ian, right now this is the most excited I have felt ever as a St Kilda supporter, since 2009, the year they won an incredible 19 games in a row and just fell short in the Grand Final, as well as the 2010 Grand Final Draw.
The last 3 wins against 2 Preliminary Finalists last year in Geelong and Port Adelaide, and the way St Kilda finished the game against Richmond, gives me genuine belief that St Kilda can win their elusive 2nd flag by 2030.
It’s no point looking back now to what could have been or should have been. The future is looking extremely bright and I can’t wait to see how St Kilda play in at least, the next 5 years.
Their depth now is very good as they have been missing key position players in Howard and King every match in 2025 so far, as well as Butler and Henry, who are replaceable. Don’t forget Phillipou is yet to play a match this year and Steele has missed the last 2 games.
I think they can cover the loss of Josh Battle now when Tauru, who was the compensation pick for losing Battle, eventually plays. Travaglia will only improve. The young talent is the best I have seen, if not better, since the early 2000s.
Phillipou, Wanganeen-Milera, Wilson, Windhager and Owens are very good players and will get even better. Add seasoned players in Marshall, Sinclair, McRae, Steele and Wilkie to the mix and a flag is definitely achievable.
The pleasing thing is that every player is playing their role and there’s very good competition for places in the team. There’s no real passengers and every player looks determined to achieve the ultimate success.
I honestly believe that Andrew Bassat was right when he mentioned that St Kilda got their man in Ross Lyon. To me, the turning point came when they finished 2024 well beating finalists in Sydney, Geelong and Carlton, if not in 2023, when they played finals, after having so many injuries to key players that year. The Assistant and Cevelopment Coaches are terrific, as well as the List and Talent Identification Managers.
How good would it also be to St Kilda’s flag hopes if they could get players of the calibre of Tom De Koning from Carlton and Leek Aleer from GWS.
It’s time St Kilda win their 2nd flag by 2030 for very long Footy Almanac St Kilda supporters like Yvette and Ian, as well as all their supporters, who have had very little to cheer about for many years.
Carn The Mighty Saints!