ST KILDA FOOTBALL CLUB

'St Kilda Football Club', nicknamed 'The Saints', is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League. While the club was originally founded in St Kilda, Victoria and played at the Junction Oval between 1897 and 1964, it was moved to Moorabbin Oval in Moorabbin (1965-1992), then proceeded to move to Waverley (VFL) Park (1993-1999). Since 2000, St. Kilda's current home ground has been the Telstra Dome in Docklands. However, the Saints still have their administration and training base at Moorabbin Oval.
With its only premiership in 1966 (defeating Collingwood by one point) and a league record 26 "wooden spoons", St Kilda have been the perennial strugglers of the competition. In the absence of team success, its fans have idolised the club's high profile players.

Contents

Club history

Early years in the VFL

Inter-war period

The Dark Years of the 1940s and 1950s

The club's greatest era

The perennial strugglers

2000s

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Supporter base

Club records

Premierships

Runners-up

Night series/Pre-season premierships

Wooden spoons

Individual awards

Current squad

Current Club Jumper

Players of note

Team of the Century

Not to be forgotten

External links

Club history

The first Saint Kilda Football Club was founded in 1858 but was soon defunct. South Yarra Football Club was an Australian rules football club formed in Melbourne circa 1864. They merged having in 1873 with St Kilda Cricketers to form the St Kilda modern club, which was initially based out of the Junction Oval in St Kilda. The club is notable as it is one of the earliest Australian rules football clubs. The Saints' motto is ''Fortius Quo Fidelius'', a Latin phrase meaning "Strength through Loyalty". The club was one of the founding members of the Victorian Football Association in 1877, before joining with other clubs to break away to the Victorian Football League in 1896.

Early years in the VFL

St Kilda's first six years in the VFL were an unmitigated disaster, with only two wins from their first 100 games and six successive wooden spoons in the first VFL's six years. They improved somewhat in the following four years, but their six successive wins to start 1907 was a shock. Though they lost seven of their next eight games, they rebounded and made the finals for the first time. They repeated this in 1908, but won only two of 37 games up to the last round of 1910 - when they astonishingly beat Carlton who were three games clear on top. 1911 was equally bad, and during these three disastrous years there were two notable events. The first occurred in 1909 when the club was stripped of match points after beating Geelong because they had played a suspended player. The second event, covering the latter part of 1911, was a strike by senior players which led to some of the most pathetic efforts by a team in VFL/AFL history. In 1910 and 1911 St Kilda used 59 and 62 players respectively - the largest number ever used by a team in the VFL/AFL.
The years 1912 to 1915 saw major improvement, highlighted by a Grand Final appearance in 1913 when they were beaten by a powerful Fitzroy side. During World War I the club felt so embarrassed by accidentally having team colours which matched the flag of the then German Empire, that its players pinned Union Flags to their jumpers. Before the next season began in 1915, the club decided to change their colours from red, black, and white to red, black, and yellow — the colours of an ally of Australia Belgium.

Inter-war period

After 1915, the war forced the club into recess. St Kilda resumed in 1918, but did not return to its original colours until after 1920. The club fared very well and made the finals in 1918, but the clubs form declined sharply in the early 1920s to be last in 1920 and 1924. The following years however, saw St Kilda establish themselves as a mid-table club, which they were to remain for the greater part of the inter-war period. Colin Watson played brilliantly in 1925 as the club won five successive games, but left the club to move to Warrnambool immediately after. By 1929, St Kilda had made the finals where they were unlucky to lose to Carlton in a match played in a dust-storm caused by long-term drought in Central Australia.
Despite the presence of such players as Bill Mohr and Jack Davis, St Kilda briefly struggled in the early 1930s but almost made the finals in most of the years from 1935 to 1938. In 1939, they had a record run of eight consecutive victories and despite three defeats, rebounded to have their first finals win since 1913 over Richmond. However, Ron Todd, full-forward of the Collingwood Football Club, was too much for the St Kilda defenders in the following preliminary final, kicking 11 goals.

The Dark Years of the 1940s and 1950s

Any hope that the breakthrough win in the finals of 1939 would herald a period of success for the club were quickly deflated. Though the club won three consecutive games early in the 1940 season and was on top of the ladder after Round 4, they won only two of their last 14 games to finish second last. From this point on, St Kilda were little more than a whipping post and like Hawthorn, the club's rivals for the wooden spoon during the 1940s and early 1950s, the players were accepting defeat easily and rarely played games to the end. Though they had some high-class players like Harold Bray, Keith Drinan, Peter Bennett and later Neil Roberts, St Kilda were never competitive, An exception was the beginning of the 1950 season when the club won the first five games. Incredibly, between Round 3 of 1947 and Round 14 of 1948, St Kilda suffered 31 games without a win, and between Round 10 of 1945 and Round 4 of 1946, they lost 16 consecutive games.
After one of the club's worst seasons in 1955, in which they scored a total of 861 points in eighteen games - the lowest amount by any VFL side since 1920 - Alan Killigrew was appointed coach. His first action was the most massive clean-out of players in the history of any VFL/AFL club. Only 17 St Kilda players from 1955 survived to play again in 1956, while 11 new players appeared in St Kilda's opening match for 1956.

The club's greatest era

The appointment of Alan Killigrew as coach, like Jack Hale at Hawthorn a few years earlier, eliminated the defeat-accepting attitude of St Kilda and soon made them more competitive. By 1960, they had advanced to sixth, and in 1961 made the four for the first time since 1939. However with star full-back Verdun Howell unfit, the club lost to Footscray in the first semi final. Despite the club's most convincing sequence of wins ever over the last six rounds of the 1963 season, they lost to Melbourne in the semi finals again.
When Zoning was introduced in the late 1960s, Hawthorn were given the Mornington Peninsula region and, in the eyes of many club historians, lost St Kilda a large supply of top players. After the 1964 season, the club moved to Moorabbin Oval in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne in an effort to attract the population from a rapidly growing region. The move was a success, for the club finished on top of the ladder for the first time ever and Ian Stewart and Darrel Baldock came close to becoming the first two players from one club to finish outright first and second in the Brownlow Medal. Baldock later captained the Saints to their first and only premiership in 1966, defeating Collingwood by a solitary point (10.14 (74), 10.13 (73)). Though they dropped to fifth after a premiership hangover in 1967, the clubs strong defence allowed St Kilda to remain near the top of the ladder right up to 1973. In 1971, they were unluckily beaten by Hawthorn in the Grand Final, then in 1972 they were beaten by Carlton in a close preliminary final.

The perennial strugglers

1974 saw the Saints decline to the lower half of the ladder for the first time since the 1950s, finishing tenth with only seven wins. Despite some good performances in 1975 and 1976, by 1977 the club was back in its old place at the bottom of the ladder. 1978 began and ended in excellent form, but a mid-season slump in form where they lost six games by a total of over 400 points saw them narrowly miss the finals.
1979 began well, despite serious financial problems, with a win over Hawthorn, but thereafter disaster struck the club. St Kilda suffered a run of severe defeats and ended the season three games clear on the bottom, after winning only two more games. Continuing financial pressure saw them remain in the bottom three for every season from 1979 to 1986, never winning more than five games in any of those years and totalling only 31 wins and two draws from 176 games. This period significantly contributed to St Kilda's record of 26 wooden spoons, the highest total of any VFL/AFL club.
1987 saw St Kilda, aided by the irrepressible Tony Lockett at full forward, move off the bottom for the first time since 1982 with nine wins. However in 1988, lack of pace in the team and the absence of Lockett due to injury, saw them return to the bottom despite playing more competitively than in previous years. By the time Lockett had managed to shrug off his injuries, the Saints had built a highly talented team led by Danny Frawley, with such players as Nicky Winmar, Stewart Loewe, Robert Harvey and Dean Rice.This was augmented by new coach and former Carlton premiership player Ken Sheldon's ability to recruit 'ready-made' senior players from other clubs to fit around this talented core. Players such as Russell Morris, Jimmy Krakouer., Dean Anderson and Stephen Newport were brought in to fast track the Saints chances. With Lockett kicking ten goals or more in six different games in 1991 and 1992, St Kilda made the finals in both years, but injuries and form lapses from other players saw the Saints decline abruptly in the following years. Due to pressure from Robert Hession, his manager, Lockett left the club in 1995 for the Sydney Swans. St Kilda came close to success in 1997, losing the AFL Grand Final to the Adelaide Crows after leading by 13 points at half-time. The club fired then coach Stan Alves after the club had lost both its finals in 1998.

2000s

2000

In 2000, the year of the Sydney Olympics, the Saints moved to their new playing home at the Telstra Dome, whilst maintaining their headquarters at Moorabbin. They played their first ever match at the venue against the Sydney Swans in round 1, but were thumped by 34 points. This may have been just a sign of good things to come. Unfortunately, another unsuccessful season saw the Saints receive the wooden spoon, which resulted in coach Tim Watson's resignation. Watson finished with just 12 wins from 44 matches.

2001

Just 15 rounds into the 2001 season, former Kangaroo and Adelaide coach Malcolm Blight was sacked as Saints coach, replaced in line by Grant Thomas. After 2001, then 88-gamer Barry Hall left St Kilda for Sydney, because the recruitment of former West Coast Eagle Fraser Gehrig and the draftings of Justin Koschitzke and Nick Riewoldt forced him to shift into different positions in the forward line. Hall had made his debut for the Saints in 1996. St Kilda finished 15th.

2002

2002 was also another disastrous year for the Saints, finishing 15th but winning more than five games. A heart-stopping draw against Sydney in round 5 may have been the catalyst, with the Saints struggling to win on a weekly basis. Leigh Montagna, Matt Maguire and Nick Dal Santo all made their debuts for the Saints in 2002. Club great Stewart Loewe retired at season's end. Brendon Goddard was picked as the Saints' third first-priority pick in two years.

2003

2003 was regarded as a turning point for the Saints, but were still a long way off from playing finals football. Brendon Goddard and current skipper Luke Ball all made their debuts in that year. The Saints' thumping of Richmond in Round 17 was to be the last game Nathan Burke played. Another highlight was a round 21 thrashing of the Western Bulldogs in Launceston late in the season. Unfortunately, a late season surge was not enough for the Saints to make the finals.

2004

After a period of rebuilding, in 2004 the Saints signaled promise for the future with a victorious campaign in the pre-season competition, the Wizard Cup. Following this was an unprecedented ten-game winning streak in the home-and-away season. Unfortunately, injury and inexperience meant that the Saints only finished third at the end of the season, and were later eliminated in an epic Preliminary Final by eventual premiers Port Adelaide, going down by just one goal. Full-forward Fraser Gehrig won the Coleman Medal for the most goals kicked in the 2004 season (103).

2005

In 2005, the Saints finished again in the top four. They went into the 2005 finals series with high expectations and arguably the best list in the competition. They looked set to fulfill the expectations when they defeated Adelaide away from home in the Qualifying Finals at AAMI Stadium but were beaten by the eventual premiers, the Sydney Swans, in a home Preliminary Final.

2006

In 2006 the Saints were stripped of two competition points (equivalent to a draw) temporarily gained from a controversially drawn match against Fremantle. Because the umpires on the field did not signal the end of the game after the final siren had been sounded, St Kilda player Steven Baker scored a behind during play to tie the scores. This was later canceled by the on-field umpires because he received an illegal bump immediately after kicking the ball. Baker kicked for goal a second time, but he scored a behind again drawing the game. The AFL Commission overturned the result of the disputed match and handed the win and all the competition points to Fremantle.
On September 12, 2006, after losing their Elimination Final against Melbourne four days previous, coach Grant Thomas and the club mutually decided to "part ways". On October 11, 2006, former Fitzroy forward Ross Lyon was appointed as the new coach for the Saints.
In an interesting twist of fate, Neale Daniher was the coach inadvertently involved in both the sacking of Alves and Thomas by leading his Melbourne sides to finals victories against the Saints that proved to be the last games of the aforementioned coaches almost 10 years apart.

2007

At the start of 2007, the Saints appointed three captains - Luke Ball, Lenny Hayes and Nick Riewoldt. This ended a policy of a single captain being appointed at the start of each season - which had been done since 2002.
On the field, the Saints suffered two 50+ losses in the first five rounds, to recent premiers Brisbane in round 2 and Port Adelaide in round 5. But a season-defining win over reigning premiers West Coast in round 12, where veteran Robert Harvey played his record 350th game, set the tone for what is expected to be a fast and furious finish to the Saints' season. Only losses to Collingwood in round 14 and Sydney in round 19, as well as a draw with the Western Bulldogs in round 18 slowed proceedings down.
Off the field, the Saints left their home ground of Moorabbin after 42 years, but a new home has yet to be decided.

Supporter base

Year	Members	Finishing position¹
1998	23,204	6th
1999	20,793	10th
2000	17,855	16th (last)
2001	22,248	15th
2002	17,696	15th
2003	23,626	11th
2004	30,533	3rd
2005	32,043	3rd
2006	'32,327'	6th
2007	30,950²	9th ★

¹ Following finals matches.

² As of 17 August 2007
One of St Kilda's most famous fans is former cricketer Shane Warne.

Club records

'Win-Loss Record:'	Played: 2114	Won: 797, Lost: 1296, Drawn: 21 (as of Round 17 2007)
'Highest Score:'	31.18 (204)	versus Melbourne, Round 6 6 May 1978
'Lowest Score:'	0.1 (1)	versus Geelong, Sect. Round 3 9 September 1899
'Greatest Winning Margin:'	139 points	versus Brisbane Lions, Round 22 27 August 2005
'Biggest Loss:'	178 points	versus Collingwood, Round 4 28 April 1979
'Longest Winning Streak:'	10 games	Round 1 27 March 2004 to Round 10 30 May 2004
'Longest Losing Streak:'	48 games	Round 1 8 May 1897 to Round 14 12 August 1899
'Most Games Played:'	355 ★	Robert Harvey 1988–Present
'Most Goals Kicked: '	898	Tony Lockett 1983–1994
'Most Best & Fairests:'	4	Bill Cubbins 1921, 1923, 1928, 1929 Robert Harvey 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998

Premierships

'Senior'
1913 _ St Kilda defeated Fitzroy in the grand final.

★ 1966 - St Kilda 10.14 (74) defeated Collingwood 10.13 (73) - by 1 point.
'Reserves'

★ 1942 - St Kilda 13.10 (88) defeated Fitzroy 7.15 (57) - by 31 points.

★ 1943 - St Kilda 11.14 (80) defeated Fitzroy 8.6 (54) - by 26 points.

★ 1961 - St Kilda 7.14 (56) defeated Geelong 5.16 (46) - by 10 points.
'Under 19s'

★ 1957 - St Kilda 8.7 (55) defeated South Melbourne 6.11 (47) - by 8 points.

Runners-up

'Senior'

★ 1965 - St Kilda 9.16 (70) defeated by Essendon 14.21 (105) - by 35 points.

★ 1971 - St Kilda 11.9 (75) defeated by Hawthorn 12.10 (82) - by 7 points.

★ 1997 - St Kilda 13.16 (94) defeated by Adelaide 19.11 (125) - by 31 points.
'Reserves'

★ 1933 - St Kilda 10.14 (74) defeated by Melbourne 10.15 (75) - by 1 point.

★ 1962 - St Kilda 10.8 (68) defeated by Footscray 13.13 (91) - by 23 points.

★ 1963 - St Kilda 7.11 (53) defeated by Geelong 13.12 (90) - by 37 points.

★ 1982 - St Kilda 12.11 (83) defeated by Geelong 19.18 (132) - by 49 points.

★ 1987 - St Kilda 15.15 (105) defeated by Carlton 18.17 (125) - by 20 points.

★ 1999 - St Kilda 11.10 (76) defeated by Essendon 20.13 (133) - by 57 points.

Night series/Pre-season premierships

★ 1958 - St Kilda 16.13 (109) defeated Carlton 15.11 (101) - by 8 points.

★ 1996 - St Kilda 20.10 (130) defeated Carlton 10.12 (72) - by 58 points.

★ 2004 - St Kilda 1.14.5 (98) defeated Geelong 1.10.7 (76) - by 22 points. (Modified Pre-Season competition scoring system).
===McClelland Trophy===

★ 1965

★ 1997

Wooden spoons

St Kilda F.C. have won a total of 26 wooden spoon awards - an AFL record - for coming in last place in the following years:
1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1909, 1910, 1920, 1924, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 2000

Individual awards

===Best and Fairest===
:See Trevor Barker Award.
===Brownlow Medal winners===

★ Colin Watson, 1925

★ Brian Gleeson, 1957

★ Neil Roberts, 1958

★ Verdun Howell, 1959 (Tied with Bob Skilton)

★ Ian Stewart, 1965 (Tied with Noel Teasdale) and 1966

★ Ross Smith, 1967

★ Tony Lockett, 1987 (Tied with John Platten)

★ Robert Harvey, 1997 and 1998 .
===Michael Tuck Medal winners===

★ Nicky Winmar (1996)

★ Robert Harvey (2004)
===Leigh Matthews Trophy winners===

★ Tony Lockett, 1987

★ Robert Harvey, 1997

★ Nick Riewoldt, 2004
===Coleman Medal winners===
Called the ''Leading Goalkicker Medal'' prior to 1955.

★ Charlie Baker (1902)

★ Bill Mohr (1936)

★ Bill Young (1956)

★ Tony Lockett (1987, 1991)

★ Fraser Gehrig (2004, 2005)
===AFL Rising Star winners===

★ Justin Koschitzke (2001)

★ Nick Riewoldt (2002)

Current squad

''As of March 31, 2007''

Current Club Jumper

Players of note

Team of the Century

St Kilda's Team of the Century. (2003)
===Australian Football Hall of Fame players===

★ Roy Cazaly (Legend) ★ Ian Stewart (Legend) ★ Darrel Baldock (Legend) ★ Vic Cumberland ★ Carl Ditterich ★ Wels Eicke

★ Les Foote ★ Alex Jesaulenko                    ★ Dave McNamara ★ Bill Mohr ★ Colin Watson

===St Kilda F.C. Hall of Fame===

2007 Inductees ★ Ian Stewart (elevated to Club Legend) ★ Harold Bray ★ Barry Breen ★ Jack Davis ★ Keith Drinan ★ Wels Eicke ★ Danny Frawley ★ Graham Huggins ★ Stewart Loewe ★ Alan Morrow ★ Bob Murray ★ Kevin Neale ★ Travis Payze

2003 Inductees ★ Darrel Baldock ★ Ian Stewart ★ Tony Lockett ★ Trevor Barker ★ Carl Ditterich ★ Verdun Howell ★ Nicky Winmar ★ Ross Smith ★ Neil Roberts ★ Bill Mohr ★ Dave McNamara ★ Allan Jeans ★ Ian Drake

Not to be forgotten

★ Robert Harvey (Current) ★ Nathan Burke ★ Austinn Jones ★ Lenny Hayes (Current) ★ Aaron Hamill (Current) ★ Lance Oswald

★ Justin Peckett ★ Daryl Griffiths ★ Nick Riewoldt (Current) ★ Jim A. Ross ★ Barry Lawrence ★ Nicky Winmar

:''See also: .''

External links

★ Official website of the St Kilda Football Club

★ Saintsational.com - Unofficial St Kilda F.C. Fan Forum

★ Full Points Footy History of the St Kilda Football Club

★ St Kilda Football Club supporter web portal

★ St Kilda statistics & honour roll at Footystats

★ e-saint - St Kilda FC web-site with original short films about supporters