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A Trio of Saints From the 1930s |
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| Follower and half forward Edward Williamson | Full back Stuart King | Utility player Fred Phillips | ||
Back to Saint Kilda Part 1
For most of the 1930s St Kilda were at best a middle of the road side, never ending up with the wooden spoon, but only twice prior to 1939 managing what the Americans would term 'winning' seasons. Then, in 1939, the side once again gave the definite impression that it was on the verge of significant achievement, recording one of the best home and away seasons in the club's history up to that point. Unfortunately for the Saints, three other clubs did even better, but with 13 wins and only 5 losses going into the first semi final against Richmond there was felt to be substantial ground for optimism. St Kilda had not been victorious in a finals match for twenty-six years (not that they had engaged in all that many finals matches during that time) but for once the optimism was not misplaced as the Saints raced to a comfortable 30 point win, 10.12 (72) to 6.6 (42).
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A Trio of Saints From the 1930s |
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| Follower and half forward Edward Williamson | Full back Stuart King | Utility player Fred Phillips | ||
The preliminary final against Collingwood was a vastly different, free-scoring affair, but although the Saints managed to keep in close touch for most of the game the Magpies ultimately broke clear to record a 29 point triumph, 20.14 (134) to 15.15 (105). St Kilda were far from disgraced, however, and yet again it appeared that the club had turned the corner. However, the outbreak of what was to become a second global conflict in September 1939 rendered any long term prospects of consolidation and improvement problematic. That said, few could have predicted just how dire and soul-destroying the next twenty or so years were to prove.
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Keith Drinan |
Before leaving the 1930s, however, mention should be made of some of the prominent players to wear the red, white and black during that decade; of men like long kicking full back Arthur Robertson (73 games between 1936 and 1942), dashing South Australian back pocket Clarrie Curyer (104 games from 1935-41), tenacious defender Stan Lloyd (117 games from 1934-42), vibrant wingman Doug Rayment (90 games between 1934 and 1940), and stalwart half back flanker and centreman Bill Roberts (160 games from 1928-37). Easily the club's most noteworthy performer of the 1930s, however, was champion full forward Bill Mohr, who until the arrival of Tony Lockett half a century or so later was by some measure the most prolific goalkicker in St Kilda's history. When Mohr retired in 1941 he had totalled 736 goals from 195 games over thirteen seasons. Perhaps the most persuasive evidence of his greatness is afforded by the fact that he represented Victoria 18 times during an era which boasted contemporary goalsneaks of the calibre of Gordon Coventry (Collingwood), Jack Titus (Richmond), 'Soapy' Vallence (Carlton), George Moloney (Geelong), Bob Pratt (South Melbourne) and Ron Todd (Collingwood). Mohr headed St Kilda's goalkicking list for twelve consecutive years and topped the VFL list in 1936 with 101 goals. He is perhaps best remembered for his unerring accuracy when kicking for goal, whether from set shots or in open play from almost any angle a la Peter Daicos. St Kilda's fortunes took a rapid nose-dive in 1940 and thereafter the club continued to struggle. Indeed, it is doubtful if the club has ever experienced a worse decade than the 1940s which yielded only 34 wins and 4 draws from 174 matches for a paltry success rate of just over 20%. During the entire decade the Saints (or the 'Panthers' as they were briefly known at around this time) only twice finished outside the bottom two, and never once achieved as many wins in a season as defeats. |
Despite this, St Kilda was still home to a succession of highly accomplished players, including the likes of full back Keith Drinan (135 games from 1944-57), forward Jack McDonald (113 games between 1948 and 1956), utility Ken Walker (109 games from 1938-45), rover Keith Rosewarne (92 games from 1946-51), and former rugby and soccer playing follower Reg Garvin (130 games between 1937 and 1946). Another player of note who impressed greatly during two all too brief stints at the club was Keith Miller (50 games from 1940-42 and in 1946), who later went on to even greater sporting achievement as one of Test cricket's finest ever all rounders.
The 1950s brought improvement of sorts, at least when compared to the 1940s, but St Kilda could still hardly be regarded as a glamorous club. The finals remained very much an elusive pipedream, and the decade's only real highlights were Brownlow Medals to Brian Gleeson (in 1957) and Neil Roberts (1958) and the club's first - and, until 1996, only - night premiership in 1958. [see footnote 7]
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The start of St Kilda's emergence as a VFL force can be traced to the appointment in 1956 of Alan Killigrew, a former rover with the club, as coach. Killigrew's coaching style was characterised by a fierce determination to succeed which manifested itself in intense, impassioned oratory more typical of an evangelical preacher than a football coach. However, Killigrew's impact on the team went much deeper than this. Under Killigrew, St Kilda played a fast, run on style of football in which handball as an offensive tool featured prominently; in many ways, it was ahead of its time, a fact which was brought into stark relief when, under Killigrew's successor as coach, Jim Francis, the Saints reverted to the staccato, 'prop and kick' style which was more representative of the period. Perhaps not surprisingly, under Francis the side marked time, and it was not until the appointment of Allan Jeans as Francis's successor in 1961 that the Saints' vast potential began to be realised. Initially Jeans, whose reputation as a player had been modest, was not a particularly popular appointment among either players or supporters. However, his team rapidly won the fans 'round with a series of memorable performances, in the process of which the players' morale inevitably tended to improve. Among the achievements which made people sit up and take notice were victories over both reigning premier, Melbourne, and the Demons' successors-in-waiting, Hawthorn, and a resounding 12.19 (91) to 0.8 (8) triumph over Richmond which saw the Tigers become the first VFL side in forty years to fail to kick a single goal in a match. Off the field the club was also beginning to thrive and in 1961 it attracted an all time record 6,905 members. There was also an increased stability which would help facilitate the recruitment prior to the start of the 1962 season of Australia's most sought after footballer, Latrobe's 1961 All Australian centre half forward Darrel Baldock. |
Verdun Howell - click to enlarge. |
In 1961 Jeans' Saints managed 11 wins from 18 matches to finish the 'home and home' series in 3rd place on the ladder, but then their lack of finals experience came to the fore as they allowed Footscray to jump them early in the first semi final and ultimately hold on to win by 9 points. [see footnote 8] There was an unmistakable feeling of optimism at the Junction Oval, however, and Baldock's signing only served to reinforce this.
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St Kilda's 'blond bombshell', Carl Ditterich. (Click to enlarge.) |
St Kilda's eventual premiership captain made his VFL debut on Easter Monday 1962 and performed creditably in a rare 25 point victory over Collingwood at Victoria Park. Ultimately, however, this proved to be one of the season's few highlights for Saints supporters as the team put in a mediocre campaign to manage only 9 wins from 18 matches and 6th position on the premiership ladder. The 1963 season was brighter in every respect. Three future champions in Carl Ditterich, Ian Stewart and Bob Murray took their bows, and the Saints made it to the first semi final before losing narrowly to Melbourne. Off the field, increased concern over the amount of revenue which the club was losing to its landlord, the St Kilda Cricket Club, led to the unveiling of plans for a move to Moorabbin. The Saints' inconsistency continued in 1964 as the side slumped to 6th and failed to achieve even the minor consolation of success in the night grand final when it succumbed to Footscray by 5 points. St Kilda received an enormous fillip when the planned move to Moorabbin Oval went through in time for the start of the 1965 season. In round one a club record 51,370 spectators attended the home game with Collingwood in which the Saints scraped home by 6 points. Thereafter, the team went from strength to strength, losing only four 'home and home' games all season to enter the finals in pole position for the first time ever. |
Significantly, however, the one team which St Kilda had failed to beat all year was Essendon, and it was the Bombers who ultimately stood in St Kilda's way when the Saints downed Collingwood by the narrowest of margins to reach only the second grand final in the club's history. Despite having ended the home and away rounds in only 4th position Essendon had managed to untap a rich vein of form in September, and consecutive 52 and 55 point victories over Geelong and Collingwood had earned them widespread favouritism going into the grand final. Sadly for the Saints, the pre-match speculation proved to be spot on as the Bombers overcame a haphazard start to emerge 35 points to the good, 14.21 (105) to 9.16 (70). On the eve of the match Allan Jeans made what many later came to view as a major strategic error when he invited the players to his home to discuss tactics. As Darrel Baldock observed, "We were so pumped up from that meeting that we went home ready to play the game straight away. By the time we got onto the ground we were......mentally tired......" [see footnote 9]
Best for St Kilda in the '65 grand final included centreman Ian Stewart, who a few weeks earlier had been a surprise winner of the Brownlow Medal, wingman Jim Read, and the half forward trio of Ian Cooper, Darrel Baldock and Des Kennedy.
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Securely entrenched in the four for most of the 1966 season St Kilda could ultimately have missed out on the finals had they gone down at home to Hawthorn in the last round. Normally, a win over the Hawks would almost have been a formality, but the Saints were without their inspirational ruckman 'Big Carl' Ditterich, who was suspended, while Darrel Baldock had strained his knee ligaments a fortnight earlier against South Melbourne and was rated extremely doubtful. In the end the story had something of a fairy tale resolution as Baldock, named as twentieth man, entered the fray in the third term with the Saints in serious trouble, kicked a goal almost immediately, and went on to inspire a memorable victory. When questioned about the gamble he had taken in playing Baldock, Jeans said "It was either play him today or wait for the night series". [see footnote 10] The victory over Hawthorn secured the double chance for the Saints and as it transpired this was fortunate, as Collingwood won a tumultuous second semi final by 10 points, 15.9 (99) to 13.11 (89). Baldock was still experiencing discomfort with his knee, while Ditterich's suspension meant that he would miss the entire finals series, but St Kilda managed to overcome both these impediments admirably as they overpowered Essendon in the preliminary final by 42 points to earn another crack at the Magpies. |
St Kilda's 1967 Brownlow Medal-winning rover, Ross Smith. |
In the week preceding the grand final the media spotlight was firmly on the Saints, and more specifically on Baldock's knee. Unknown to the newshounds, however, Baldock actually aggravated his knee injury during the team's final training session prior to the match. Allan Jeans, aware of what had happened, immediately brought the training session to an abrupt and premature halt, but he did so in such a manner as to make it seem predetermined. The press were fooled. Come grand final day, however, Baldock was in considerable pain when he lined up at centre half forward. Early on, he took a mark a long way from goal from which he kicked truly, but "It felt like my knee went further than the ball". [see footnote 11]
Nevertheless, nothing was going to prevent 'the Doc' from making his contribution to the St Kilda cause; moreover, nothing, it seemed, was going to get in the way of St Kilda's quest for that elusive first premiership. In a dour battle of the backlines watched by a largely pro-St Kilda crowd of 101,655 there was seldom more than a kick separating the sides, but the initiative seemed to rest with the Saints for most of the game. Victory was finally clinched in the most dramatic of ways. With two minutes plus time on remaining Collingwood's Tuddenham kicked a behind to level the scores and set the stage for a frenetic last five minutes during which players frantically flung themselves at the ball with minimal regard for personal safety. Finally, two minutes into time on St Kilda half forward flanker Barry Breen grabbed the ball after a ball up and sent a bouncing snap shot through for his fifth minor score of the day to secure a lead which the Saints managed to hang on to until the end. Final scores were St Kilda 10.14 (74) to Collingwood 10.13 (73). The despair alluded to in the opening paragraph of this account was, for one brief moment, dispelled completely.
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Brilliant St Kilda centreman, Glenn Elliott. |
Best for the Saints on the greatest ever day in their history included half forward flanker Ian Cooper, centreman Ian Stewart, back pocket Brian Sierakowski, ruck rover Daryl Griffiths, and 5 goal full forward Kevin Neale. Skipper Baldock was uncharacteristically quiet, but not presumably during the club's post match festivities. (A comprehensive report of the 1966 VFL grand final can be viewed here.) In an uncharacteristic display of emotion Allan Jeans told his players "Whatever you do, wherever you go, I'll always remember you for this wonderful moment you gave me today". [see footnote 12] A second successive Brownlow for Stewart capped off a season which St Kilda supporters with long memories still get goose pimples thinking about. Sadly, however, St Kilda supporters born later than about 1960 have nothing to think back on which even remotely compares to the glory of 1966. Under Jeans, the Saints remained a force for the better part of another decade, with further finals appearances in 1968 (4th), 1970 (3rd), 1971 (2nd), 1972 (3rd) and 1973 (4th). |
If the memory of 1966 provokes intense pleasure and pride, that of 1971 has inspired innumerable nightmares for players and supporters alike. Late in the third term of that season's grand final St Kilda led by 26 points before Hawthorn's Leon Rice snapped truly to bring his side to within four straight kicks at the final change. The Saints should still have triumphed, but inexplicably they were overrun, the Hawks adding 7.3 to 3.0 in a devastating last quarter display to win by 7 points. Many a red, white and black heart was broken on a day when rover Ross Smith, centre half back Barry Lawrence, wingman Stewart Trott, ruckman Bryan Mynott, and 4 goal centre half forward Barry Breen unavailingly gave their all to the St Kilda cause.
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As the seventies went on St Kilda suffered a gradual fall from grace. Allan Jeans retired as coach, alleging burnt out, after a mediocre 1976 campaign which saw the Saints manage only 9 wins from 22 matches to finish 9th. Under Jeans' successor, Ross Smith, the team fared even worse, 3 wins and 2 draws landing the Saints with their first wooden spoon for twenty two years. Smith departed after just a single season in charge, but none of the five coaches who followed (Mike Patterson 1978-80, Alex Jesaulenko 1980-2, Tony Jewell 1983-4, Graeme Gellie 1984-6, and Darrel Baldock 1987-9) proved capable of restoring St Kilda's fortunes. Frustratingly, the club was back in its familiar rut of mediocrity, albeit that it still managed to acquire the services of some top quality performers. Most notable among these were long serving utility and 'enforcer' Kevin 'Cowboy' Neale (256 games and 303 goals from 1965 to 1977), rover Bruce Duperouzel (139 games 1974-82), centreman Glenn Elliott (140 games 1969-77), ruckman and key position forward Gary Sidebottom (54 games 1978-80), defender Val Perovic (77 games between 1973 and 1979), ruckman Jeff Sarau (236 games 1973-83), and utility Trevor Barker (231 games 1975-89). |
Gary Lofts, 60 games and 102 goals in five seasons with the Saints. |
The 1980s proved to be a particularly inauspicious era with wooden spoons in 1983-4-5-6 and '88. The Saints' best showing for the decade came in 1987 when 9 wins from 22 matches gave them 10th spot out of 14 teams. That very year, however, the club almost went under as a result of a huge financial deficit, and although recovery was achieved economic security proved elusive.
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A youthful Tony Lockett snaps a goal against Fitzroy during a 1985 encounter. |
Under Ken Sheldon, coach from 1990 to 1993, St Kilda
underwent a brief revival, contesting finals series in 1991 and 1992 with
limited success. At their best, the Saints of the early 1990s were as good as
any other side in the competition. Boasting arguably the game's premier key
forwards in Tony Lockett and Stewart Loewe, and with a formidable midfield set
up incorporating the likes of Nicky
Winmar, Nathan Burke, Gilbert McAdam and
Dean Greig, St Kilda were capable, on their day, of producing some truly awesome
football.
The key phrases in the previous paragraph are "at their best" and "on their day". Too often, whether because key players were missing because of suspension or injury, or simply because the side lacked sufficient confidence in its own ability, games were lost that ought to have been won, the ultimate upshot of which was that the Saints never totally managed to make the transition from bridesmaid to bride. A mediocre season in 1993 precipitated Sheldon's departure, and under his successor, Stan Alves, there was little immediate indication that the club was about to turn the corner. Indeed, a combination of continued financial pressures and unpredictable calamities like the loss of glamour full forward Lockett to Sydney made St Kilda's long term prospects begin to look extremely precarious indeed. However, in 1996 the side began to show signs of a resurgence. A resounding 58 point defeat of reigning day premiers Carlton in the pre-season Ansett Australia Cup grand final was followed by a solid home and away season during which the Saints may have failed to make the finals but were seldom less than competitive. |
The improvement accelerated in 1997 when, after a poor start, the Saints went on to secure the minor premiership for only the second ever time. Comfortable finals defeats of the Brisbane Lions and North Melbourne subsequently saw the side qualify for its first grand final since 1971. In the week leading up to the grand final the club received a further morale boost when dynamic on baller Robert Harvey was named as St Kilda's first Brownlow Medallist for a decade. Most media pundits made the Saints raging hot pre-match favourites against first time grand finalist, Adelaide. The Crows had already had to contend with three tough finals matches in as many weeks and were expected to run out of legs well before the end.
Unfortunately, no one told this to the Crows players. St Kilda played well in the first half to lead at the main break by 13 points, but the second half was a disaster as the Crows added 14 goals to 6 to win pulling away. Players like Harvey, Cook and Jones were conspicuous for the Saints, but too many of their colleagues went missing when the action heated up. Stan Alves summed it all up when he said "It was just unfortunate from our perspective today that Adelaide had the good players on the day and we struggled. I thought that to win a game you've got to have most of your players playing well and unfortunately today we didn't have many players playing well. We hung in with a bit of G and D and unfashionable grind and things like that. You'll probably find a lot of Adelaide players today were better players than our players, whereas if you look at our side, if you look objectively a lot of players played below what you'd expect of them."
Saints skipper Nathan Burke was, predictably, equally disconsolate about the result : "Before the game it was very hard to tell who was overly nervous," he said. "The warm-up seemed pretty much as usual - the quiet blokes were still quiet, the noisy blokes were still noisy - but certainly when we got out there we had a couple of blokes drop easy marks and choose wrong options, so if that was nerves, then there it is. Adelaide is a side you've got to be wary of, once they get that run-on they generally go on with it. The signs were on the board that was starting to happen: when we got a goal they just answered one straight back and there's nothing more disheartening than when that happens."
However, Burke did manage to maintain at least a veneer of optimism in spite of the disappointment. "If we have another half a dozen or a dozen young blokes jump up and do what Hudghton, Wakelin, Lappin did then we'll be very competitive over the next few years," he insisted. One might add that, historically, the team which finishes as runner up has frequently shown itself to be a strong contender for the premiership in the succeeding season; the pang of defeat can be an extremely powerful motivator.
For much of the 1998 season this indeed appeared to be the case, but ultimately the Saints fell 2 games short of repeating their '97 grand final appearance after a 51 point semi final loss to Melbourne. In a season in which there was very little to choose between the sides in the top half of the table this was disappointing but no disaster, and, the somewhat controversial dismissal of coach Stan Alves notwithstanding, hopes for the immediate future remained high.
Such hopes appeared on the verge of imminent fulfilment during the first half of the 1999 season when the Saints, enjoying something of a honeymoon period under new coach Tim Watson, appeared on course for a top three finish. The second half of the season, however, saw a series of performances reminiscent of the Saints of old, with a sequence of just 3 wins from the final 12 matches ultimately consigning the side to the ignominy of 10th spot. Season 2001 saw the Saints plummet still further, both on (15th place) and off (the ignominious late season sacking of 'messianic' coach Malcolm Blight) the field. The fact that there were no quick fixes on offer was emphasised the following season as the Saints, under Grant Thomas, again struggled, winning only 5 and a half games out of 22 for the year to again finish second from bottom. However, in 2003 there were signs that the team was at last beginning to turn things around, as it played some eye catching football to storm up the ladder and only narrowly miss the finals. It then carried this form over to the 2004 pre-season competition, the Wizard Cup, in which it swept all opposition aside en route to a 22 point grand final defeat of Geelong, eliciting considerable media hype in the process.
For much of the 2004 season a revitalised St Kilda side provided fairly persuasive evidence that it was not far short of being the finished article in terms of premiership aspirations. After qualifying for the finals in 3rd place with a 16-6 record the Saints overcame the disappointment of a lack lustre qualifying final loss to Brisbane to perform with admirable conviction in both the semi final against Sydney (won by 51 points) and the preliminary final at a hostile AAMI Stadium against Port Adelaide (lost, more than a trifle unfortunately, by a single straight kick). Worse teams than the Saints of 2004 have had their names inscribed on the AFL's premiership cup, but nobody down Moorabbin way would find this thought in any way consoling.
After appearing to lose their way a little during the first half of the 2005 season the Saints recovered well to clinch the double chance going into the finals. A gutsy qualifying final win away against minor premier Adelaide then earned the side premiership favouritism, but once again the preliminary final, played on this occasion at the MCG, presented an insurmountable hurdle. This time it was Sydney which ended the Saints' season, winning comfortably by 31 points after trailing by 7 points at the last change.
Things were even more disappointing in 2006. An inconsistent home and away season consigned the Saints to a cut-throat elimination final against Melbourne rather than the comparative luxury of the double chance, and despite a strong start to the game they eventually went under by 3 goals, a result which helped precipitate the dismissal of coach Grant Thomas several days later.
With Ross Lyon at the helm, the Saints endured a mediocre time in 2007, finishing in ninth place with an 11-10-1 record. This was followed by a creditable 2008 campaign which brought finals participation and an ultimate finishing position of fourth. Whether the men from Moorabbin can improve sufficiently to provide the likes of Geelong and Hawthorn with a realistic challenge in 2009 remains to be seen but it is at least arguable that the club is in a better position than almost any of its rivals to do precisely that.
Where now?
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7. The VFL had introduced its first official night competition in 1956 to be contested by the eight clubs which had failed to qualify for the finals. All night series matches were held at South Melbourne's home ground, the Lake Oval, and initially at least the competition proved extremely popular. In 1957 all twelve VFL clubs participated in the night competition but from 1958 the competition reverted to its original format. The Glossary entry contains further details. Return to Main Text
8. Not that the Footscray side was significantly more experienced with only Ted Whitten having previously participated in a VFL final. Return to Main Text
9. The Point Of It All, page 181. Return to Main Text
10. Ibid, page 189. Return to Main Text
11. Ibid, page 191. Return to Main Text
12. Ibid, page 193. Return to Main Text
