Red, White And Black

The ISC website was updated in the past week or so and we got the first decent look at the 2012 clash jumper:

I certainly think it’s an improvement on the 2011 “Vague Cross” design, with the broader red and black panels on the front bringing it closer to the panel/slab jumper’s pre-mid 1990s changes.

St Kilda's 1915-1918 jumper, from footyjumpers.com

Of course, the horizontal stripe is there to give the cross effect and also to stop the AFL whinging about there not being enough white in the design; however it’s slightly but noticeably broader than the vertical stripe which, as they say in classics, throws it out of a whack a bit.

I and many fans I’m sure will be pleased to see something closer to the panel/slab jumpers (my red, yellow and black jumper fantasy not withstanding) taking the field against the traditional jumpers of teams such as Carlton, Melbourne and Essendon. It also shows off the club’s colours more boldly – genuinely a red, white and black jumper as opposed to a white jumper with a bit of red and black.

I get the feeling the preference here for the clash would be unbroken panels with the white stripe as per the above version and white back – closer to the design worn by the club from 1933-1952 and arguably as “traditional” as the current home jumper.

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon will definitely remain at the AFL club through to the end of next season.

Lyon is negotiating with the Saints about a contract extension.

It is understood the Saints and their coach have reaffirmed his commitment for next year, ending growing speculation that Melbourne is trying to lure Lyon with a massive offer.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Saints strongly denied media speculation that Lyon had spoken to the players as a group about his future.

The club are determined to extend his current deal.

Via The Age

Given the current AFL climate and the amount of heartache Saints fans have had to endure over the last 3 years in particular, no one gunning for Ross’s reappointment will be entirely at ease until the dotted line has been signed and a press conference is held.

That said, I must say that this news is very reassuring. Stability at football clubs and long-term success go hand-in-hand, and whilst it may indeed be the end of an era, the Saints definitely have one of the most capable coaches going around to steer them into a new era.

Hopefully, this is just the beginning of an off-season that can invigorate the supporters, the playing group and the club as a whole.

Australian Rules football lost one of its greats today with the passing of Allan Jeans.

St Kilda has lost its only premiership captain and coach within six months of each other.

The 1966 premiership legend has grown exponentially with the passing of Yabby and the Doc this year, and after unsuccessful Grand Finals in 2009 and 2010.

We’re too young to have witnessed what you did first-hand, but thank you for what you brought to the club and its supporters.

Via The Age (read the full article here)

Not so the Bulldogs and Saints. Both have been there, done that, and on the weekend, both showed definite signs of life. The Dogs were calling their comprehensive drubbing of Melbourne their best win for a year. St Kilda’s performance was its best since last year’s drawn grand final, the most ominous part for rivals the return to footballing health of its skipper Nick Riewoldt.

Given some space to lead in, Riewoldt lapped it up. He timed his leads far better than he had been, hitting the ball hard out in front rather than getting pushed underneath. His marks, of which he finished with 13, were one-grab. And after a wonky start, eventually his kicking came good. While they finished too cautiously yesterday, going goalless in the final term, the Saints’ seven-goal second was a revelation, in which the likes of Jack Steven and Brett Peake were instrumental in the drive out of midfield, more so than the usual suspects.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/saints-dogs-up-ante-for-pretenders-20110703-1gxbn.html#ixzz1RDscFFu5

I usually think Rohan Connolly is pretty on the money when it comes to summing up where teams are at, but I think he has misfired when claiming the victory was our “best since last year’s drawn grand final”. Sure, this was a Kangaroos side that was coming off four straight wins, but they still just an emerging side; their ladder position is accurate. Plus, the Saints failed for the last quarter and change.

That said, I was pleased with the first half. But if I had to pick a best performance of this year I would probably go with the win against Fremantle – we never looked in doubt of losing that one and for perhaps the only time this year St Kilda had a ruthlessness about them.

Herr Connolly was right to highlight Saint Nick’s outstanding performance though. That was the Nick that we are used to taking for granted. He may have not been the best four-quarter player yesterday, but he was probably the most important when the game was won (in the second quarter).

Our last quarter or so may have not struck any fear into any finals aspirants but Riewoldt’s performance may have.

Just a reminder that if you can’t make it down to Trevor Barker Oval on Saturday afternoon, ABC will be televising Sandringham vs Coburg live from 1pm.

With a number of younger players this season pushing for selection in the senior side, it will definitely be interesting to see how they go for the Zebras this week.

From the official St Kilda website:
“After two weeks of filming within the walls of the St Kilda Football Club, the compelling Saints documentary, ‘The Challenge’, will be seen for the first time tonight on Channel 9 (Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide), following the network’s telecast of The Footy Show. The documentary will also be aired simultaneously on saints.com.au.
…
And the great news for Saints fans is that if you miss the inaugural airing of ‘The Challenge’ tonight on Channel 9 after the Footy Show, it will be broadcast online at saints.com.au so you can watch it whenever you like from 11.30pm tonight onwards!”

The documentary runs for about 25 minutes.

It was nearly a year ago that I went to the 2010 AGM to write up the first piece for this website. Although the Luke Ball and Andrew Lovett sagas had marred an off-season made hard enough by the heartbreaking 2009 Grand Final loss, the most vitriol mustered by the attending fans in the Q&A section of the meeting was disappointment at Grand Final ticket allocation.

Of course, no-one could have predicted what kind of year would have followed, both during and post- the regular season. The scene was set for a much more tense meeting of members and the Club itself.

So fast forward to last night’s AGM, which was held in the Grand Hall of Kingston Council’s headquarters. All the players were in attendance as, it seemed, a form of punishment, and a higher attendance both of supporters and media were befitting of the larger surrounds compared to the 2010 edition.

The meeting opened with President Greg “Alright?” Westaway paying tribute to the late Darrel Baldock, who needs no introduction to St Kilda supporters. The formal bits and pieces followed, which consisted of a rubber-stamp re-election of the board and President (to no-one’s chagrin) and the granting of life membership of the club to Jason Blake, Stephen Milne and Nick Riewoldt.

The more humours parts of this AGM were the revealing of the votes submitted by members for the players to receive the honour. Blake received 594 votes “for” and an inexplicable seven “against” (seriously, why? Westaway used his dry sense of humour to put it down to his neighbours), Milne received a similar number for and 13 against (Westaway: “It must be a bit more densely populated where you live”) and the captain had all of four members vote against him (Westaway again: “There’s always someone”).

Roo took a swipe at the media and the general public who have been yapping at the Saints throughout the off-season, and finished with the words, “Be proud that you’re a St Kilda person”. It was a rare moment of this summer that the club seemed to project a real defiance and strength.

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Darrel Baldock
September 29th, 1938 – February 2nd, 2011

119 Games, 236 Goals
St Kilda’s only Premiership Captain in 1966
St Kilda Captain 1963-1968
St Kilda Best and Fairest Winner 1962, 1963, 1965
St Kilda Leading Goalkicker 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965
Captain of St Kilda’s Team of the Century
Captain of Tasmania’s Team of the Century
AFL Hall of Fame Legend