Brett Ratten wasted no time thanking the behind the scenes staff at St Kilda for their hard work
Only hours after making finals, an early Saturday email bounced into the inboxes of more than 150 St Kilda staff members. It was from their coach, with a special message. This is why both the club and coach couldn’t be happier.
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An early Saturday email bounced into the inboxes of more than 150 St Kilda staff members and volunteers either based in the Queensland hub or back in a locked-down Melbourne with a message from the coach.
Brett Ratten wanted to thank them – collectively.
In keeping with the character of the man who has ridden a roller coaster of emotional highs and crushing lows in his 49 years – none more heartbreaking than the death of his 16-year-old son Cooper in a car accident in 2015 – Ratten’s message was all about connection, gratitude and engagement.
Just over 12 hours earlier his team booked the club’s first finals berth in nine years, but come Saturday Ratten’s thoughts had shifted to the unsung staffers who had assisted the team in the most challenging of AFL seasons.
A source told the Sunday Herald Sun: “The (Ratten) message was about how it had been a tough year (for staff) with stand-downs and with reduced hours, and how the team couldn’t have done what it had without them.”
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“It was about saying ‘we’re not there yet … but we are taking good strides, and it’s because of your hard work’.”
Ratten has achieved what the two previous Saints coaches couldn’t – elevating the club back into the finals for the first time since Ross Lyon coached his final St Kilda game in a messy 2011 elimination final exit.
A large number of the club’s staff as well as the club’s record membership base won’t be able to attend the Saints’ 53rd final in a fortnight, but Ratten wants them all to feel a part of it.
Ratten hasn’t been the sole reason for the seismic shift in attitude and connection at the Saints right now. But he has undoubtedly played an enormous part.
His connection to the players and staff in the Queensland hub was evidenced after the Giants’ win on Friday when he called them into the theme song.
He had told Saints head of football operations Danny Sexton before the game – “When we get the job done, I reckon we get everyone in (the circle).”
As painful as it has been for him personally, perspective has made Ratten a better coach.
Being sacked as Carlton coach after the 2012 season – just a year after taking the club to three successive finals series – was professionally cruel.
The loss of his son five years ago in tragic circumstances was something he says he will never get over, but he is learning to live with the heartbreaking loss.
Ratten spoke recently in a podcast Adapting in my grief – hosted by Milton Walters – of the importance of looking after each other.
That was the case earlier this year on the day that would have been Cooper’s 21st birthday.
“Something that was pretty special was Cooper’s 21st,” Ratten said in the podcast.
“It gets me a bit upset, but at the footy club, the players got around me and said, ‘we know it’s a special day but a very hard day for you’. Then they just all came up and gave us a cuddle … it was awesome, it was so good.
“And it’s just those little things about acknowledging him. You know, he might not be here, but he is here with us. It’s one of the hardest things about it.”
That support has been extraordinary from the footy community and its fans.
Ratten said on ABC Grandstand: “I wanted to coach again and to get that opportunity at the Saints ... (well) not too many get a second chance after being sacked.”
“I want to grab it with both hands. Hopefully we can have that success, but we have only scratched the surface.”
Ratten has collectively wrapped his arms around the players and the staff since taking on the job full-time.
When Ben Paton finished his exit interview at the end of last year, the young Saints told his coach he wanted to play more than the 13 games he did in 2019.
Ratten insisted he thought Paton could play every game, which he has done so far in 2020, and he has beaten the likes of Tom Papley and Toby Greene.
It’s not just the players.
Before the pandemic hit, Rattene promised to buy the club’s membership department lunch if they reached a target. They did, and Ratten paid up.
One staff member stuck in Melbourne who had their first child a few months ago was stunned when a present and heartwarming note arrived on the doorstep from Ratten and his wife Jo.
That’s the Ratten touch. It’s taken the Saints to the finals, but he wants more than that.
“(The finals) are not our destination,” Ratten said. “It’s (only) part of the journey.”
MARCHING ORDERS: SAINTS COULD BE STRIPPED OF FINALS SAY
The AFL could ignore the wishes of St Kilda and send the Saints to Adelaide for their first final in nine years.
St Kilda is preparing for the possibility the AFL will inform them its home final will be in Adelaide if Collingwood loses to Port Adelaide.
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten told AFL 360 the Saints want to play their final at the Gabba.
“I think it (the Gabba) would be a preferred ground for us, where we’re situated,” Ratten said.
“But it will be what the AFL decide and if it’s not there, we’ll just make it up as we go.
“We’re not sure, it’s been proposed, a few venues, so we’ll just wait and see.
“If that was the case (playing at Adelaide Oval), we’ve been really happy to travel and do what we have to do as a football club.
“If the call is for us to go to Adelaide Oval, we’ll go there. We’ll just wait and see.
Port Adelaide’s top-two finish means Adelaide Oval will get at least two finals matches.
And there could be more, with the potential of an elimination final being played at the Oval in addition to the Power’s qualifying final.
If the Pies win and assume hosting rights for that elimination final, the game could still be played at the Oval.
West Coast will host the other elimination final in Perth.
Clubs can inform the AFL about what venue they would like to host venues at, but the league has the final say on where the matches will be held.
The Saints have won both games at Adelaide Oval this year, after previously going winless since the redevelopment of the venue.
Collingwood also won its only game at Adelaide Oval when it defeated the Crows.
RATTEN: ‘STARVED’ SAINTS CAN BE A FINALS THREAT
– Glenn McFarlane
Brett Ratten is confident St Kilda can make a serious assault on this year’s AFL finals series, insisting his Saints are not there to simply make up the numbers.
Ratten revealed he had spoken to the club’s leadership group and the players on Saturday to ensure the focus of the group is centred on what they can achieve across the next month rather than dwelling on their first finals appearance since 2011.
Importantly, the Saints believe Zak Jones will return for the first final with the bye following the home-and-away season giving him a serious chance of overcoming the hamstring injury that saw him miss Friday night’s win over Greater Western Sydney.
“We have caught up with the leadership group and will talk to the players … but the post-game chat we had was around the opportunity we have,” Ratten said on ABC Grandstand.
“The first 22 rounds – it is a bit different this year being only 17 (games) – is just a rehearsal for the finals.
“You are just practising to get your game perfect if you can for the pointy end of the season.
“(The players) know exactly where we sit. We are excited, happy, we have been starved of this, but we are not trying to just limp in and just play the numbers game.
“We want to be a player in the finals and this is our opportunity and we are looking forward to it.”
Jones reported soreness in his hamstring in the clash with West Coast with subsequent scans revealing a minor strain. He will push hard to play in the first final.
“It might be pretty close,” Ratten said. “It is not as bad as the other one he did earlier in the year.”
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“I think with that time frame we got him back in 14 days. We will wait and see, but I think he will get up for the finals.”
Defender Jake Carlisle returned to the Saints’ team on Friday night, but has a decision to make in the coming weeks, with his wife due to give birth soon.
“Mel (Carlisle’s partner) is due in the first week in the final, she will be 39 weeks,” Ratten said on 3AW. “We just had a chat to Jake to see where he is at and he is going to go through everything with Mel.
“The decision will be up to him. If he wants to go back for the birth, that’s fine. But he needs to work through with Mel what they want to do as a family.
“He will probably play the first final, hopefully we get through, and we will leave it to him.”
Originally published as Brett Ratten wasted no time thanking the behind the scenes staff at St Kilda for their hard work