AFL 25: Ed Bourke names his St Kilda team of the century so far
If not for two wild grand final moments, St Kilda could have a team of the century stacked with dual premiership players. Instead the side is full of under-appreciated stars. See it here.
St Kilda
Don't miss out on the headlines from St Kilda. Followed categories will be added to My News.
If not for a Matthew Scarlett toe-poke and the worst possible bounce of a ball, St Kilda could field a team of the last 25 years stacked with dual premiership players.
Just let that wash over you for a moment. You never hear anyone talk about these sliding doors moments in Saints history. The faithful are not hung up on it at all.
Instead, legendary centre-half forward Nick Riewoldt leads a side with too many members who are under-appreciated by the public for their lack of silverware.
Players who were heartbreakingly denied the right to smile when they lifted the 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup aloft – wrongly told greater riches were coming right around the corner.
This Saints side boasts a hard-nosed engine room led by Lenny Hayes, Jack Steele and Leigh Montagna.
Games record holder Robert Harvey is pushed out to a wing, where he was a superb contributor in the latter stages of his career, while Nick Dal Santo patrols the other with his silky left foot.
Stephen Milne (574 goals), Fraser Gehrig (390) and Tim Membrey (293) join Riewoldt in a ruthless forward line which is also supplemented by Justin Koschitzke as the forward-ruck on the bench.
Membrey is rewarded for his consistency as the club’s three-time leading goalkicker, picked ahead of Aaron Hamill, Stewart Loewe (who only played 45 of his 321 games this century) and prolific small forward Adam Schneider.
Brendon Goddard could have slotted in at half-back or on a wing, but is named at half-forward, not only to save a selection headache but because it is where he delivered maybe the quarter of his life in the drawn 2009 grand final.
The Saints’ best midfielder in the lean post-Lyon years, Jack Steven, occupies the other flank after booting 112 goals in his 183 games for the club, with dual Trevor Barker Award winner Seb Ross making the bench ahead of 2000 winner Andrew Thompson.
Only Thompson and Peter Everitt missed out from the Saints’ 12 best and fairest winners, with strongman Rowan Marshall given the nod ahead of the latter and Ben McEvoy.
The back six almost picks itself, but there was some angst over who to include as the seventh defender with Jason Gram, Jason Blake and Sam Gilbert difficult to split.
Gilbert’s raking left boot was one of the most entertaining parts of Ross Lyon’s well oiled 2009-10 side, while the versatile Blake kept going and going until he finally picked up Brownlow votes in his 14th season.
Gram’s leg speed and superb 2009 grand final performance, where he lost the Norm Smith medal on countback to Paul Chapman, earn him the nod, and while the Wizard Home Loans Cup was mentioned earlier, he was picked without relying on his Michael Tuck Medal, which was deemed inadmissable.
Ross is of course, the boss. Lyon did not need to return to the club to take the reins, but a glance at this side reveals why he might feel he has some unfinished business.
More Coverage
Originally published as AFL 25: Ed Bourke names his St Kilda team of the century so far
St Kilda’s injury woes deepen in Port loss
Young gun Jason Horne-Francis gave Port Adelaide fans a glimpse of his 2025 potential as St Kilda lost another player to injury.
The ‘awful’ narrative Saints fans won’t want to hear
Ross Lyon could be a glass half-full or half-empty man after his Saints were smashed by the Power. St Kilda fans won’t want to hear the narrative of the latter.