Top-20: The greatest St Kilda players from 1987-2020
The likes of Riewoldt, Lockett and Harvey are in consideration for best Saint of the modern era, but where to rank one of the all-time great defenders — and footy cult hero — Danny Frawley? Nick Smart had the tough task. VOTE
St Kilda
Don't miss out on the headlines from St Kilda. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Plugger, Rooey or Harves?
It’s a debate likely to rage for some time when trying to decide on the best Saint from 1987 onwards.
Yes, Lockett left St Kilda at the end of 1994 and played another 98 games in the harbour city.
Does that count against him in this conversation?
No.
Before he headed north he had won a Brownlow, two Colemans, two Trevor Barker Awards (club best and fairests) and had booted just under 900 goals in 183 brilliant games at Moorabbin.
Then there is Robert Harvey, who played 383 games for the Saints, won two Brownlows, four Trevor Barkers and was an eight-time All Australian.
Relive classic AFL matches from the 60s to today on KAYO SPORTS. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly
SCROLL DOWN TO VOTE
Plugger had the brute strength and physical presence, Harvey had the endurance and longevity.
And what about the great Nick Riewoldt?
He is well and truly in the conversation.
How do you separate them?
We’ve gone for Lockett, but there will no doubt be others who give Riewoldt the nod and others who nominate Harvey.
THE TOP-20 BEST ST KILDA PLAYERS 1987-2020
1) Tony Lockett
What a colossus he was. The Ballarat boy was initially reluctant to come down to the big smoke and join the Saints. Thank heavens, excuse the pun, he did because he turned out to be one of the very best players in the history of the game. Forget the Saints, many still believe he is the best of all time. Injuries over the journey, and the odd lengthy suspension, probably stopped Lockett from kicking as many as 2000 goals. He holds the record for the most goals in VFL-AFL history with 1360 goals and it’s hard to see that ever being topped.
Key stat: 127- The amount of goals Lockett booted in 1991.
2) Nick Riewoldt
Utterly fearless and with the endurance of an energiser bunny, the Tasmanian-born Gold Coast product and former No.1 draft pick was a superstar for St Kilda for well over a decade. He played 336 games as a big man and kicked 718 goals in a remarkable career. Captained the club in 2005 as part of its then rotation policy and then outright from 2007 until 2016. Very unlucky to not be a premiership skipper, but he is no doubt heading for the AFL hall of fame.
Key stat: 6 – Holds the club record for Trevor Barker Awards with six to his name, and made the All-Australian side five times.
3) Robert Harvey
Like Plugger and Riewoldt, it is a travesty this modern great finished his illustrious career without a flag. He played until age 37, retiring after the 2008 preliminary final, just before the Saints’ return to Grand Final action in 2009-10. The Dual Brownlow medallist would cover so much ground that opposition teams would alternate two taggers on him. He was also as tough as they come. He once jumped repeatedly off his kitchen table to fully rupture his partially torn plantar fascia in order to allow it to heal and return to the field faster. An absolute marvel for a long time.
Key stat: 383 – The amount of games Harvey played to be the club’s games’ record holder.
4) Stewart Loewe
Loewe’s nickname was “buckets” for his big hands, and they helped him develop into one of the best contested marks in the game’s history. A two-time All Australian, the Mornington Peninsula product notched up 321 games in the red, white and black. He also booted just under 600 goals. One of the club’s all-time greats.
Key stat: 2503 – how many marks Loewe took in his career, which is the third most in the VFL-AFL’s history.
5) Lenny Hayes
How could you not love Lenny Hayes? Courageous, tenacious and committed to the cause to a tee, he was the ultimate warrior and a model of professionalism. His herculean effort in the 2010 drawn Grand Final with Collingwood should never be forgotten. He was everywhere in the final quarter and deserved the Norm Smith Medal. One of the best to ever pull on a St Kilda jumper.
Key stat: 3 - Three Trevor Barker Awards and four All-Australian jumpers
6) Nicky Winmar
What most people remember Winmar for is the iconic photo of him defiantly pointing to his skin after copping racial abuse at Victoria Park in 1993. What some people may forget is just how good he was for so long. A Saints’ Team of the Century member, Winmar was an electrifying player who was brilliant by hand and foot and took many high-flying grabs. Lockett once said if he could have anyone deliver him the ball, he would choose Winmar or Harvey.
Key stat: 251– The first indigenous player in the league’s history to play 200 games, finishing with 251.
7) Nathan Burke
His attack on footy was equal to none, which was probably why he almost never went on the field without his trusty helmet on. Known for his remarkable durability and versatility, Burke starred as a winger, back-pocket, midfielder and forward. A star for the Saints from the second he walked into the club until the moment he finished up in a career that started in the 1980s and finished in the 2000s.
Key stat: He held the all-time games record for the club with 323 before it was surpassed by Harvey in 2006.
8) Nick Dal Santo
A silky smooth ball magnet, Dal Santo was a midfield star for a long time. In 2004 he finished third for the Brownlow and was runner up to Dane Swan in 2011. In 2009 he racked up 670 possessions in 24 games to rank equal-fifth in the competition. A terrific ball accumulator with a wonderful footy IQ, which is evident now in his work in the media.
Key stat: Had over 600 disposals in three separate seasons (2009, 2010 and 2011).
9) Stephen Milne
Because he had a reputation as a player opposition fans loved to hate, people tend to forget just good he was. The scrappy “tip rat” went from being undrafted and spending a year on Essendon’s supplementary to finishing his career as one of the best small forwards in the history of the game. No one will forget the dodgy bounce of the ball in the drawn 2010 grand final that cost Milne the chance to kick the goal that would have delivered the Saints’ first flag since 1966.
Key stat: Played 275 games and booted 574 goals
10) Fraser Gehrig
The man known as the ‘G Train’ was one of St Kilda’s greatest recruits. The Saints traded for him at the end of 2000, and by the time the former Eagle finished his career he had won two Coleman medals and claimed two All-Australian jumpers. He cracked the ton once, but ironically some Saints fans still feel the occasion of his 100th goal cost St Kilda. It happened at Football Park in the 2004 preliminary final, and the delay from fans storming the ground stopped the Saints’ momentum with Port Adelaide coming back to win by a kick.
Key stat: Kicked 549 goals across 260 games, 145 of them at St Kilda
11) Peter Everitt
Even at the time the man known as ‘Spida’ first walked into Moorabbin, he was quintessentially St Kilda. A colourful character, Everitt had more hair styles than Madonna and joked during his St Kilda hall of fame speech that he won Harvey his two Brownlows because a “rover is only as good as their ruckman.” Everitt had incredible mobility for his size and regularly kicked bags of goals, which was virtually unheard of for ruckmen at the time.
Key stat: Two All-Australian jumpers and one Trevor Barker Award.
12) Brendon Goddard
For a long time, Brendon Goddard appeared set to be a Carlton player. The Blues had the first pick in the 2002 national draft and Goddard – who grew up a Blues fan – loomed as the No.1 selection. The Blues’ salary cap sanctions meant he became a Saint, and what a Saint he was. Remembered best for producing one of the great grand final performances in the 2010 draw, culminating with a towering mark and goal in the final term that put the Saints in front for the first time.
Key stat: Two All-Australian jumpers in St Kilda’s grand final years of 2009 and 2010.
13) Danny Frawley
The knockabout spud farmer from Bungaree is remembered by some for his media work, but some younger people might not realise just how good he was on the field. He played 240 games for the Saints from 1984-95. He was a fullback with menace. What he lacked in skills he made up for in guts and fierce determination. The huge outpouring of emotion that resulted from his death last year was testament to his character.
Key stat: Captained St Kilda 177 times. He held the record as the club’s longest serving skipper before Nick Riewoldt (220) overtook him.
MORE AFL NEWS:
Joe Daniher making progress in his comeback bid, according to coach John Worsfold
AFLPA boss Paul Marsh believes clubs will need more players, not less in 2021
Essendon coach John Worsfold throws his support behind the AFL’s controversial quarantine hub option
14) Leigh Montagna
It didn’t take long for Montagna, who was taken by the Saints in the 2001 super draft, to establish himself as one of the club’s best mids. A ball magnet with remarkable endurance, the man known as Joey won All-Australian selection in St Kilda’s grand final years of 2009 and 2010. A leader at the Saints in every sense of the word.
Key stat: Montagna fell just short of the 300-game milestone, finishing with 287 games.
15) Jack Steven
Since the retirement of Riewoldt, Steven became the closest the Saints have had to a superstar in recent times. He is now down the road in Geelong colours, but before that Steven left his mark at St Kilda and the record books prove it. He won four Trevor Barker Awards in his 183 games there and was often a shining light in dark times for Saint fans.
Key stat: Sits equal second for the most best Trevor Barker Awards with Harvey and Bill Cubbins.
16) Sam Fisher
Fisher was a key defensive pillar in what was statistically the best backline in the history of the game. The 2009 side, which was desperately stiff to not claim the flag, allowed a miserly 1411 points that year. No side has conceded less in a single season over 22 games. Could play both key position as a loose defender and excelled at both.
Key stat: Two Trevor Barker Awards and one All-Australian team
17) Steven Baker
Just this week on Fox Footy, Nick Riewoldt labelled Baker the “toughest bloke I’ve played with.” St Kilda people loved Baker, while everyone else generally loathed him. He was that type of player, but it was difficult not to admire his dedication to the cause. Had a rap sheet was as long as his arm, but he was a highly effective small defender/tagger who chalked up 203 games and shared the Trevor Barker Award with Luke Ball in 2005.
Key stat: Missed nine games through suspension in 2010 before coming straight back into a grand final.
18) Max Hudghton
Over his 13-year career, Hudghton’s job was to hold the fort. Every single week he was given the task of trying to tame the opposition’s biggest and best forward. He battled with the likes of Matthew Lloyd, Brendan Fevola, Lance Franklin and Matthew Richardson. And he held his own. The ultimate clubman.
Key stat: 1280 kicks and 898 marks from his 234 games.
19) Austinn Jones
‘Aussie’ will always be remembered for kicking one of the great grand final goals in history. When Jones made a remarkable downfield run and goaled on his left foot early in the 1997 decider, it looked like it would be St Kilda's’s day. Started his career as a small forward before being moved to the wing and then excelled playing off half back late in his career.
Key stat: 226 games and All-Australian selection in 1997 and 2004.
20) Sean Dempster
A premiership player at Sydney, Dempster crossed to St Kilda at the end of 2007 and immediately became an important player under Ross Lyon. A hard-working and dependable backman, Dempster retired in 2017 citing concern over head knocks after 158 games at the Saints.
Key stat: Played in five grand finals in his 222-game career.
Originally published as Top-20: The greatest St Kilda players from 1987-2020