VFL: Sandringham to set up ‘fighting fund’ as it awaits call on alignment with Saints

With its VFL alignment with St Kilda up in the air, Sandringham is taking steps to reclaim its independence and identity as a senior football club.

Sandringham is taking steps to reclaim its independence and identity as a senior football club.

The VFL fixture listed it as a Sandringham home game.

But the Zebras were not at the bay-hugging Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

They were at RSEA Park, Moorabbin and their jumper carried the St Kilda colours with the word “Sandy’’ across the front and back.

Former Sandringham player Mitch Grant saw photos from the Round 5 match against Brisbane and it’s fair to say the sight of his old club in red, white and black – and not yellow, black and blue – did nothing for him.

“It was disappointing,’’ he says.

Legendary former Sandy administrator John Mennie saw the strip too. “It made me sick,’’ he says.

The appearance of the Zebras in a St Kilda jumper and playing at Moorabbin came 48 hours after the clubs’ alignment tensions hit the news.

Sandringham playing in St Kilda colours at Moorabbin in Round 5 of the VFL.

The Saints went to Sandy asking for future Sandringham matches to be fixtured at Moorabbin, for the Zebras to wear the St Kilda jumper and for the team to be called Sandringham Saints.

Unsurprisingly, the Sandringham board roundly rejected what it saw as a takeover, and everything points to the alignment, formed in 2009, finishing at the end of the season.

Sandy will leave it to St Kilda to make the final call.

“In protecting our 96-year history, we are adamant that we remain in our colours, play at our home ground, Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval, and remain as the Zebras,’’ president Nick Johnstone and CEO Mark Wheeler declared in a message to members and supporters.

Sandy did agree to play three games at Moorabbin this year, but that’s as far as they will go.

If the alignment does end, leaving both clubs to field their own teams next year, it will come as a relief to more than a few past Sandy players.

Grant for one believes the club has gradually lost its identity since being linked with St Kilda and before that Melbourne.

Supporters have dropped off, there’s been little success to match the run of premierships won when the Zebras were with the Demons from 2000-2008 and few players have been drafted out of Sandringham.

Sandy players celebrate a goal during their win over Footscray in Round 4.

Former players have stayed away. Grant saw it when a reunion was held for the 2000 seniors and reserves premiership teams. Only three players showed up.

“This might sound a bit harsh, but this is my take on it … it’s a struggle to have a culture when you’ve got half a list working towards a different goal to the other half,’’ Grant says.

“I found that in my day. The Melbourne merger possibly worked a little bit better, but still, half the guys were trying to get promoted to the seniors and from a Sandy point of view you were fighting to win a game and a premiership. It took the enjoyment out of it when blokes

weren’t fazed too much when we lost a game. It was all about how the individual performed to potentially get promoted.

“I’m a big advocate of the club going standalone. Look at what Frankston’s doing. There’s no reason Sandy couldn’t do it. They’d get a lot of local support in terms of crowds and businesses wanting to come on board. At the moment there’s a reluctance to support a club that doesn’t quite seem to have their culture right. It doesn’t resemble anything like the club us older guys used to play for.’’

Sandy won the 2004-05-06 VFL premierships while in alignment with Melbourne.

Justin Crough, who won a JJ Liston Trophy with Sandringham, is among the most active past players.

Crough would be chuffed to see Sandy go back to operating as they did from 1929 to 1999, as a club reliant only on itself.

He had retired by the time the Zebras signed the first alignment deal when the VFL was revamped to take in AFL reserves in 2000.

A string of other alignments was formed, but gradually the AFL clubs opted to run their own teams.

Only St Kilda, Hawthorn (which has been with Box Hill since 2000) and Melbourne (Casey Demons) remain in alliances.

But it’s clear the Saints now want more.

“We are having a good adult conversation with them (Sandy) at the moment,’’ St Kilda CEO Carl Dilena told the Herald Sun two weeks ago.

“Our guys are very keen on the idea of having players wear St Kilda jumpers from day one and also playing home games at Moorabbin. They are the simple issues from our perspective.

“Sandringham aren’t keen on that. They want to preserve their history and jumper and play at their ground. We are open to seeing which model works and we will explore it. In parallel we are exploring a stand-alone model and that seems more likely based on our discussions.”

The Saints did attempt to bring the alignment closer when they announced late in 2023 that they would rookie-list a Sandringham player every year.

But, believing no Zebras capable of stepping up to the AFL, they didn’t go ahead with it.

Ethan Williams takes a kick for Sandringham.

Can Sandringham afford to go it alone?

The Zebras do not have a “war chest’’ to fall back on.

But in their message to members, Johnstone and Wheeler noted the club “has done very well in recent years to put itself in a strong commercial position where we do have options should change occur’’.

The Zebras believe they’ll need to raise about $400,000 more each year to put out their own VFL team, meeting the costs of appointing their own coaches (they already have development coaches in Andy Farrall and Jamie Mollo) and an increased salary cap ($110,000 to $250,000).

They also operate a VFLW side, having taken over the Southern Saints’ licence from St Kilda (Saints AFLW players feed into the Sandringham team).

The Saints pay for Sandringham coaches and also make an annual cash contribution of about $250,000.

The Sandy by the Bay social club does not have poker machines but, operating as a function centre and restaurant, it is a major source of revenue for the club, along with sponsorships.

Sandringham VFL staff members Alana Bezzant, Courtney Banks, Tia Pastore and Mark Wheeler.

Wheeler says the Zebras will look to establish a “fighting fund’’ to boost the bottom line.

The rift in the alignment comes at a time when the club is planning redevelopments of both buildings at Trevor Barker Beach Oval. The cost is about $4 million.

“We want to build something for the future. We want to make Sandy great again,’’ Wheeler says.

He joined the Zebras late last year after a distinguished stint with Sandringham Dragons, and he imagines the two clubs coming together to give ungrafted players a pathway from the Under 18s to senior football.

In the past few years graduating Dragons have looked more to unaligned clubs, sensing more opportunities.

Wheeler says the club has been overwhelmed with support since dismissing the Saints’ proposal.

“Every time I open my email there’s more emails saying it’s the best move we’ve ever made and we’re right behind you,’’ he says.

“It’s been all positive. We haven’t had one negative conversation about it. There’s been a massive rally-to-arms.’’

The Zebras are hoping to see more of it on Sunday, May 18, when they stage reunions for the 1985 and 2005 premiership teams.

Crough likes the idea of Sandy reclaiming their independence but wonders about the state of play with the competition.

The VFL already has 21 teams, with Tasmania to come in next year. St Kilda’s reserves would make it 23.

“What does the comp look like? There are rumours of AFL reserves coming back in 2027 or whatever it is,’’ Crough says.

“So what happens then? Is it the VFA or the VFL? There’s a lot to play out on that front too.’’

The Zebras got a glimpse of the future when they played Tasmania in an exhibition match at Launceston on Sunday, sending over a young team with no St Kilda players.

They were well beaten. But supporters who followed the game were at least happy to see the team in yellow, black and blue.

Originally published as VFL: Sandringham to set up ‘fighting fund’ as it awaits call on alignment with Saints