Stan Alves reveals his biggest mistake in 1997 Grand Final

FORMER St Kilda coach Stan Alves reveals the biggest mistake he made in the 1997 Grand Final as he opens up on the highs and lows of his 50 years in football.

Stan Alves has been involved in football for more than 50 years. Picture: Michael Klein

STAN ALVES’ love affair with football that has lasted more than 50 years and 1000-odd matches has sadly soured due to the congested nature of our game.

Alves has retired from his long-time special comments role with ABC Radio in part due to what the game has become at the elite level.

“I started looking for what was wrong in the game. I was seeing packs of blokes and all this open space. We have lost what made our game unique. And while our kids have never been better prepared, they are playing a code that doesn’t allow them to showcase their skills,” Alves, 72, said.

But he still loves the code and has become a regular face at local football down Edithvale way, where he lives.

This week he shared memories of his 266 games with Melbourne and North Melbourne (1977 Premiership) and 110 as coach of St Kilda.

ST KILDA COACHING

In the end I let myself down in terms of communicating with people above who started to tell me how to coach, and having a go at me for bringing in meditation and empowerment of the players. KEVIN SHEEDY said to me later that I needed to be a better politician. I got pig-headed.

Stan Alves sings the clubs song with Rod Keogh and Jayson Daniels after the Saints beat North Melbourne to reach the 1997 Grand Final.

1997 GRAND FINAL

I still wake up in the middle of the night. My biggest mistake wasn’t made on Grand Final day, it was made during the year because I didn’t develop some of the lesser lights for when we got injuries. In the Grand Final I probably should have thrown STEWIE LOEWE in the ruck later in the game.

MISCONCEPTIONS

That I chose to leave Melbourne. BOB SKILTON came to me and said they had made a decision to retire me because they were going with youth. TOM HAFEY and RON BARASSI came and saw me and, in the end, I tossed a coin to make a decision between Collingwood and North Melbourne.

HIGH POINTS

KEN SHELDON and PETER HUDSON knocking on my door the year after my son, MATTHEW, was killed in an accident and asking me to get involved in coaching at St Kilda.

Alves in his Melbourne days.

FOOTBALLING FRIENDS

GARY HARDEMAN, ROSS DILLON, PETER KEENAN and GREG WELLS from Melbourne; STEPHEN ICKE, ROSS HENSHAW and WAYNE SCHIMMELBUSCH at North. And I would walk over broken glass for DAVID DENCH.

OPPONENTS

TONY POLINELLI from Geelong could run so fast and, later on, KEITH GREIG could do anything. Towards the end ROBERT FLOWER was something special. Plus GARRY CRANE from Carlton was never beaten.

STAN ALVES’ BEST TEAM (1965-2018)

B: Gary Ayres, David Dench, Alex Rance

HB: Corey Enright, Glen Jakovich, Bruce Doull

C: Robert Flower, Greg Williams, Keith Greig

HF: Gary Ablett Jr, Wayne Carey, Alex Jesaulenko

F: Gary Ablett Sr, Tony Lockett, Kevin Bartlett

R: John Nicholls, Robert Harvey, Leigh Matthews

Inter: Simon Madden, Michael Voss, Nathan Buckley, James Hird