Tiger-turned-Saint Dan Butler reveals the decision that made him feel at home at St Kilda

Dan Butler says there was one thing holding him back from fully embracing life at St Kilda after arriving from Richmond. So he made a change.

Dan Butler turned it all around at St Kilda after falling out of favour at his old club.

Dan Butler privately saw his breakout season last year coming, from shortly after the calendar flipped over to January.

The speedy small forward was warming to St Kilda’s training program — different in several ways to Richmond’s — felt fitter and was standing out in game simulation, then practice matches.

There was just one thing Butler thought was holding him back from fully embracing his second AFL chance, so he packed up all his stuff and relocated bayside.

“I left my Richmond mates and close friends up in Northcote, and moved down to East Brighton,” Butler told the Herald Sun.

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“I think that’s when I finally felt at home and settled in. That’s what felt like the fresh start for me — I could really get involved with the Saints.

“Early on, I was travelling from Northcote to Moorabbin every day, which was taking me 50 minutes to an hour.

“When you’ve got that time in the car in the morning; on the way home it’s probably easy to leave the club a bit earlier and try and beat the traffic.”

Saint Dan Butler came up against his old side Richmond in last year’s finals. Picture: Michael Klein

The premiership-winning Tiger fell out of favour at his old club — going from playing 23 games to 15, then only seven in 2019 — but the Saints saw something in him that could help them climb the ladder.

They were right. Butler responded with an All-Australian-calibre campaign as St Kilda shocked everyone but itself in making the top eight and winning a final.

He had reason to feel stiff not to make the competition’s best 22, as the Saints’ analytics guru Darren O’Shaughnessy so eloquently and emphatically rammed home.

Butler ranked No. 1 for tackles in general play, goals by players smaller than 193cm and for forward-50 pressure — by 30 per cent over the next-best.

He comfortably outperformed his ex-Richmond teammates, including Jason Castagna, Dan Rioli, Shai Bolton, Jack Higgins and Jake Aarts.

However, while the 24-year-old was at Punt Road, the pressure for spots became all encompassing.

Hunter Clark is primed for a big 2021 campaign, according to teammate Dan Butler. Picture: Getty Images

“Going into 2020, I wanted to get back to my best and bring that level of consistency,” Butler said.

“That starts in the pre-season, putting together a good fitness base and training well — and that leads into games.

“For me, it was about getting the confidence back. I knew my best was good enough, but I probably wasn’t bringing it enough.”

Butler, who is out of contract at season’s end, is now tipping greater things ahead for Hunter Clark, Nick Coffield, Max King, Ben Paton and another former Tiger, Higgins.

The ultra-composed Clark is the one he’s most excited about and he’s confident Higgins, too, can thrive at his new club.

“It’s just so good to see him back playing footy after what he’s been through (with his health),” Butler said.

“He gets a fresh start at the club he grew up barracking. The first thing I noticed is he hasn’t changed one bit — he’s still pretty chatty around the club and brings a good laugh to the team.

“He’s a very smart footballer, so I’m looking forward to playing alongside him again.”