AFL 2021-22: All the latest off-season news

Flag hero Ross Smith has opened up on mourning the death of premiership teammate Ian Cooper, and visiting Kevin ‘Cowboy’ Neale, who now has dementia.

St Kilda premiership hero Ross Smith has delivered an impassioned plea to the St Kilda playing group to dig deep in their quest for the club’s second flag.

The Saints enter the 2022 season with the longest premiership drought, after the Demons tasted long awaited premiership success in 2021.

Smith, the 1967 Brownlow medalist, addressed the Saints’ players and coaching staff as the final layers of turf were placed on RSEA Park. He shared insight as to how the club achieved premiership success back in 1966.

Catch every moment of The Ashes live and ad-break free during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free now.

“You know how hard it is to win each week,” Smith said.

“You know how hard it is to get to finals – you’ve just missed out this year – [but] there are some things you can look back [on] and say, ‘What can I do to make up for those sorts of things that would mean we can get to finals, and what are some of the things we can do to get us to a premiership?’”

Smith explained that the Saint’s 1966 premiership success came on the back of extra training, as inspired by legendary coach Allen Jeans.

Flag hero Ross Smith has pleaded for the Saints to dig deep. Picture: Mark Stewart

“Jeans said to me, ‘You’ve got to get a bit more agile,’ so I went to Frank Sedgman – the tennis player who used to run a gym. Next time, he said, ‘Smithy, I think you need to get a bit quicker’, so I went to Caulfield Racecourse every Sunday to do sprint training,” Smith remembered.

“We were at full-time work; football was obviously played part-time. We fitted it in. These were the extra things we did to make the jump from being second-rate to first-rate and to premiership players.”

Smith also urged players to consider the club’s spiritual ties to their Moorabbin home, which is currently being redeveloped. The upgrade is set for completion by mid-February.

The 1965 St Kilda playing group developed a deep connection with Moorabbin after aiding in its development.

“All 35 of us would walk up a line, up along the earth, and we had to pick up the pebbles,” Smith said.

“That was how they got us involved and got us invested in the development of the ground, and getting excited about playing here in Moorabbin. We all became part and parcel of that change from St Kilda at Junction Oval to here at Moorabbin.”

Ross Smith sits between Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles in 1970.

The first match at the ground saw the Saints defeat Collingwood in front of nearly 51,000 spectators, before falling at the final hurdle to Essendon in the 1965 Grand Final. The following year, the Saints won the club’s first flag against Collingwood, inspiring an everlasting bond among the playing group.

“What does a premiership do for you? In nearly 150 years that people like you (players) and me have been playing for this football club, there’s only 20 of us who have got a premiership medallion,” Smith said.

“Last Monday, we visited ‘Cowboy’ (Kevin) Neale, who’s got dementia. About 10 of us went to visit him in Wodonga. When he came out, he said, ‘Hello, Smithy.’ I thought, ‘Wow, he’s recognized me.’”

“The next day, he’d forgotten it had happened, but our respect for Cowboy, we wanted to go up and visit him just to talk to him. For him, it’s a fleeting time, [but] for us, we’ll remember that getting together and we’ll do it again.

St Kilda’s lone 1966 premiership team.

Smith also mourned the loss of Ian Cooper, who passed away on Tuesday morning.

“We’ve now lost five people, together with Coach Allan Jeans,” Smith said.

“[Cooper] was unbelievably positive. I spoke to him a couple of years ago and at that stage, he was a carer for his wife Jill, who’s got dementia. He was having problems with his prostate and had also just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s [disease]. Once it’s diagnosed, you’ve got about seven years before you know you’re going … he still had the courage to be outgoing, still laughing, still joking.”

In his closing remarks, Smith drew on the words of Len Smith, reminding players of their chance to join the 1966 group in the record books.

“Do not judge success by what you have achieved, but by what you should achieve with the ability that you’ve got,” he said, quoting Len Smith.

“We, as the premiership players, would like to share that privilege with you. We’d like you to join us in showing your medal and being proud of this football club.”

Trust us: Saints’ complacency thing of past

St Kilda co-captain Jack Steele has signed a five-year contract extension, saying he has complete faith in the club’s direction despite its complacent start to last season.

Steele, 26, qualified for free agency next year, but moved quickly to sign an early agreement which will keep him at the club until the end of 2027.

The Canberra product, who has become one of the game’s best midfielders and clearance-winners over the past two seasons, said he wanted to deliver the Saints’ faithful a drought-breaking flag.

“It’s a massive privilege to sign a five-year deal with this club because I see the team going in a great direction,” Steele said.

Sport’s greatest rivalry is just around the corner and you can catch the Ashes live and ad-break free during play. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >

Jack Steele says he didn’t want contract mumblings going on in the background.

“The contract was something I didn’t really want to worry about throughout the year. I just didn’t want that speculation.

“So, when I was in negotiations I knew exactly that this was the place I wanted to be for the rest of my career.

“I want to be part of the next premiership for this club and I’m going to do everything I can and I know my teammates are going to do everything they can.”

Brett Ratten’s men made an unimpressive start to last season when the Saints lost four of their first nine games by more than 50 points.

It cruelled their finals hopes by midway through the season, and prompted a fierce public spray from president Andrew Bassat.

Steele, a dual best and fairest and two-time All-Australian, said the Saints lost focus in the early part of last year, but was adamant the club had learned from its mistakes.

The former GWS Giant said as co-captain, he had also grown from the experience.

“I definitely feel like there was an element of complacency with our start to last year off the back of a positive 2020,” he said.

“We thought it was just going to happen for us, and things were just going to work out for us, and things were going to be given to us.

Steele says last season’s disappointment was a reality check as the club aims to get back on track in 2022.

“I feel like it has been a great reality check for us and has really helped us drive standards and get things on track.”

The fearless skipper has made a strong start to pre-season, returning early to training with the first to fourth year players.

In Bassat’s criticism this year, he said the Saints were embarrassing and had performed well below even their most pessimistic expectations.

The president even said the window wouldn’t open for another season until 2022.

Steele welcomed the dressing down, saying it fuelled him and helped the group confront some issues at the bye.

Steele after signing on for another five years at St Kilda. Picture: Mark Stewart

“We are in a really good position. It is great that our president has those high expectations of us and it is great a leader of our club is coming out and saying that,” he said.

“We have, in terms of our playing list, a lot of potential, a lot of growth.

“We haven’t really tapped into what is possible with some key individuals so I am hoping this pre-season changes everything for us.

“The way I see it, no one really predicted Melbourne to win the premiership last year, and they’ve shown anything is possible when you get together and you see growth from key players, younger players. It is possible for it all to click.

“A healthy list, a great run in terms of the schedule, and timing. Look at the Bulldogs in 2016, they might not have been the best team that year but timed their run perfectly.

“It is elements of everything. Those comments internally really do drive me and a lot of other players as well.”

Originally published as AFL 2021-22: All the latest off-season news