Veteran Jason Blake to fill seat on St Kilda board, Grant Thomas demands bigger changes
Former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas believes the Saints are ‘sadly mistaken’ if they think their current board make-up can deliver a premiership.
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St Kilda 200-gamer Jason Blake will join the club’s board at next month’s annual general meeting as the Saints seek to find a winning formula at Moorabbin.
But Blake’s nomination means dental surgeon and would-be director Larry Benge, who had the backing of influential club figures Gerry Ryan and Grant Thomas, misses out on a board seat.
Blake, 40, played 219 games for the Saints between 2000 and 2013 and replaces retiring director Danni Roach.
Benge, who has provided dental services to the club for 20-plus years, said it was “obvious the St Kilda board had its own agenda”.
“I thought they needed to make some significant and hard changes to the way the club is being run, but it seems they are not serious about listening to any outside advice,” Benge said.
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Those pushing for change at St Kilda had raised concerns about the club’s football program, recruiting strategy, list construct and governance structure.
Thomas, who last month hinted at a St Kilda board challenge, told the Herald Sun:
“Apart from the fact that I have enormous respect for Jason Blake as a former player, I’m hoping (president) Andrew Bassat isn’t pinning his premiership hopes on his shoulders.
“After many discussions with myself, Gerry Ryan and Larry Benge, in Andrew’s own words he agreed with 70 to 80 per cent of what we were saying — yet he has opted not to implement those recommendations.
“So he either has a reluctance to make those changes or there is a lack of genuineness in his feedback. Either way, it’s a concern.
“It’s become quite clear to us that Andrew is determined to proceed forward with the same incumbents that from an accountability perspective must take responsibility for the position we are in.
“Matt Finnis is coming up to 10 years as chief executive, Simon Lethlean is entering his fifth year as head of football and Andrew is entering his sixth year on the board and fourth as president.
“St Kilda think they are on the right track and can deliver a premiership, but my view is they are sadly mistaken. Time will be the adjudicator.”
The Saints finished 10th this season with 10 wins and 12 losses.
Bassat said the board was determined to secure another director with elite professional sporting experience “and as such was very pleased to recommend Blake for election”.
“Jason is a person held in extremely high regard among all who love the red, white and black,” Bassat said.
“We believe Jason has all the qualities to make a significant contribution to our board, with his business and football knowledge having him ideally positioned to assist us in the pursuit of the success our members crave.”
Bassat said the club also intended to promote Ernst & Young managing partner Sarah Lowe to the board in place of Paul Kirk “in a succession plan for the key role of chair of the club’s audit and risk committee”.
He said current directors Jack Rush QC and long-time football director Dean Anderson would also “submit themselves for re-election in accordance with the rotational requirements under the club’s rules”.
Blake will ultimately succeed Anderson as the board’s football director.
St Kilda’s AGM will be held on December 16.
Thomas eyes major changes as presidency talk simmers
– Michael Warner
Since his shock sacking as St Kilda coach at the hands of an unhinged club boss in 2006, Grant Thomas has built and sold a series of businesses for more than $150 million.
But for all his success in his decade and a half away from Moorabbin, Thomas has never wavered from his passion to see his beloved Saints taste the ultimate success.
They came close under his coaching in 2004 and 2005, and even closer under the man who inherited his team, Ross Lyon, in 2009 and 2010, but across the last 10 seasons St Kilda has reverted to normal transmission, playing finals just once.
Melbourne’s breakthrough grand final triumph in Perth means the Saints have now been handed the game’s most unwanted tag — the longest premiership drought among the game’s establishment clubs.
Murmurs of discontent have rumbled behind the scenes since midway through last season and will only grow louder if Brett Ratten’s troops get off to a shaky start in 2022, which begs the question: Has the time come for Thomas to step back into the fold and make a run for the St Kilda presidency, a prospect he hinted at earlier this week?
The recent sale of his digital bank ‘Up’ to Bendigo Bank for $126 million would suggest Thomas again has the time and energy to invest in his dream of seeing St Kilda become a blue chip club.
Thomas, 63, is not everyone’s cup of tea, but has a history and thirst for success.
He won four successive flags with Warrnambool, played a key role in the appointment of Denis Pagan when director of football at North Melbourne, led St Kilda to three consecutive finals series – only the second time in the club’s history – and saw his side win more games than any other team between 2004-2006.
The Herald Sun revealed on Monday that Thomas and business magnate Gerry Ryan were publicly backing dental surgeon Larry Benge’s bid to become a club director — a move that puts the St Kilda board and its president Andrew Bassat on notice.
Thomas met with Bassat during the week and outlined his concerns.
The re-emergence of Thomas and Ryan’s public endorsement of Benge would be cause for concern for St Kilda chiefs, including CEO Matt Finnis and high-profile chief operating officer Simon Lethlean.
Thomas respects Bassat’s presidency but believes major changes must be made this coming summer.
He is of the view that Finnis isn’t a strong enough leader and should be replaced, and that Lethlean needs to stick to his current role and deliver on his football department blueprint.
Thomas also has concerns around list management and the surprise appointment of the department’s head James Gallagher.
Thomas has also identified the lack of an experienced cultural and people manager to oversee the football department, a role adopted by Richmond with Neil Balme in 2017 and Melbourne this year with Mark Williams.
He believes that senior football figures David Rath and Ratten are heavily focused on strategy, tactics and data, while the “vital cultural connectedness piece is being ignored”.
They are the ruthless decisions Thomas says will send a signal to the St Kilda members and wider AFL industry that they are ready to compete with the league’s powerhouse clubs.
“In my view there are two types of teams in this competition: those in the premiership business and those simply playing AFL,” Thomas said.
“From my observation over the last decade, St Kilda is just playing AFL.”
There is a view from some agitators that Bassat and the board have been too easily seduced by Lethlean and his vision.
Bassat may not have liked the way Benge went about seeking the public support of Thomas and Ryan, but he did not dismiss their comments and privately acknowledges that St Kilda still has much work to do.
During his three years in charge, Bassat has overseen the sacking of coach Alan Richardson and the appointment of Ratten but has largely adopted a steady-as-she-goes approach.
The president has indicated he will take a more hands-on role in the coming months and believes there will be on and off-field progress next year.
Others insist the club has until July to demonstrate that the current plan is working and it is Thomas who now looms as the most ominous figure.
“I only have one good fight left in me and — as always — I’m very happy to use it for the cause of St Kilda,” he told the Herald Sun.
Thomas played 72 games for the Saints between 1978-83, understands governance, business, leadership and finance – and has a powerful voice.
He was a senior executive at MLC for 15 years, played a key role in overthrowing the Andrew Plympton regimen in 2000, coached at AFL level for six years (before then president Rod Butterss sensationally sacked him) and was a member of the St Kilda board that wiped a $5 million debt — which has since ballooned back beyond $12 million.
Thomas’ strained relationship with the suits at AFL house is an obvious sticking point, differences that stem back to his clashes with former league boss Andrew Demetriou.
But should that matter?
Outspoken Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has always found a way through, and the league’s relationship with the Richmond hierarchy hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing in recent years.
Besides, St Kilda fans only care about that elusive second premiership, not petty spats.
Bassat, the co-founder of Seek and brother of AFL commissioner Paul Bassat, would consider Thomas’ views regarding some of the club’s leaders to be harsh and is comfortable with his current group of directors, although Benge’s bid for a board seat will be given respect.
The Saints boss has promised to keep the dialogue open with Thomas, but it remains to be seen just how long the club’s old coach will keep listening before he decides to act.
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