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2004 Post-Season Articles

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TRADE & DRAFT 2004   P 1 - P 2 - P 3 - P 4

A truly great sportsman
. . . While he only played 50 games for St Kilda in the 1940s due to war commitments, he did enough to be nominated for the club's inaugural Hall of Fame last year. Tall and well built, he was regarded as a footballer of great skill who was used in a key-position role at both ends of the ground and earned a Victorian guernsey in 1946. He will be well remembered for his charisma, presence and powerful personality.
The Article - Sportal - saints.com.au - 12Oct04
A Keith Miller Story - loriswa - saintsational Fan Forum
Vale Keith Ross Miller A Saint goes Home - saintsational Fan Forum
Vale Keith Miller - sainters.com Fan Forum

Lyon urges Aussies to get physical
An intense physical attack will once again be Australia's key strategy when it meets Ireland in the first Test of the International Rules Series on Sunday night. Australian coach Garry Lyon yesterday promised a physical, but disciplined, attack on the smaller, quicker Irish team, mimicking the approach that has given Australia three consecutive series wins. "Absolutely, no question at all," Lyon said. "And when we don't, we get flogged and they know that. That was the first thing I spoke to them about and they're all aware of it, and a couple of guys have been picked probably on the basis they are good at it." Lyon, however, will not condone the nasty on-field behaviour that has led to several Australian players - last year Matthew Scarlett - being suspended.
The Article - Mark Robinson - HeraldSun - 14Oct04

Lyon's boys primed for tackling blitz
Ireland can expect a torrid time in Sunday's first international rules match at Croke Park after Australian coach Garry Lyon yesterday promised a very physical approach from his team as it tries for a third consecutive win in the annual series. Lyon was speaking following the visitors' first training run after arriving in Dublin early on Tuesday. He said that while he did not expect the game to turn into a free-for-all, he had emphasised to the 26-man squad the importance of wearing down the locals with superior strength, and more specifically, ferocious tackling.
The Article - Rohan Connolly - TheAge - 14Oct04
Academy players come of age - Sportal - 14Oct04

Australians arrive in Ireland
The Australian squad for the International Rules series has arrived in Dublin for the two-test series against Ireland, starting at Croke Park on Sunday. After a 26-hour commute from Melbourne, the team arrived at its hotel on Tuesday morning and immediately went to a nearby park to stretch their legs and shake out the cobwebs. The side will reconvene later on Tuesday afternoon for a light training session and will play a local squad in a practice match at Parnell Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The Article - Ashley Browne/Sportal - saints.com.au - 12Oct04

Union push for trade reform
The AFL Players Association will ask the league to consider softening its strict deadline requirements for player trading after Friday's final day of dealing was tarnished for the third time in four years by a post-deadline debacle. AFLPA chief executive Rob Kerr has also called for uncontracted players to be released by their clubs in time to enter the November national draft rather than being held back until the pre-season draft in December. Kerr yesterday acknowledged that the trade process required a deadline, but he said he would not describe the current system as one that was designed around the interests of players. Richmond player Ty Zantuck was forced to remain at Punt Road next year, despite wanting to leave the club, after a deal that would have taken him to Essendon was lodged in the minute after Friday's 2pm deadline.
The Article - Mark Fuller - TheAge - 10Oct04

Irish tour no laughing matter
Coach Garry Lyon has no doubt the International Series against Ireland is an eagerly sought after honour among our AFL stars . . . Lyon was loath to single out any player to have adapted best to the round-ball code, but said St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt looked good. "Riewoldt looked like a bit of a standout, but I reckon he'd be a standout at marbles or whatever he wanted to do. He moved beautifully," Lyon said.
The Article - Michael Stevens - TheAustralian - 11Oct04

2004 Report Card: St Kilda
What went right:
St Kilda produced its finest season - in terms of the number of wins it produced for the year - since Barry Breen's wobbly behind gave the club its finest hour over Collingwood in the 1966 grand final. The Saints recorded 17 victories in 2004, which was one better than its grand final berth against Adelaide in 1997. St Kilda's remarkable season began during the Wizard Home Loans Cup, when it went through undefeated to win the pre-season competition. It then carried its terrific form into the season opener against Geelong - who was its opponent in the Wizard Cup grand final - and handed the Cats a 61-point thrashing. It was the start of the club's finest winning streak, when it strung together 10 successive wins, eclipsing the previous best of nine achieved in 1997. The Saints won their 10 matches by an aggregate of 500 points, which gave them a whopping average winning margin of 50 points. The two-pronged attack of Fraser Gehrig, who won the Coleman Medal and finished the season with 103 goals, after the first preliminary final, and Nick Riewoldt, who booted 67 for the year, was an outstanding return for the duo. Both players were duly rewarded with All-Australian selection, along with dashing defender Austinn Jones. Riewoldt was also the leading marker in the competition, finishing with 256 grabs after the epic six-point loss to Port Adelaide in the first preliminary final. The midfield performances of Luke Ball, Lenny Hayes, Nick Dal Santo and Robert Harvey were also brilliant. But as a team and as individuals, the Saints shone in 2004 . . .
The Article - Matt Burgan/Sportal - saints.com.au - 07Oct04

Aussie team revamped
A dramatically new-look Foster's International Rules side has been selected to tour Ireland after 17 of the 22 All-Australian players were unavailable this year. At the announcement of the team on Tuesday, Australian coach Garry Lyon said that the absentees from the squad should not be focused upon, and claimed that the 2004 side - full of quick, strong tackling and defensively-minded players - was supremely capable.
The Article - Sportal - 06Oct04
Revamped team well-equipped: Lyon - Rohan Connolly - TheAge - 06Oct04
All the Saints of Ireland - saintsational fan forum
Lyon blasts squad critics - HeraldSun - FoxSports - 06Oct04
17 pull out of squad - Damian Barrett - HeraldSun - 05Oct04

2004 Year in Review
This season will be remembered by Saints fans as the beginning of something special for the St Kilda Football Club. In a year which saw the emergence of genuine superstars, a century goalkicker, All-Australian players and possessing the games Most Valuable Player, 2004 was a year in which the Club stamped itself as a premiership threat while blossoming financially off field as well. The momentum of the latter half of 2003 carried itself into this season as the Saints started like a team possessed. It swept past all the competition during the pre-season competition and won its first Wizard Cup since 1996 with a 22 point victory over a rejuvenated Geelong in front of over 50,000 at the Telstra Dome. With star performances from Fraser Gehrig, Nick Riewoldt, stalwart Robert Harvey (who claimed the Michael Tuck Medal) and newcomer Brent Guerra, the cup was theirs. The renaissance of the Club continued into the premiership season. Like a raging bull, the Saints attacked each opposition with ferocious intent. The Telstra Dome was transformed into the Club's sanctuary as the Club would finish up being undefeated at the league's premier venue. A staggering 16 wins from 16 starts would see the Club an intimidating force under the roof of the Docklands Stadium.
The Article - Luca Giacobello - saints.com.au - 04Oct04

Saint move not all Black and white
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas was confident last night Heath Black would stay at Moorabbin next season as clubs finalised their plans for trade week. Thomas said Black had told him on Thursday he wanted to continue with the Saints, defusing suggestions he would return to Fremantle . . . The Saints may offer him a new deal as early as next week, but it's not expected to be as lucrative as the three-year contract which is about to expire. It's understood he earned about $400,000 this season . . . Thomas said he would be interested in Simmonds if the ruckman-forward was keen to return to Melbourne. Simmonds met his manager Ron Joseph, who also looks after Black, in Perth yesterday. Veterans Justin Peckett and Andrew Thompson are set to play on next season, as is Robert Harvey.
The Article - Jon Pierik - HeraldSun - 02Oct04

Saints on safari
St Kilda is sending its players on an African safari as part of its preparations for the 2005 AFL season. All senior and rookie list players will spend a night camped in the Kruger National Park wilderness midway through the 16-day trip to South Africa in mid-November. "The most important players will be with rangers and guides, and the guys who need a reality check, we'll send out on their own," coach Grant Thomas joked yesterday. Security will ensure that every member of the camping party will be accompanied by experienced armed guides for the night among the roaming wild animals. "I can assure you that the likes of (Nick) Riewoldt, (Luke) Ball and (Nick) Dal Santo will be well protected by rangers," Thomas said. "They will be in groups and hopefully hear one of the big five (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, buffalo) walk past their tent during the night. It's just getting to understand life a bit more."
The Article - TheAustralian - 30Sept04

Saints to go on jungle safari
. . . Potchefstroom is 1500m above sea level and, with its world-class training venue, is the base of top athletes such as Olympic 800m and 1500m gold medallist Kelly Holmes and Mozambique's wonder woman Maria Mutola, the Sydney Olympics 800m gold medallist. Australia's cricket team used the camp as its headquarters during its successful World Cup campaign early last year. Facilities include synthetic and grass athletics tracks, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, gymnasiums, rugby and soccer ovals and access to world-class coaches and dietitians. "Our training services people will be occupied the whole time discussing elite athletic performances," Thomas said. "We'll do the 2004 debrief and 2005 preview there. These trips have worked really well for us and, while you've got the guys as a captive audience, you get a lot more work done in these first few weeks than you normally would. It creates a lot of excitement and they gain a lot of experience in worldliness out of it. We get off the plane in Johannesburg and get piled on to a bus and the first thing we're doing is taking the players through Soweto on a tour just to open their eyes."
The Article - Bruce Matthews - HeraldSun - 30Sept04

Saints, Cats earn glamour TV roles
. . . AFL commercial operations manager Ben Buckley, responsible for the draw, said the on-field performances of the Saints and Cats were a factor. "If teams do perform, and I guess they play a certain style of football, then they will be selected for that sort of coverage," Buckley said . . . St Kilda president Rod Butterss said last night the draw was evidence of the club's improved standing. "It's really a great thing. We're just delighted," he said. "It does give us some degree of recognition of our on-field improvement, our ability to draw crowds and our overall development. It clearly presents the club with a great opportunity to develop relations with corporate partners and attract new ones."
The Article - Mark Stevens - HeraldSun - 01Oct04
The 2005 fixture: Club-by-club - afl.com.au - 30Sept04
Fitzroy deal goes - Damian Barrett - HeraldSun - 01Oct04

Special assistance for three clubs in '05
The AFL has announced which clubs will receive financial support from the league's Competitive Balance Fund in 2005. As was the case this year, the Kangaroos will receive $1 million, the Western Bulldogs will be allocated $1.5 million and Melbourne will be given $1.5 million. Last month, the Demons were allocated retrospective funding for 2004 after signalling at the start of the season the possible need for financial assistance. But a detailed submission was only approved in September. There was speculation that two other clubs - Carlton and Richmond - would seek money from the AFL's coffers. But AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou last month said those clubs had given an assurance they would not be looking for support. "There's no other club that we see (applying) on the horizon, and that's probably a good thing," Demetriou said.
The Article - Scott Spits/Sportal - afl.com.au - 11Oct04

Wary Eagles keep watch on handouts
Melbourne should only receive short-term financial relief from the AFL's competitive benefit fund, West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett said yesterday. Nisbett was commenting on the AFL's decision to provide $4 million in financial assistance to three Melbourne-based clubs - the Demons, Kangaroos and Western Bulldogs. Melbourne and the Bulldogs will receive $1.5 million each in 2005, and the Kangaroos will receive $1 million . . . Fong said he had seen the research provided by the AFL on the need to retain a 16-team competition and 10 teams in Victoria and understood the policy. "Fewer teams means fewer games and less revenue for broadcast rights," he said . . . Fremantle chief executive Cameron Schwab noted that the Western Bulldogs last year had just seven staff in their football department compared with 22 at Collingwood.
The Article - Mark Duffield - TheAge - 12Oct04