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Nick gets the nod
Nick Riewoldt will be named as St Kilda's 2005 captain on Friday. The Saints have called a 12.30pm media conference at Moorabbin on Friday - a few hours before their first intra-club clash of the season - but may have been beaten to the punch by young defender Sam Fisher, who told radio station SEN on Thursday that the playing group had been told of Riewoldt's appointment at a meeting earlier in the day. Saints coach Grant Thomas was due to meet chief executive Jim Watts on Thursday to make his recommendation about who should be given the position and the timing of the announcement.
The Article Ashley Browne/Sportal/saints.com.au/10Feb05
Riewoldt rotates into Saints captaincy Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/10Feb04

G-Train to miss, X-Man in doubt
St Kilda will step out on to Moorabbin Oval on Friday evening for the club's first intra-club match of the year without senior players Fraser Gehrig, Matt Maguire and most likely Xavier Clarke. Gehrig's problem is only a minor one, a stiff back having recently restricted the progress of last year's Coleman Medalist. But he has resumed full training this week and is expected to play at least some part in the Wizard Home Loans Cup. Maguire has only just commenced training following post season surgery last year to correct his troublesome groin, while Clarke has quadriceps soreness and a decision on his fitness will be made on Friday.
The Article Damian Glass/Sportal/saints.com.au/10Feb05
G-Train delayed Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/10Feb05
Intra-club matches: McQualter Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/10Feb05

Saints get right man for ruck role
St Kilda will set aside concerns about Justin Koschitzke's injury-riddled history to appoint him as first-choice ruckman for 2005. The ruck position is the major question mark over the otherwise star-studded AFL premiership aspirants, but coach Grant Thomas yesterday backed Koschitzke to fill the role. "He plays ruck the way we want it played at St Kilda," Thomas said. "We want to have a tall athletic midfielder that is aggressive, that can compete, but also has the ability to get around the ground, win a lot of possession and hurt sides going forward."
The Article AAP/TheAge/10Feb05
F1, footy collide Sam Edmund/SundayTimes/10Feb05
Explain. Multiple Renewal Notices Eastern/SaintsationalFanForum
SWOT analysis of the 16 clubs DanWarna/SaintsationalFanForum

Saint home by fair way
As a teenager, Saints backman Sam Fisher had to make a choice between the fairways and the footy field. Football won out in the end, but Fisher showed yesterday he would have been equally at home with a career in golf. The 22-year-old, who plays off a handicap of three, earned bragging rights when he won the inaugural PGA Cup for AFL footballers at the Greg Norman-designed Sanctuary Lakes Golf Club at Point Cook. Fisher shot a four-over 76 to defeat Melbourne midfielder Adem Yze and Hawthorn recruiting manager Gary Buckenara, who both hit 79. Fisher and Brendon Goddard (83) also won the team prize for the Saints with the lowest combined score.
The Article Rebecca Williams/HeraldSun/11Feb05

To win or not to win?
Cast your mind back to March 2004 and, for every St Kilda fan, there will only be happy memories. Eleven months ago, the Saints grabbed the attention of the football world as they took the Wizard Home Loans Cup by storm. A hard-earned victory over Adelaide in the pre-season opener at AAMI Stadium was followed by comfortable wins against Richmond and Essendon, and then a 22-point Grand Final dismantling of Geelong in front of more than 50,000 success-starved fans (of both teams) at Telstra Dome. The Saints had snaffled their first silverware since 1996, Robert Harvey had added another gong to his overflowing trophy cabinet (this time, the Michael Tuck Medal), while the three wins at the Dome were an indication of what was to come at the home fortress.
The Article John Murray/AFL Record/saonts.com.au/09Feb05
MOOSE'S TRAINING VIDEO CLIPS Saintsational Fan Forum

Gwilt hopeful of Wizard start
New St Kilda midfielder James Gwilt is itching to don the red, black and white for the upcoming Wizard Home Loans Cup but he says he has no idea whether Saints coach Grant Thomas will select him for the campaign. But the talented youngster, who was the shock selection of last November's National Bank's AFL Draft, suggested being on an AFL list was a reality he never thought would come to fruition.
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/08Feb05

Saints ready to be hunted
Grant Thomas says the Saints can expect "a quick smack in the gob" if they slacken the intensity that took them to the brink of the grand final in 2004 . . . The challengers would be coming hard and fast, starting with the new-look Hawthorn in the first round of the pre-season competition under new coach Alastair Clarkson. "Hawthorn will be primed to put forward performances in, as all clubs are when they've got a new coach, a new structure and they've done a lot of cleaning out," Thomas said.
The Article Len Johnson/The Age/04Feb05
X Man on SEN - Devilhead - saintsational.com
Gippsland Images saints.com.au

Club Reports
St Kilda relished a short hitout at Moorabbin yesterday after returning from a rain-sodden Bairnsdale. Forced to train indoors during their community camp because of torrential rain midweek, the squad played two 20-minute halves in cool conditions. With the Saints to play an intra-club match at Moorabbin next Friday from 6pm, the players were eager for more competitive work. "They were puffing and blowing after, but if we had given them the option of going for another quarter they would have taken it," assistant coach Nathan Burke said. He said Leigh Fisher (shoulder) and Matt Maguire (groin) were the only players ruled out of the intra-club game. They are also doubtful for the Wizard Cup.
Report: All Vic Clubs - HeraldSun

All-Stars down dogs in Darwin
The Aboriginal All-Stars beat the Western Bulldogs in slippery conditions at Marrara Oval in Darwin on Saturday night. Murray provided an early highlight in the second term when he pulled in a spectacular mark and followed up with his side's fourth major. It is believed that Xavier Clarke didn't play because he has just got over a little niggle
All-Stars outlast Bulldogs Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/05Feb04
All-Stars down Dogs in Darwin ABC Sports
All Stars game reports Saintsational Fan Forum
Young All-Stars take the points in Darwin Emma Quayle/TheAge/06Feb05

AFL ready to add woman to board
The AFL now looks certain to promote a woman on to its commission during the 2005 season despite the reservations of a number of clubs concerned that the push smacks of tokenism. In a historic move, the club presidents next week are expected to expand the AFL Commission by one to make way for a ninth and female director following a national search for candidates prompted last year by chairman Ron Evans. Both Evans and his chief executive Andrew Demetriou have been adamant that the competition needs a woman represented at the highest administrative level because of its strong female supporter base and its determination to attract more women and families to the game.
The Article Caroline Wilson/TheAge/08Feb05
No guarantee on woman commissioner Paul Gough/Sportal/14Feb05
AFL denies tokenism ABCSport/14Feb05

Fiora ready to move up a gear
After five years of promising the world but failing to deliver, St Kilda recruit Aaron Fiora is set to finally answer his critics. And Saints coach Grant Thomas says he couldn't be happier with the 23-year-old's progress. "If I had to pick my side tomorrow, he would certainly be in the 22," Thomas said. "We couldn't be happier with his attitude and frankly we are more than happy with the way things have unfolded" . . . He tested the patience of then coach Danny Frawley and Tigers supporters with his inconsistency and a lot of the yellow and black diehards weren't too disappointed to see the back of him. "It did hurt as I wanted to do well for them, but that's life," Fiora said.
The Article Jim Wilson/HeraldSun/05Feb05

Scalper pleads guilty
A Melbourne man who pleaded guilty to the theft of 100 AFL Grand Final tickets was sentenced today to an 18-month community-based order at the Victorian County Court. Alexandra Dolidze, of East Bentleigh, pleaded guilty to one count of theft and four of obtaining property by deception relating to $28,500 worth of 2003 Grand Final tickets that belonged to the St Kilda Football Club. The 30-year-old father of two was working as a courier for Allied Express when he failed to deliver the tickets he had collected from the club in September 2003, the court was told.
The Article AAP/HeraldSun/04Feb05

The man most likely
Speaking as the team trained yesterday at an indoor venue to escape Bairnsdale's atrocious weather, both Riewoldt and senior coach Grant Thomas emphasised that the captain at Moorabbin was first among equals rather than elevated above his peers. "I've definitely learnt a lot," Riewoldt said, "but as Aaron (Hamill) and Lenny have both said, the captaincy is just a small part of it. The leadership group is a group of seven who all make an equal contribution. The captaincy is just part of the whole leadership set-up we've got at St Kilda. I think there does come a time in a game where you do have to stand up and put a stamp on things," Riewoldt said, before saying that St Kilda was fortunate in having several players capable of doing so. One of our real focuses is that you might be out of the game for 90 per cent of the time, but when it does come to your turn, as long as you keep contributing you're doing the job for the team.
The Article Len Johnson/TheAge/03Feb05

Dal Santo craves leadership role
Brilliant young St Kilda midfielder Nick Dal Santo has openly expressed his desire to be part of the club's much-talked about leadership group in the future. Dal Santo, who is one of the most exciting talents in the game, said he put his hand up to be in the club's 2005 leadership squad, yet was ultimately overlooked in the seven-man group. "I nominated this year. This was the first year I nominated, so I was looking forward to being able to do it, but there were obviously numerous other people that could've had the spot and the seven they have chosen are fantastic," Dal Santo told Sportal at the club's 2005 AFL Community Camp in East Gippsland.
The Article Matt Brgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/03Feb04

Give it to Hamill: Voss
St Kilda defender Brett Voss says he would like to see 2003 Saints skipper Aaron Hamill regain the captaincy for the upcoming season. Although young champion Nick Riewoldt is red-hot favourite to take the main on-field leadership role this year, Voss said the 2004 Trevor Barker Award winner had enough expectations to deal with heading into the new season. "I think the obvious standout (captain) is Nick Riewoldt, but you've got to balance that with who he is and what he's done," Voss told Sportal at the club's 2005 AFL Community Camp in East Gippsland. "He's done a tremendous effort to get the way he is and his work-rate (is outstanding, but) do you want to put the captaincy on top of him again, when he has had such an accelerated growth?"
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/03Feb05

Voss wary of favourites tag
A fit-looking, confident-sounding Lions skipper Michael Voss said it would take only a convincing opening-round win against St Kilda for the side to be labelled AFL premiership favourites . . . "I can guarantee one thing, if we win our first game and win it well, we'll be premiership favourites again" . . . Voss expects to size up in the middle of the ground, but following the retirement of Alastair Lynch it could be out of necessity that he plays as a target forward. Lions coach Leigh Matthews had an open mind about where his midfield general is best suited. "If there are no issues then you can choose between the two spots (midfield or forward)," said Matthews.
The Article Darren Cartwright/TheAustralian/02Feb05

Gehrig backs out of Saints' trip
Fraser Gehrig, last year's leading AFL goalkicker, has missed St Kilda's community camp with a back complaint. Senior coach Grant Thomas said yesterday that Gehrig was one of several players who had not made the trip because they either had an existing injury or risked aggravating a chronic complaint. Gehrig, who won the Coleman Medal last year, has what Thomas described as a "stress reaction" in his back. He had tried several ways to try to manage it, including sleeping in a different bed. Chris Jones, the Saints' head of training services, said that the condition was not considered serious but, like most back irritations, it was not possible to say when it would be finally cleared up. Jones said Gehrig's high pain threshold dictated caution when he did report with pain of any sort and it made no sense for him to spend several hours on a bus at this stage.
The Article - Len Johnson/TheAge/03Feb05

Luke Ball Chat Transcript
Snickers: G'day Bally, with Leigh Fisher in the side and hopefully being fit will that see Bakes move into a tagging role in the middle?
Luke Ball: Probably a week by week propositoin, Bakes is our best tagger, but its great to have the depth and versatility to choose from.
i_love_brendon_goddard: How many kilos have you put on because you look really good.
Luke Ball: Probably just one or two kilos.
Snickers: Do you hope to be a Saint for life bally?
Luke Ball: Yes, absolutely defintiely. I wouldn't want to go anywhere else.
The Transcript Noddy/saints.com.au/02Feb05