Archives

HOME l GO BACK

2005 Pre-Season Articles - Page 2

2005 Pre-Season Articles P 1 - P 2 - P 3 - P 4 - P 5 - P 6 - P 7 - P 8
Wizard Pre-season Games - R 1 - R 2 - R 3 - R 4 - Recent Articles Archived 2005 - 2004

Winmar mystery deepens
The hunt for Nicky Winmar's famous jumper continues. Wayne Barlow was the latest hopeful to bow out of the race to claim the lucrative guernsey after being told by St Kilda officials yesterday his jumper was not the real deal. Winmar made the No. 7 jumper famous when he lifted it and pointed to the colour of his skin in response to racist abuse from the Collingwood crowd at Victoria Park in 1993. Mr Barlow had a signed Winmar jumper in a corner of his wardrobe and was hopeful of pocketing up to $80,000. His late father bought the guernsey at a West Coast charity auction for $800. Mr Barlow said St Kilda told him yesterday that club historian Russell Holmesby had ruled his jumper out because the logos didn't match. "I'll probably just put it back in the wardrobe I reckon. It wasn't just for my benefit, but Nicky's as well," he said.
The Article Sam Edmund/HeraldSun/22Mar05

So where's the real Winmar jumper?
. . . Winmar told The Age yesterday he believed it was the jumper he raised in a defiant gesture to taunting Magpies fans in 1993, but admitted a check of the logos proved it wasn't . . . Lew Mutch, Winmar's friend and the head of St Kilda's supporters' group in Western Australia, said Winmar asked the football club for the 1993 match jumper when he decided to make the donation to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in 1998. "They gave him that jumper and he just sent it across," Mutch said. "But it's still Nicky's jumper, there's no doubt about that." Winmar told The Age he believed it was the right jumper "because I was the one who gave it to them. It must have got mixed up in someone's washing, I don't know. I'm just happy that we can get this jumper back that I donated to Geoff Clark and ATSIC at the time," he said.
The Article Meaghan Shaw & Jamie Berry/TheAge/11Mar05

Is this the real Winmar jumper?
The great Nicky Winmar jumper mystery appears to have been solved. Battler Wayne Barlow could pocket $80,000 after finding what he believes is Winmar's famous guernsey scrunched up in a corner of his wardrobe. The unemployed Nunawading man said the signed jumper was given to him by his late father, who bought it for $800 at a West Coast charity auction. St Kilda historian Russell Holmesby said Mr Barlow's find was being investigated. "Initially I was very confident, but I want to do a bit more research," Mr Holmesby said.
The Article Sam Edmund/HeraldSun/19Mar05

Winmar's jumper out of play
Nicky Winmar's most significant jumper may be lost forever. St Kilda said yesterday it had no idea of the location of the famous No. 7 worn by Winmar when he lifted it and pointed to the colour of his skin in response to racist slurs from the crowd at Victoria Park in 1993. St Kilda spokeswoman Georgie Fidge said the incident was so long ago the jumper would be almost impossible to find. "The jumper has actually been made out to be more than it is. It's more about what he did - that's more significant," she said.
The Article Greg Denham/HeraldSun/12Mar05
Nicky Winmars Jumper!!! Xavier La Canna/AAP/TheAge/10Mar05
Winmar wants 'black pride' jumper back ABCSport/10Mar05

Saints on long march
St Kilda has assembled a player group capable of winning a premiership, yet that's only the start of the journey. As coach Grant Thomas so often tells an audience, St Kilda has had squads capable of winning a flag several times in its history. Fact is the Saints have won just the one premiership since 1897; being capable and completing the task are vastly different matters. Notwithstanding the Saints' tragic, if colourful, history, I believe they can win this year. They won 16 of 22 home-and-away games last year, humiliated Sydney in the semi-finals and ran Port Adelaide to six points in a preliminary final in Adelaide. In the interim, they have lost Heath Black and Trent Knobel, replacing them with Aaron Fiora and Cain Ackland. All up, all square, I reckon.
The Article Mike Sheahan/HeraldSun/10Mar05

Nick Dal Santo Chat Transcript
saintian: Nick where do you think you will be playing at the Gabba and is G Train ready?
Nick Dal Santo: Hopefully I'll be playing in the midfield. Fraser trained today and he looks in good nick.
nicksbabe: Hey Nick! How many games do you think Allan Murray and James Gwilt will get this season because they played awesome in Lavington?
Nick Dal Santo: I'd like to think they'll get a good run. They've had great pre-season. We may have to manage these guys considering their age and body maturity.
The Transcript Noddy/saints.com.au

Jason Cripps Chat Transcript
lenii_gee: Will Matty Maguire play against the Roos on friday?
Jason Cripps: Yes, he played a half last week against Melbourne, he'll play three quarters this week. He'll play for Springvale and hopefully he'll be ready for round 1.
lenii_gee: When will the re-development start at Moorabbin?
Jason Cripps: Plans are going through. Looking to start at the end of the year and be completed within 2 to 3 years.
Angel_Rocket: Hi Jason, how long do u think penny will be out for?
Jason Cripps: Yes, he had his knee done 2 weeks ago and they think he'll be another 2 weeks out. Fingers crossed he's ready to go for round 1.
The Transcript Noddy/saints.com.au/09Mar05

'The Stew will be served as the main course'
THE PEANUT GALLERY

Dirty work, but it's Saints' citadel
Even when St Kilda was at its lowest ebb, taking out four consecutive wooden spoons from 1983-86, a game against the Saints at their Moorabbin home was never an assignment to be taken lightly. If the Saints' line-up was not enough to strike fear into the hearts of the visitors, their home ground was. Other teams might emerge having taken the four points, but not without having first suffered a fanatical and loud home crowd, the fiercest elements of which invariably took up residence in the space between the two players' races, universally known as the 'Animal Enclosure'. There were the infamous local "showers" (read: watering of the centre square), which often reduced the ground to a mudheap and gave the usually poorly skilled Saints at least a chance to drag the opposition down to their level, and, of course, the inevitable cold showers in the away rooms.
The Article Rohan Connolly/The Age/10Mar05
Comments from Karnaby Saintsational Fan Forum

Top Saints mates no longer
The friction of their professional roles has brought Grant Thomas and Rod Butterss undone as friends. The close friendship between Rod Butterss and Grant Thomas that has been at the heart of St Kilda's renaissance has crumbled, with the president and coach keeping only what both describe as an "acceptable working relationship". The pair, Brighton neighbours, confidants and one-time golfing partners, who were brought together as directors in 1999 before assuming control of the club the following year, have fallen out over a series of decisions taken in the off-season, the second such summer of discontent. Butterss said yesterday that the "realities of football life" had strained their friendship.
The Article Stephen Rielly/TheAge/17Mar05
The Age GT RB Article Saintsational fan Forum

Nine eyes News
A shell-shockes Channel 9 is considering joining forces with a media consortium to fight rival networks for the AFL TV rights. As the network began an internal witchhunt to establish how Channel 10 deserted it for Channel 7, the possibility of an alliance with a major media organisation was also discussed. Among the alliance options for Nine are News Limited, current holder of the AFL's rights, and Telstra, which for months has been speculated as a big rights player. Nine's face of football, Eddie McGuire, has been shattered by the possibility of his network losing live football. He was seen yesterday deep in discussion with AFL officials in their Docklands offices foyer. McGuire, who prides himself on returning all journalists' phone calls, did not respond to calls for the second consecutive day. Telstra also refused to comment on the possibility of it entering the rights battle.
The Article Damian Barrett/HeraldSun/18Mar05

Suspended eligible for Brownlow
Platers suspended by the AFL tribunal for minor offences will be eligible for this year's Brownlow Medal. The new tribunal system meant the AFL had to vary the previous policy that saw any player suspended during the season ruled ineligible for the Brownlow, awarded to the game's best and fairest player. The AFL has set a threshold of a 100 demerit point offence - equating to a one-game suspension - at which players will become ineligible. The new system views an offence, assigns demerit points and takes into account a player's tribunal history and plea in determining the length of suspension. This created a dilemma over Brownlow eligibility, as a player could commit a minor offence worthy of fewer than 100 demerit points but could still be suspended because of a poor disciplinary record.
The Article AAP/FoxSports/18Mar05

Lappin boosts Lions
Midfield relief is in sight for injury-racked Brisbane with an optimistic Nigel Lappin declaring he will play in next Thursday's opening AFL clash with St Kilda at the Gabba. Lappin moved gingerly at Coorparoo last night in what was his first significant training session since badly spraining his left ankle six weeks ago. The 2004 club champion battled hard for the 30-minute session and mainly completed a series of sprints at half and three-quarter pace. He said he thought the worst was over and he would make a marked improvement in the next week or so. Whether Lappin plays ultimately rests with coach Leigh Matthews and the Lions' medical staff.
The Article Darren Cartwright/TheAustralian/15Mar05

Goddard's elite ambitions
When St Kilda was handed the first selection in the 2002 National Bank's AFL Draft after Carlton was stripped of the number one pick due to salary cap breaches, the Saints had little hesitation in claiming Gippsland youngster Brendon Goddard. At that stage, Goddard was widely regarded as the hottest young player in the country and, on ability alone, it wasn't hard to see why. But delving deeper, it's not hard to also see why the Saints were taken with his determination and self-belief. Now entering his third AFL season, Goddard, who is still only 19 with 42 matches to his name, believes he is ready fulfil his potential to become one of the game's gun midfielders in 2005.
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/15Mar05

Saints hit for six
Players in next week's season-opening Brisbane Lions-St Kilda blockbuster will be confronted by not only a cricket pitch, but a lightning-fast outfield half as short as usual. Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell is facing the prospect of having as little as 24 hours to turn the stage for the Pura Cup cricket final into a safe venue for AFL. With no drop-in pitches at the Gabba, the centre wicket area will be heavily watered and aerated - through the night if needed - to ensure the centre strip is soft enough for the rigours of football. But what will not change in time is the length of the grass, cut to just 10mm for the domestic cricket playoff between Queensland and New South Wales. The outfield at the Gabba is usually set at 17-26mm in football season to provide more cushioning for AFL. The Pura Cup final starts on Friday and will finish as late as Wednesday week if weather forces the contest into a reserve day. The Lions-Saints blockbuster is set down for Easter Thursday night.
The Article Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/16Mar05

Hayes craves a second crack
St Kilda midfielder Lenny Hayes says he would love to lead the club again after having captained the Saints in 2004. Hayes, who has been replaced by superstar Nick Riewoldt as captain for 2005, was hopeful he would gain another chance to skipper the Saints under the club's rotational policy. "Under the system, you can do it again - not the year after but two years after - but I'd love to have another go at it. But if that's going to deprive Luke Ball, Nick Dal Santo or Justin Koschitzke of having a crack at it, then I'd rather step aside and let those guys have that experience that I had," Hayes told Sportal.
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/14Mar05

Penny's four-year punt
When St Kilda announced it had re-signed five key players last week, it was the extended deal of key defender Luke Penny which raised some eyebrows. With Aussie Jones staying until at least the end of 2006 and Nick Riewoldt, Matt Maguire and Steven Baker committing until 2007, it was Penny's re-signing, which sees him tied to the club until the end of 2008, which got the football pundits talking. But Penny, who has just turned 24, said he is ready to take on any skeptics and prove that he is entering the best phase of his football career.
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/14Mar05

Thomas warns Saints
The lingering disappointment of last season's preliminary final loss could be the motivation for St Kilda to go at least one better in 2005. The Saints went to the brink of beating premier Port Adelaide in the preliminary final at AAMI Stadium in September, experiencing a sickening feeling coach Grant Thomas and his players have not forgotten in the aftermath of defeat. "I think the players still have a degree of anger and unfinished business," Thomas said on Fox Footy last night. "We were in a fairly good position for most of the season . . . and the players have got some added incentive." But Thomas has warned the Saints, who are tipped to challenge for the premiership again, not to generate all their 2005 motivation from last season's disappointments. "I've said to them ad nauseam that revenge is a very poor form of motivation," Thomas said.
The Article Grantley Bernard/HeraldSun/16Mar05
GT on Fox footy - Review Saintbrat/Saintsational Fan Forum