2005 Post-Season Articles
Page 1
"Nathan Burke epitomises the spirit and passion of the St Kilda football Club. He is the ultimate professional and his contribution and loyalty to the Club over the past 20 years have truly been exceptional". Chief Executive Officer, Jim Watts
Ball a skipper in waiting
St Kilda club champion Luke Ball may not believe that he is ready for the Saints captaincy, but coach Grant Thomas yesterday reminded his star midfielder that the club wants to use the role to develop players' leadership skills. Ball, who tied with Steven Baker for the Saints' best-and-fairest award on Tuesday night, said he did not think he had "the runs on the board" to assume the captaincy next year. He had a superb season for the Saints and was, along with Lenny Hayes and Nick Dal Santo, named in the All-Australian team. He was acting captain for five games in the absence of Nick Riewoldt this year. Thomas, who paid tribute to Ball as the player who "puts his head over the ball in the most dangerous part of the game, the contested situation", said that St Kilda's annual rotation of the captaincy was designed for this purpose: to give inexperienced leaders the chance to develop and strengthen their skills.
The Article Melissa Ryan/TheAge/29Sept05
Gehrig to meet coach next week
The future of St Kilda full-forward Fraser Gehrig should become clearer by early next week. Gehrig, yet to announce if he is playing on or retiring, is due to meet Saints coach Grant Thomas in the early days of the trade period. "I'll meet up with Fraser over the next week or so," Thomas said. "I'll probably leave him to his own devices this week, after the best-and-fairest, so it will be next week some time." Gehrig, 30 next March, arrived at the Saints' best-and-fairest on Tuesday with heavy strapping on his left hand. The dual Coleman medallist has had surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his left thumb. Thomas said any decision on Gehrig did not need to be made before trade week started on Monday. But Thomas said he should know enough about Gehrig's intentions by the time trade week heated up.
The Article Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/29Sept05
I need to work harder, says Harvey
Robert Harvey has vowed to lift his revered workrate to new levels for one last tilt at a flag. The oldest player in the competition has set himself to surge into 2006 without the short cuts of the past. "I'm just playing on to try and get a premiership. If I had got it this year, I probably would've given it away," Harvey said. "I've got to work harder than I did last year. No short cuts at all," Harvey said. "There's always short cuts you take. I need to do all the extra things, everything possible. I know the group has definitely got it in them and I can add to that if I can work hard. To stop now, I'd be falling short of what I want to achieve." The 34-year-old met St Kilda coach Grant Thomas on Friday and the pair agreed that Harvey's career would stretch into a 19th season.
The Article Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/29Sept05
Praise for Saints' staff
St Kilda president Rod Butterss took time out to praise senior coach Grant Thomas at the club's best and fairest count at Crown on Tuesday evening. Speaking ahead of the announcement that Luke Ball and Steven Baker were the joint winners of the Trevor Barker Medal for 2005, Butterss said he believed the Saints' coaching staff had put in "just a terrific effort" this season. "I am in no doubt that the quality, the calibre, and the character of our playing group, the leadership of our senior coach Grant Thomas and the support he gets from his team, that there are many other sides in this competition that would not have finished fourth, that would not have made the preliminary final with the challenges that we had to overcome this year," Butterss said.
The Article Jen Witham/Sportal/saints.com.au/28Sept05
Butterss takes a hard line
St Kilda president Rod Butterss has said the club will be taking a hard approach to the 2006 season in an attempt to step beyond the preliminary finals where the Saints have stumbled in the past two seasons. Butterss said that while the Saints had once again been bundled out one week short of a shot at September glory, he remained optimistic the club is on the right track. However, the president took the opportunity to issue a warning to the players that the club would be taking a "no prisoners" approach to next season and asked that non-committed members step aside.
The Article Sportal/saints.com.au/28Sept05
The Article Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/28Sept05
Swans offer Spida package
Sydney has confirmed that versatile Jason Saddington and defender Mark Powell are to be offered up as part of a trade package as speculation grows the Swans are interested in Hawthorn's Peter "Spida" Everitt. Coach Paul Roos declared on Monday that obtaining a ruckman to replace the retired Jason Ball was the top priority for the 2005 premier.
The Article Nikki Tugwell/TheAustralian/29Sept05
Ball, Baker tie for Saints' best
St Kilda's best and fairest award has ended in a tie for only the second time in the club's history with tagger Steven Baker a surprise co-winner along with the Saints' 2005 All-Australian midfielder Luke Ball. The pair shared the Trevor Barker Medal after a thrilling count at Melbourne's Crown Casino on Tuesday night after Lenny Hayes, who was also named in this year's All-Australian team, had appeared set to win his second best and fairest award for most of the night. However a late surge from Baker and Ball saw them overtake Hayes - the 2003 winner - as they both finished on 146 votes with Hayes third on 144 votes. The Saints' other All-Australian midfielder in 2005 in Nick Dal Santo finished in fourth place on 133 votes with much-improved defenders Brett Voss and Sam Fisher in fifth and sixth positions on 115 and 108 votes respectively.
The Article Sportal/saints.com.au/27Sept05
Baker, Ball tie for Saints' award
The glamorous and the unfashionable collided last night when Luke Ball and Steven Baker tied for St Kilda's best-and-fairest award. Ball and Baker polled 146 votes in the Trevor Barker Award, ahead of Lenny Hayes (144) and Nick Dal Santo (133). Hayes loomed as the likely winner for most of the count, but Ball and Baker made a late-season surge. Ball, the No. 2 draft pick in the 2001 super draft and one of the most revered young players in the game, was runner-up in the award last year. Baker, a rugged 25-year-old who has become one of the best taggers in the competition, finished third in 2002. It was a popular result for the 1000 St Kilda faithful gathered at the Palladium room at Melbourne's Crown casino.
The Article Mark Stevens/TheAustralian/28Sept05
2005 Trevor Barker Medal - Top 10
Steven Baker - 146 votes
Luke Ball - 146 votes
Lenny Hayes - 144 votes
Nick Dal Santo - 133 votes
Brett Voss - 115 votes
Sam Fisher - 108 votes
Stephen Milne - 106 votes
Cain Ackland - 104 votes
Fraser Gehrig - 104 votes
Max Hudghton - 100 votes
Harvey set to chase elusive flag in 2006
St Kilda's dual Brownlow medallist, Robert Harvey, is likely to play on in 2006 in the hope that his 19th season might bring the premiership that has eluded him in an otherwise glittering career. Harvey, the oldest player in the AFL, has not yet indicated his intentions to St Kilda, but his manager, Shane Casley, yesterday confirmed that the 34-year-old champion was "leaning towards" playing again. Casley spoke to Harvey and his wife Danielle earlier this week, when Harvey indicated that, at this stage, he favoured playing on. "He hasn't made a final decision, but I think he's leaning towards having another crack at it," said Casley. Casley said the lure of a premiership was a significant factor for Harvey, whose body was holding up well. "There's just a bit of unfinished business with the group," Casley said. "His body feels great." Casley suggested, too, that Harvey would have most likely retired had the Saints managed to win the premiership this year. "The decision would have been an easier one for him to make."
The Article Jake Niall and Stephen Rielly/TheAge/23Sept05
Harvey kicks off 2006 bid
As St Kilda champion Robert Harvey confirmed he would play on next year, club president Rod Butterss last night declared any player not committed "110 per cent" to lifting the Saints to a premiership should leave, and he forecast that there would be casualties if expectations were not met. The future of a number of senior players remains uncertain, with Coleman medallist Fraser Gehrig and Austinn Jones having expressed thoughts of retirement, while the prospects of Justin Peckett, Stephen Powell and Andrew Thompson are also under a cloud. But Harvey reaffirmed his commitment, with the announcement that he would play on for a 19th AFL season. In round eight next year, Harvey should become the longest-serving player in the history of the club. The news was greeted with a roar of delight from the partisan crowd, and outgoing captain Nick Riewoldt said: "It's good news that you'll be going around again mate, it's good to hear."
The Article Melissa Ryan/TheAge/28Sept05
Walls tickles coach's funny bone
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas said yesterday it was laughable to suggest Matt Maguire had taken a dive after his clash with Barry Hall in last week's preliminary final. Thomas also denied a claim that had emanated from Sydney that Maguire had carried an appendix complaint in to the match. Maguire's renowned toughness has been called in to question throughout the week following his clash with the Swans forward. Some commentators, including Robert Walls, said he stayed slumped too long after the punch from Hall. "That's really, really funny," Thomas said of the appendix complaint theory . . . Thomas said Walls' views could not be taken seriously. "I don't think Robert would know and I don't think anyone really takes Rob seriously. He has been around a long time and I don't think anyone takes his comments seriously," he said. "We don't take a lot of interest in what Rob has to say."
The Article Damian Barrett/HeraldSun/22Sept05
Old Man Time
Dear Robert, Like the rest of the football world I'd feel privileged to watch you do the business like only you can for one more season (well 2 actually) but realize what a physical ask that becomes as the years roll on. Mentally though, well, I know you'll still be there in your eighties!! I was fortunate enough to be in the rooms at Football Park after our qualifying final victory over the Crows & was especially delighted how satisfied and pleased you were with the result.
The Article Steve Nankervis/saints.com.au/23Sept05
To Robert Harvey
Dear Harvs, I am writing to try and put in words what an inspiration you are to all of us. I also want to thank you for what you bring to this great club, its supporters and football. I felt the bitter pain of Friday's loss - in fact I still feel it today. It upsets me greatly that we may have lost a golden opportunity to win that elusive flag for you and your fellow veterans. I cannot imagine what you must be going through and I hope this letter can help you decide whatever future you choose. You and I have never met; I have only admired your ability from afar. But it has been an honour and a privilege to be able to watch you play. Your spirit is the essence of this club and what football should be - never-say-die, humility, loyalty, strength, sportsmanship, integrity and a wonderful mate-first attitude that is the reason why we all come back year after year, whatever the results.
The Article Todd McCarthy/saints.com.au/21Sept05
Hall is cleared to play at MCG
Three former premiership players last night took less than four minutes to clear Sydney Swans captain Barry Hall for Saturday's grand final. The AFL tribunal, comprising dual North Melbourne premiership player Wayne Schimmelbusch, two-time Hawthorn premiership winner Richard Loveridge and Richmond's 1980 grand final winner Emmett Dunne, granted Hall's only request at last night's hearing: that he hit St Kilda's Matt Maguire in play and not behind play.
The Article Peter Krupka/TheAustralian/21Sept05
The luckiest footballer in history
. . . The match review panel has handled this case poorly. It has been too lenient on the issues of conduct and impact and appeared not to understand the guidelines on the location of the incident. It follows another unsound decision not to cite Geelong skipper Steven King when he kicked Melbourne's Jeff White in the head during their round 20 match. The end of the season cannot come quick enough for the panel and the Adrian Anderson revamped tribunal system. As for Barry Hall, well, he may just be the luckiest footballer in history.
The Article Patrick Smith/TheAustralian/21Sept05
ST KILDA BROWNLOW VOTES
Nick Dal Santo 18
Justin Koschitzke 11
Fraser Gehrig 10
Lenny Hayes, Luke Ball 9
Robert Harvey 7
Stephen Milne 6
Aaron Hamill 5
Matthew Maguire, Nick Riewoldt 3
Brent Guerra 2
Leigh Montagna, Austinn Jones, Steven Baker 1
Votes Round by Round
Veteran Saints may decide futures this week
The future of several St Kilda veterans could be determined this week, with coach Grant Thomas holding one-on-one meetings with Robert Harvey, Justin Peckett, Andrew Thompson, Austinn Jones and Fraser Gehrig. Thomas said yesterday that the players would remain around the club this week before heading off "for a spell," which meant that decisions on individual players were likely to be made this week. Harvey, Gehrig and Jones have all canvassed the possibility of retirement, but are the least likely to finish up of the five who are being discussed as potential retirees. "They would have had a fair idea," Thomas said of those players' intentions for 2006. "You don't sort of get to this stage overnight. It's something that happens over a period of time. So they know where they're at. We can't wait forever obviously because we've got decisions to make as well." Thomas said there would be a list-management meeting between the coaches this week and one-on-one talks with the players before they went away.
The Article Jake Niall/TheAge/19Sept05
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ARTICLE ARCHIVES: 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006
