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JUSTIN PECKETT (Frankie) 1992 - 2006 St Kilda Football Club Guernsey No. 1 Picture: Wayne Ludbey . . . "I don't think anyone was surprised. The only couple of people who might be surprised could be two of my kids, Sunny and Jet, they're only four and three and love their footy and they love the Saints. They keep asking me about when we're playing next and I keep trying to tell them I've retired and daddy's not playing any more, but they don't understand." - Frankie Draft history: 1992 Pre-Season Draft 4th round selection (St Kilda) No 49 overall. Played: 252 games, 8 finals. AFL Debut: Round 4 1992 St Kilda vs Hawthorn, Moorabbin. Player Honours: Best and Fairest - Second in 1994, Third in 1997; Pre-Season premiership side 1996; Played in 1997 Grand Final; U19 Best and Fairest 1990; Represented Victoria 1998. Brownlow Medal: Career votes 12. Future plans: Looking to pursue a career working with corporate teams in developing leadership skills for managers/executives. Also has an interest in remaining in footy in some area such as coaching. Source: SportsAustralia.com Peckett to hang up the boots St Kilda midfielder Justin Peckett has announced his retirement from the AFL. Peckett made his senior debut with the Saints in 1992 and his 15-year career included eight finals appearance, highlight by the 1997 season decider. The 33-year-old said he had enjoyed his time with the Saints and would continue to support the club in the future . . . Peckett is the second senior St Kilda player to announce their retirement this week with veteran midfielder Stephen Powell also to hang up the boots. The Article ABCSport/15Sep06 Peckett calls it a career St Kilda stalwart Justin Peckett has announced his retirement after 252 AFL matches from 1992-06, which included 17 appearances for the Saints this season - including St Kilda's elimination final loss to Melbourne last Friday night. The 33-year-old life member of the club reflected on his journey at the Saints. "I would like to thank all the players, coaches, support staff and supporters from St Kilda for their support over the past 17 years," Peckett said. "I wish my teammates all the success in season 2007 and I look forward to going to see them play. I would also like to particularly thank my wife Teresa, my five children and my mother for their endless support over the years." The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal saints.com.au/15Sep06 Peckett hands in his halo As one St Kilda veteran announced he would play on for one more tilt at a premiership flag, the career of another came to an end yesterday, with only a couple of kids - two of his young boys - about the only people surprised by the news. Following the announcement that his long-time teammate Robert Harvey would go around next year for his 20th season, Justin "Frankie" Peckett yesterday formalised his decision that it was time to hang up his boots. Peckett, who ended his career on 252 games, had been contemplating the "inevitable" for about a year and half . . . Given that he had had no serious injuries or ailments to consider, Peckett's decision to call it quits was entirely a mental one, the rigours of training and fronting up for matches takes its toll on his motivation. "It's more a mental thing. It just gets harder during the year, it's a long year, and more often than not, when I'm running my warm-up laps for training, I'm questioning whether I can get through training. And once you start to doubt, you're mad if you go on for another year because it is a tough industry," he said. The Article Lyall Johnson/TheAge RealFooty/16Sep06

St Kilda's Peckett announces retirement
"I am very proud of the small contribution I have made towards St Kilda in ensuring it is a better place than when I arrived," Peckett said in a club statement. Assistant coach Matt Rendell praised Peckett's career, saying: "he has been through many highs and lows and through this, his personality and values have really shone through.
The Article AAP/TheAge/15Sep06

Saints stalward hangs up the boots
After 17 years and 252 games of AFL with the St Kilda Football Club, defender Justin Peckett has today officially announced his retirement. Peckett, now 33, joined the Saints as a 16-year old from Karingal and made his AFL debut against Hawthorn in round four 1992. A fan favourite amongst the St Kilda members and supporters, Peckett, who primarily played at fullback after being selected at No.49 in the 1992 Pre-Season Draft, hangs up his boots a proud life member having been a great servant of the club throughout his career down at Moorabbin.
The Article ABCSport/15Sep06

Watershed moment for Black and Dockers
When he left for St Kilda at the end of 2001, the Dockers were a rabble. Damian Drum had learned of his sacking on a stairwell and the club had recorded the worst season result of any AFL team since Fitzroy was a walking corpse. When he returned at the end of 2004, he was staggered by how things had changed. The Dockers had played in one finals series and were unlucky to miss another. The board, administration and the coach were of one voice and one purpose. A club going nowhere was finally on its way. "The professionalism of the club from top to bottom had been thrashed out and really worked out," Black recalled. "There was also a clear vision which was similar to St Kilda. The vision was there; things were set in place for periods of time. We knew that in 2006 we would be here. When you set those goals you strive to achieve them. I think that has been the real cornerstone of where we have come from till now."
The Article Chip Le Grand/TheAustralian/18Sep06

Give me a tap on the shoulder and I'm out of here
Paul Roos has been discussing his resignation. In his mind, it would be nothing like Grant Thomas's departure from St Kilda . . . "I don't want to sound like I'm not grateful for what I do. I'm very grateful - I get well paid and I've got a great job. But you look at tapes every day, every week . . . And every week it's like groundhog day. Every week is the same once the season starts. So it can be mentally quite challenging, rather than physically. It does get repetitive, it does get boring, you do need to be continually slapping yourself in the head because sometimes you get sick of seeing the players and they get sick of seeing you. But up here [in Sydney] at least you can get away from it." Roos says that if the tap on the shoulder he describes came tomorrow, he would not coach football elsewhere - he doesn't think he could coach in Melbourne.
The Article Samantha Lane/SydneyMorningHerald/17Sep06

Butterss' stunning admission
St Kilda president Rod Butterss has revealed he had been pondering the tenure of former coach Grant Thomas for at least 'a couple of years' before he was sacked last Tuesday. Speaking on 3AW on Saturday, Butterss said St Kilda's board and executives had met on a number of occasions over the 'part couple of years to express and discuss the various concerns' they had about Thomas.And when asked if he was serious that he had been mulling over Thomas's position for at least two years, Butterss said: "Yeah." "Our concerns date back . . . and in some ways we've had countless discussions about those issues over the past couple of years."
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/16Sep06
Butterss planned sacking for years Sportal/16Sep06

Saints first considered sacking Thomas two years ago
St Kilda president Rod Butterss admits he and the club's board first considered sacking Grant Thomas as coach two years ago. Butterss today also gave the strongest indication yet that Thomas' sacking was as much due to his fractious relationship with the board as with his on-field results at the Saints, who have reached the past three final series. Butterss also indicated St Kilda would be prepared to appoint an assistant coach from another club to replace Thomas even though he might lack senior experience, as Paul Roos, Neil Craig and John Worsfold were the game's leaders in modern-day coaching methods. Just four days after his board sacked Thomas, Butterss admitted he and his fellow directors had considered the axing over the past two years because of the board's irreparable relationship with Thomas, which had degenerated during the club's path to successive preliminary finals in 2004-05. Asked how long he had contemplated Thomas' position, Butterss gave a frank: "Couple of years".
The Article Adam Cooper/TheAge RealFooty/16Sep06

Pressure yet to ease on Pagan
Eleven days have passed since the Carlton board changed its mind about sacking Denis Pagan and nothing that has happened since would indicate that the beleaguered Blues coach should feel any safer now than he did a fortnight ago . . . Still, at least his contract ensures a pay-out. There is no Thomas-style termination clause and it is unlikely he would be forced to sign the confidentiality agreement forced upon the sacked St Kilda coach at his final board meeting also. It has been said that Thomas was poorly treated but, given his record and his history of falling out with pretty much everyone in authority he has worked with, he can at least take stock in the fact he was given five years and unprecedented power at the football club he loves.
The Article Caroline Wilson/TheAge RealFooty/17Sep06

Roos offers Thomas support
Paul Roos was quick to console sacked St Kilda counterpart Grant Thomas, but believed AFL coaches were "very lucky" people. The premiership-winning Sydney coach phoned Thomas after the latter unexpectedly lost his job earlier this week. "I rang Grant and spoke to him and we talked about a few different things and I generally felt he'd done a good job," Roos said today. "I congratulated him on the job that he'd done. I think it's just a constant reminder that in the game that we're in anything can happen. It continues to throw up different challenges, different news stories and all those sorts of things. All you can do as a fellow coach is ring and give some support."
The Article Adrian Warren/TownsvilleBulletin/16Sep06

Saints' challenge is to deconstruct cult of Thomas
. . . This is how Grant Thomas sees it. He was the best man to lead St Kilda to the promised land. If it was not for a falling-out between himself and president Rod Butterss and board member Mark Kellett, then Thomas would be mapping out the Saints' 2007 pre-season. And with half a hamstring of injury luck the Saints would be premiers next year . . . Thomas took control of everything to do with football. Controversially, he did the player contracts. He maintained absolute discipline over the playing list. He did not bother with a football operations manager. So complete was his control that Butterss this week identified eight areas that the club would need to find the best possible people to administer. Previously, those eight people had been Thomas . . . It cannot be the culture of the club that is the legacy of the former coach. The culture at St Kilda was the relationship between Thomas and his players. On his sacking Thomas told the players that he loved them. Thomas took whatever culture was at Moorabbin with him when he left the club for the final time last Wednesday morning. And this might have been the undoing of Thomas. Rather than a culture at St Kilda there was a cult. The cult of Grant Thomas.
The Article Patrick Smith/TheAustralian/16Sep06
Thread re - Patrick Smith Article saintsational.com
Swift sacking of Thomas the best kept secret QueenslandBulletin/16Sep06
The 10 biggest mid-season coaching upheavals Paul Daffy/australianrules.com.au

Saints' coach role 'best'
St Kilda will start formal interviews next week for what former Adelaide captain Mark Bickley describes as the best coaching job in the past decade. Bickley believes Garry Lyon would have the ability to coach St Kilda despite not having served an apprenticeship . . . "The St Kilda job is as good a job that has been offered in the last 10 years or so." Bickley said the Saints had some unbelievable young talent, as well as some hardened veterans. "There aren't too many parts of the team that are missing as far as having success in the next couple of years goes," he said . . . Speculation was rife yesterday that the Saints were keen on Brisbane Lions' Leigh Matthews, but the premiership coach quickly quashed the talk . . . There has also been talk of interest in former Geelong and Adelaide coach Gary Ayres, who is now an assistant to Kevin Sheedy at Essendon. But Bickley said history was against Ayres getting another senior job. He said former senior coaches who became assistants usually didn't return to a main job.
The Article Daryl Timms/HeraldSun/16Sep06

Thompson hungry, Peckett's had enough
St Kilda veteran Andrew Thompson has told the club he wants to play on next year. But another of the Saints' older brigade, Justin Peckett, yesterday announced his retirement. Peckett's 252-game career began in 1992 and ended last Friday night when the Saints' 2006 campaign closed with a loss to Melbourne . . . While Peckett, 33, called it quits, Thompson wants to follow Robert Harvey, who is a certain starter next season. But Thompson won't know his fate until a new coach is appointed. "I have told the club that I still want to play at the elite level and my body can cope with senior footy," Thompson said. "I now have to wait but certainly the desire is still there and I want to play on." Thompson played 17 games this year and had been contemplating his future since the Saints' elimination final loss. On Thursday he told Saints assistant coaches Matt Rendell and Jason Cripps that he he wanted to play on.
The Article Jim Wilson/HeraldSun/16Sep06

Barassi: Big V can't keep up
Football hero Ron Barassi has called for an inquiry into why interstate powerhouse clubs are dominating the AFL. His call for a summit came as Victoria was in the first week of an unprecedented two-week finals football drought. Barassi, an ardent supporter of the national competition, said it was time for the AFL to examine why Victorian clubs were not keeping up with interstate teams. "I think we should look at it to see if there's a reason that means if you are not in Victoria you have got a better chance," Barassi said. "If there is a reason, we should correct it." With Sydney and Adelaide to host next weekend's preliminary finals, Victorians face the prospect of a third straight all-interstate Grand Final and the premiership cup heading across the border for the sixth consecutive season.
The Article Kelvin Healy/HeraldSun/17Sep06
Spida pursued us, insists Roos Samantha Lane/TheAge RealFooty/17Sep06

Aussie Jones's coaching daze
Aussie Jones finds life as a coach much tougher than he'd imagined.
DAVID HASTIE: How have you found life as senior coach of Narre Warren?
AUSSIE JONES: I've certainly learnt a lot. A hell of a lot more goes into coaching than I suppose I expected when I first took on the job. And looking back at previous coaches, I suppose I owe them an apology for what I've put them through.
The Interview David Hastie/HeraldSun/16Sep06
Lions play hard ball on Akermanis AAP/TheAge/16Sep06

Sumich available for Saints
West Coast Eagles assistant coach Peter Sumich says he will be happy to speak to St Kilda about the Saints' vacant coaching position if the club approaches him. However, the Eagles' all-time leading goalkicker says for now his top priority is West Coast's finals campaign as the Eagles attempt to win their way through to the preliminary final by beating the Bulldogs in a semi-final at Subiaco on Saturday night. "Everybody knows where I stand on all that - after the season we will have a look at it," he said of the Saints' vacant coaching position.
The Article Sportal/15Sep06
Saints appeal to Sumich
Paul Gough/Sportal/AFL/saints.com.au/14Sept06

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