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Neitz boots eight in record game
Melbourne captain David Neitz celebrated his AFL milestone game with eight goals to lead the Demons to a 13-point win over St Kilda at the MCG today. Neitz played his 273rd game to break Robert Flower's Melbourne club record and booted six first-half goals before he nullified the Saints' comeback with his eighth, in the last quarter. The Saints crept to within two goals midway through the final term, but Matthew Bate's long goal on the run sealed the win, 15.13 (103) to 13.12 (90).
The Article AAP/HeraldSun/04Jun06

Neitz leads Demons to win over Saints
. . . St Kilda kicked just two goals in the first quarter as it went to the first break trailing by 14 points, and let in six Melbourne goals in the next term to compound its woes. But the Saints fought back in the third term, kicking five goals to two to close the gap to 14 points at the final change. Neitz kicked the crucial opening goal of the final quarter to extend Melbourne's lead, before Brett Voss cancelled out Neitz's effort five minutes later with one of his own. Ultimately though the Demons proved too strong for the Saints, the two sides kicking two more goals each before the final siren.
The Article ABC Sport/04Jun06

End of waiting for Goddard?
. . . All of which made Goddard the No. 1 pick in the 2002 AFL national draft, the hottest prospect in the country at a time when St Kilda, his suitor, was rebuilding with precocious youth. But for Goddard and the Saints, it has been a waiting game. Four years on, they are still waiting for that talent to blossom in all its glory, though there is evidence it may be closer . . . But in what he regards as "undoubtedly" his best season so far, Goddard has a new mindset. "I wasn't happy with the way I was going," he said last week. "I wasn't outstanding, and I wasn't really bad, but I wasn't happy with where I was at. It's about letting go and probably not caring as much, playing on instincts and backing yourself."
The Article Martin Blake/TheAge/04Jun06

"We've had enough words going around about how everyone needs to stand up and everyone needs to lift and all that, it's really got to come down to people producing it now," Grant Thomas

Thomas: Time to move on
Grant Thomas is nothing if not an optimist. The Saints coach is once again faced with a burgeoning long-term injury list that swelled recently with the addition of Lenny Hayes, but by no means is Thomas's glass half empty. He's done talking about the effect that injuries to his stars has on the side and he's happy that the next three weeks sees the team face a stern test with matches against Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide . . . " Thomas said from Moorabbin on Saturday. "I think these are the sort of times where careers get forged and people do special things. That's what I get excited about, I get excited about the opportunity to do things that nobody expects you to do. That's a challenge that I enjoy and I'm sure the players do too. We've got a tough game this week and the next three weeks before the break we've got really tough games, great challenges which is what you want, but we're going to know very clearly over the next three or four weeks where we're at and where our season is."
The Article Jason Phelan/Sportal/saints.com.au/03Jun06

Saints look for action, not words
St Kilda's injury toll may be mounting but coach Grant Thomas said yesterday it was time to move on and concentrate on the task at hand: a difficult month of football that will define the season for the one-time premiership favourite . . . "We've got a tough game this week and the next three weeks before the break, we've got really tough games, great challenges which is what you want, but we're going to know very clearly over the next three or four weeks where we are at and where our season is." Thomas said morale had not been affected by the terrible run of injuries.
The Article Karen Lyon/TheAge/04Jun06


Fiora in for Hayes
St Kilda has made just one change for its clash against the Demons at the MCG on Sunday. As expected, the Saints have lost 2004 captain Lenny Hayes with a knee injury for the rest of the season, while former Tiger Aaron Fiora returns. The Saints have named Cain Ackland, Fiora, Mark McGough and Justin Peckett on their bench. St Kilda's emergencies are Andrew McQualter, Allan Murray and Michael Rix, who has yet to make his AFL debut, despite being named an emergency for four of the past five rounds. Melbourne has recalled promising youngster Matthew Bate and key tall Ben Holland for its round 10 battle.
The Article sportal/saints.com.au/02Jun06
Four additions for Sunday saints.com.au/01Jun06
All AFL round 10 teams TheAustralian/02Jun06

St Kilda coach undeterred by injuries
Injured ruckman Justin Koschitzke made a welcome return to St Kilda on Saturday, boosting morale with a visit to his AFL team-mates. But his absence from the field remains indefinite, thanks to the fractured skull he suffered in round six. Koschitzke and now onballer Lenny Hayes, who had a season-ending knee reconstruction this week, head a lengthy casualty list that threatens to derail St Kilda's season. Still, as long as he can start a game with 22 fit players, coach Grant Thomas refuses to use the injury situation as a crutch. After showing some improved form in the last fortnight, the Saints play resurgent Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.
The Article AAP/TheAge/03Jun06

Hayes makes Kosi smile
Koschitzke dropped in to console Hayes at Mercy Private Hospital on Thursday."It was funny, with all the bad luck he's had, Kosi came in and said he'd been moping around a bit," Hayes said. "As soon as he heard about what happened to me, he said he stopped feeling sorry for himself. We had a good chat. Obviously I feel for him . . . throughout most of his career, he's been in the situation I am now" . . . Hayes said the surgery delivered no nasty surprises. The anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee was ruptured.
The Article Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/03Jun06

Saints break Membership record
St Kilda Football Club is proud to announce that it has today broken its Membership record of 32,043. This is another record year for the Saints, with the Club registering its fourth consecutive Membership record. The 2006 tally currently stands at 32,055 and this new record highlights the loyalty of our members, who continue to show strong support for the Club. With the Commonwealth Games and high amount of away matches in the first quarter of the 2006 AFL season, this has been a magnificent result, with figures showing that supporters still love their footy and have made their commitment to the Club by becoming Signed, Sealed Sainters.
The Article saints.com.au/02Jun06

Saints to stay at home
St Kilda's Round 14 match against Collingwood is likely to stay at Telstra Dome, with the Saints not interested in applying for a transfer. "St Kilda has not made any such request and has no intention to do so," chief executive Jim Watts said yesterday. He said it was up to the AFL to suggest a venue change, but doubted that would happen. The July 9 game will be a sellout of about 50,000 and at least 60,000 would be a reasonable prediction if the game was held at the MCG. Apart from the Western Bulldogs already hosting the Kangaroos at the MCG that afternoon, the Saints do not want to disadvantage members and sponsors.
The Article HeraldSun/01Jun06

Goddard a little brother no more
According to social ritual, boys become men at 21. Yet when Brendon Goddard turned 21 on May 20, he was preparing for his 68th appearance in what is known as "a man's game". Making his pitch: Brendon Goddard watching the ball at Victoria Golf Club this week, has put his hand to be part of the Saints' leadership group and says he would like to captain the club in the future. Now in his fourth season, he is a seasoned footballer with a mature body, standing 192cm and weighing 94kg. Yet, for all that physical development – he was 187cm and 81kg when drafted late in 2002 – and all his experience, he is, as he should be, still a boy.
The Article Mike Sheahan/HeraldSun/02Jun06

Foxtel may grab bigger slice of pie
The prospect of half of next season's home-and-away games being sold to pay television gained momentum yesterday when it emerged that Foxtel had put forward a written bid to the Seven and Ten networks worth up to $60 million in return for four games each weekend from 2007. Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams this week wrote to the bosses from Seven and Ten offering the two networks the same agreement Foxtel had reached with Channel Nine late last year — an agreement which Seven and Ten later matched. The Foxtel offer to Seven and Ten also included a drastically reduced financial deal should it only be offered three games. Williams is understood to have instructed Seven and Ten that his network required a resolution to negotiations by the end of July.
The Article Caroline Wilson/TheAge/02Jun06
Night grand final lights up debate Caroline Wilson/TheAge/02Jun06
Seven pulls plug on Cometti calling footyThe Article Daryl Timms/HeraldSun/02Jun06

Message to members from Jim Watts
Further to the speculation in today's press regarding any potential move of our round 14 game vs Collingwood, I would like to confirm that St Kilda has not made any such request and has no intention to do so. I was contacted by a journalist yesterday on the issue and I explained that we have a business partnership with Melbourne Stadiums Limited and it is important that we honour that partnership, deliver on our obligations to play at Telstra Dome, and maximise capacity wherever we can. We also have just under 10,000 reserve seat holders who have purchased those seats in the expectation that they will be able to sit under the roof with their friends watching great games of footy. We are not too keen on forcing them out of their seats which would be the case if the match were relocated to the MCG. Similarly, our corporate partners and dining guests are comfortable at Telstra Dome and our members love watching us there.
The Article saints.com.au/31May06

Gram starts to blossom
St Kilda defender Jason Gram, one of the most improved players in the AFL this year, admits he began this season concerned for his future in the game. After all at the start of this season Gram had managed only nine senior games across two clubs - Brisbane and St Kilda - despite having initially been drafted by the Lions' way back in 2001 at pick number 19. But after managing just two games with Lions' in 2003, he was traded to St Kilda but in his first two years with the Saints managed only a further seven games. In none of those matches did Gram ever collect 20 possessions but such has been his improvement this year that the 22-year-old has not only played all eight games but in six he has exceeded the 20 possession mark and helped himself to a career best 27 touches during the 92 point rout of Carlton at the MCG in round 8
The Article Paul Gough/saints.com.au/30May06
Reasons to be positive . . . saintsRrising/saintsational.com.au

"We spent an extra night over there (in Perth), the boys were really fresh yesterday and we will have a good training session this morning. We'll have a lighter preparation and we'll come up fine." Neale Daniher

Saints still hard: Daniher
Melbourne coach Neale Daniher expects the Saints to be as hard and competitive as ever when the teams clash at the MCG on Sunday, despite the loss of their best-performed midfielder this season, Lenny Hayes. Hayes will be sidelined for the next 12 months after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament against the Kangaroos last Sunday, and joins the likes of Justin Koschitzke, Aaron Hamill, Fergus Watts and Xavier Clark on the long-term injury list. Addressing the media ahead of training at the Junction Oval on Wednesday morning, Daniher said he believed the Saints has adapted well to the loss of a host of first-choice players. "It was a bad loss with Lenny (Hayes) out, but … St Kilda probably haven’t had much of 'Kosi' or Hamill over the last 10 months and they've still been able to win games and they were still in the prelim final and they're still winning games now," Daniher said.
The Article sportal.com.au/31May06

Saints swap could give Dogs windfall
St Kilda's bid to move its round-14 clash with Collingwood from Telstra Dome to the MCG could result in the Western Bulldogs getting financial compensation from the Saints of up to $200,000. The Bulldogs, who are scheduled to host the Kangaroos at the MCG on Sunday July 9, almost certainly would lose money by switching their game to Docklands, while St Kilda could reap close to $500,000 by moving its home game. The proposed home-and-away game swap was leaked to the AFL website yesterday but came as news last night to Bulldogs president David Smorgon, whose club played Collingwood in front of a record 68,000 crowd at the MCG last Friday in a match that drew massive television ratings.
The Article Caroline Wilson/The Age/31May06

McMagnet!! (HeraldSun article on McGough)St Luke/saintsational.com.au
The Article scanned HeraldSun/St Luke/saintsational.com.au

Saints consider switch
St Kilda chief executive Jim Watts says he will discuss with the AFL the possibility of switching the Saints' upcoming home clash against Collingwood from Telstra Dome to the MCG in a bid to enable more supporters to see the game. The clash is scheduled for the Sunday afternoon of round 14 at Telstra Dome on the same day as the Western Bulldogs play the Kangaroos at the MCG. That clash is a rare MCG home game for the Bulldogs, who play their home games at Telstra Dome, but would only be expected to draw a crowd of about 30,000 - which could easily be accommodated at the 53,500 capacity Telstra Dome. In contrast given the good form of both the Saints and the Magpies, their meeting could draw a huge crowd if moved to the MCG.
The Article Paul Gough/saints.com.au/30May06

Saints sign second scholarship player
The St Kilda Football Club is pleased to advise that 16 year old Khan Haretuku from the University of NSW/Eastern Suburbs Club in Sydney has signed with the St Kilda Football Club under the new AFL (NSW/ACT) Scholarship Program. Khan was born in Sydney and has New Zealand parents (Tau and Jenny) and is in Year 11 at Marist College in Pagewood. He is a convert from Rugby League and has only played Aussie Rules for the last three years. St Kilda's Sydney representative Danny Ryan and Recruiting Manager John Beveridge have followed Khan's development in recent times and watched him play in the recent NSW Talent Camp held at Riverview College in Sydney.
The Article saints.com.au/30May06

Saints - A Season without Lenny

Hayes' year ends mysteriously
Lenny Hayes first knew something wasn't right when he woke in the middle of the night and found his right knee had swollen. Grant Thomas first knew that something was terribly wrong when he saw St Kilda's club doctor and physio, both with grim faces, walk into the football department early yesterday. Before the morning was out, Hayes was told his season was over. MRI scans showed the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee had snapped and a full reconstruction was required. Before long, his disbelieving team-mates were told via text message. But in this age of medical imaging and instant communication, no-one could offer Hayes any explanation for why or how the injury happened
The Article Chip Le Grand/TheAustralian/30May06



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