Ex-Pie, bush coach join Saints
The Victorian country football fraternity will feel a spring in its step today after last night's announcement that St Kilda will fill the remaining places on its coaching panel with two men, Mick McGuane and Jason Mifsud, who have spent recent years coaching in the country. McGuane, the 1990 Collingwood premiership midfielder, spent five years at Tasmania's Burnie Dockers and at Gisborne, north of Melbourne, for three premierships, while trying to overcome perceptions that he was prone to erratic behaviour. Despite proclamations from Burnie and Gisborne that he had turned around both clubs - in finance and morale as well as on-field performance - AFL and VFL clubs remained unconvinced that he had the necessary ambassadorial qualities . . . The appointment of Mifsud, 32, is certain to raise eyebrows because he is a former associate of St Kilda coach Grant Thomas who has never played or coached at senior AFL or VFL level. For the past decade, he has been the main force in lifting Western District club Koroit from near the bottom of the Hampden league ladder to its current position as a regular premiership hopeful.
The Article Paul Daffey/TheAge/13Jan05
"Mick McGuane started his football at Sebastopol near Ballarat. In his 10 year career with the Magpies, he played 155 games, kicked 128 goals, was Club Best & Fairest twice, represented Victoria in State of Origin 3 times and was All-Australian in 1992. He was never once reported, and while he always polled well in the Brownlow, he never won it."
Rotary Club of Boxhill
Mick (McGuane) Country
. . . McGuane grew up in Sebastopol and stood out while playing junior football for the Kookaburras in the Ballarat league. In 1985, as just a skinny teenager, he was promoted to the senior side and played in Sebastopol's grand final loss to North Ballarat. "The sour taste that was left in my mouth I never want to revisit," said McGuane, who has since been involved in five grand finals as a player or coach and won them all. Ignored by St Kilda, which had the Ballarat region as part of its recruiting zone, he quickly caught the eye of Collingwood scouts and joined the Magpies for the 1986 season. He played in the under-19s premiership, the team toppling Denis Pagan's all-powerful North Melbourne side in the grand final.
Age Article Rerun - yellowandblack/Adam McNicol/TheAge/12Sept04
Saints recruit McGuane
St Kilda may have the highest-profile playing list among Victorian clubs, but finalisation of its off-field staff yesterday left it with one of the competition's most low-key coaching structures. Bush star Jason Mifsud and Collingwood champion Mick McGuane were confirmed as assistants to Grant Thomas alongside Jason Cripps and Matt Rendell. The post-2005 departures of Nathan Burke, who retired, and Terry Daniher, dismissed, had caused the vacancies. Thomas said the appointments would have a positive effect on the Saints. "Both Mick and Jason have great qualities, terrific track records and are the type of driven guys that continually deliver successful outcomes," Thomas said. "We're extremely pleased with the appointments and look forward to the influence they will have from this point on."
The Article Damian Barrett/HeraldSun/13Jan05
No rush on captaincy: Thomas
A decision on the St Kilda captaincy will not be made until just prior to the NAB Cup at the earliest, according to Grant Thomas. Speaking before training at Brighton Grammar on Friday, Thomas said he had not yet made a decision on the job, but did reveal it was not a just a two-horse race between Justin Koschitzke and Luke Ball. "It's been widely documented that Koschitzke and Ball are in it up to their ears and Matt Maguire's probably snapping at their heels - it's a situation that gives them a great opportunity," Thomas said. "We'll find out over the next few weeks how serious they are about it and how determined they are to secure the position which is one that comes with a lot of prestige and pride and everything else. We'll find that out, but I'd be eminently comfortable with any of those guys."
The Article Jason Phelan/Sportal/saints.com.au/13Jan05
Ball fancies 'Kosi' to lead
St Kilda midfielder Luke Ball has nominated Justin Koschitzke as the favourite to captain the club in 2006, while modestly playing down his own prospects of winning the honour. Ball is part of an expanded eight-man leadership group from whom a successor to Nick Riewoldt will be appointed under the club's rotation policy. Matt Maguire, Nick Dal Santo, Xavier Clarke and Stephen Milne have joined the group this season replacing Stephen Powell, Aaron Hamill and Max Hudghton.
The Article Angus Morgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/11Jan05
Loss resonates for Ball
. . . He said the players have a special incentive in wanting to do well for the supporters who have watched the club come so close for two years running. "At this time of the year you've got 16 clubs telling you that they're going to play in the finals and I'm not going to stand here and say anything different," Ball said. "Finishing third the last couple of years we've been pretty disappointed with - especially last year - we feel like we really missed a good opportunity . . . We had - not excuses - but we had our fair share of reasons with injuries and stuff. That's something that we've got to try and control, but hopefully if we can get everyone out there fit this year we can go one better."
The Article Angus Morgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/12Jan05
Saint becomes 'Devil' on card nights
It started six months ago when Steven Baker was lounging around on his couch channel-surfing and stumbled across a poker tournament. He was intrigued and soon hooked. Before long he was inviting his St Kilda teammates around for card nights and finding fellow poker devotees at other clubs as the latest craze in AFL ranks gathered momentum.
The Article Scott Gullan/HeraldSun/13Jan05
Bite on Baker
St Kilda hard nut Steven Baker had his finger bitten during a mugging on an end-of-season trip to Barcelona. Three months on, Baker is still sporting the scars from the attack, with the nail on the finger yet to heal fully. "It was a pretty messy incident, pretty scary," he said. Baker and his older brother Mike were walking home along the narrow streets of the Spanish city after a night out when they were confronted by a group of people. They initially seemed friendly and managed to separate the pair before Steven heard his brother scream and raced back to find him being attacked by four men. "It was a big set-up with the four girls there to lead me away so the four blokes could attack my brother," Baker said. "When I saw they had him down, I went in and one of them bit my finger . . . I lost the plot after that."
The Article Scott Gullan/HeraldSun/12Jan05
Koschitzke tipped to lead Saints
St Kilda midfielder Luke Ball has distanced himself from the Saints' captaincy this season, nominating Justin Koschitzke as the frontrunner. Ball is part of an expanded eight-man leadership group from which the Saints will select a successor to 2005 skipper Nick Riewoldt under the club's rotation policy. Matt Maguire, Nick Dal Santo, Xavier Clarke and Stephen Milne have joined the leadership group this year, with Aaron Hamill, Stephen Powell and Max Hudghton stepping down. Ball, joint best-and-fairest winner with Steven Baker last year, and Koschitzke are the clear favourites to follow Hamill (2004), Lenny Hayes (2005) and Riewoldt in the role
The Article Rebecca Williams/HeraldSun/12Jan05
Younger Saints arise
St Kilda will enter the 2006 season with a new leadership group in place, and star midfielder Luke Ball yesterday tipped the versatile Justin Koschitzke as the man most likely to take over the club captaincy. Speaking before a pre-season session in the rain at Brighton Grammar School, Ball said that Aaron Hamill, Stephen Powell and Max Hudghton had stepped aside to make way for four young guns, increasing the leadership group to eight. Ball, Koschitzke, Nick Riewoldt and Lenny Hayes remain in the group. "Matt Maguire, Nick Dal Santo, Xavier Clarke and Stephen Milne have joined the group," Ball said. "Aaron and Max and Powelly have dropped out this year, so it's a pretty new look and young group. I think Lenny is the oldest guy in it at 26, so it's a bit of a changing of the guard."
The Article Dan Oakes/TheAge/12Jan05
Saints put fitness first
Midfielder Luke Ball believes the Saints are heading into 2006 very well-placed fitness-wise under the club's new fitness manager, Craig Starcevich. Speaking at the Saints' Wednesday morning training session at Brighton Grammar, Ball said there had been a clear change of emphasis under Starcevich in a bid to address the spate of soft tissue injuries that kept key players sidelined for long periods in 2005.
The Article Angus Morgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/11Jan05
McGuane talks with Saints on coaching role
Former Collingwood premiership player Mick McGuane last night confirmed his interest in St Kilda's vacant assistant coaching position. McGuane, who has been working with Richmond in a part-time role analysing the opposition for senior coach Terry Wallace, was recently interviewed by St Kilda senior coach Grant Thomas and his lieutenants Matt Rendell and Jason Cripps. McGuane has been working at Richmond as an opposition analyst - what is usually known in the football industry as a "forward scout" - and, in a vote of confidence by senior coach Terry Wallace, had just been appointed head of the Tigers' scouting, responsible for coordinating research on all 16 clubs.
The Article Jake Niall/TheAge/09Jan05
Saints in World Wars. Legends of the game - Peter Chitty
Peter Chitty played 2 games for the Saints in 1936 after being recruited from Albury. Born in March 1912 he was 24 when he made his VFL debut. His entry in the Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers simply reads 'Peter L.A Chitty (StK)-1936, 2 games 0 Goals (b.11 March 1912,170 cms,70kgs). Ex Albury.' The full Peter Chitty football story however is not so well known. In fact Peter Chitty achieved one of the most remarkable accomplishments in Australian Football. He was the only winner of the Changi Brownlow medal!
The Article Allan Grant/saints.com.au/09Jan05
18,000 achieved!
The St Kilda Football Club has joined up 18,000 members pre Christmas for the first time ever. The Club set itself a goal to reach this milestone as we wanted to exceed the total membership figure of 2002 which was 17,696. This shows that the Club has come a long way in 3 seasons. This is a great start to achieving the ultimate goal in 2006 of 35,000 members.
The Article saints.com.au/22Dec05
Saints burning up the track
The Saints are sure to feel the heat next season, and they got an early taste yesterday with a summer training run at Brighton Grammar. As the mercury climbed, St Kilda players had the opportunity to show off some post-season work in the gym. Matt Maguire has clearly been hitting the weights, and the zinc cream, while opposition defenders will be delighted to learn Aaron Hamill has bulked up even more. He has also had a visit to the barber, avoiding the need for a headband such as the one used by Luke Ball.
The Article HeraldSun/21Dec05
Stars Shine for Kids at Monash Medical Centre saints.com.au/22Dec05
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