Saints head to Albury/Wodonga for AFL Community Camp
The St Kilda Football Club is putting the final touches to an itinerary which will see the players and coaching staff in Albury/Wodonga for 3 days, 6-8 February 2006 for the annual AFL Community Camp. The AFL Community Camp is part of a national program that will see all 16 AFL Clubs in regional and remote communities across Australia, giving locals an opportunity to get close to football at the highest level. St Kilda's camp will involve activities such as AFL Auskick clinics, community visits and a Community Footy F o r u m for local sports club administrators, coaches, umpires, players and medical trainers.
The Article St Kilda Football Club/saints.com.au/03Feb06
Tribunal reduces value of 'priors'
The AFL will reduce the weight of prior suspensions as a factor in determining penalties for players found guilty of offences in the coming season. That was the most significant of several changes to come out of a post-season review, after the AFL significantly revamped its tribunal system for 2005. In a related change, minor offences - such as wrestling and involvement in a melee - will not prevent a player receiving a 25 per cent discount for having a clean record for the previous five years. The reduction in the impact of prior offences on penalties has the potential to make a big difference in cases in which players have a large number of previous suspensions. For example, Brisbane Lions star Jonathan Brown entered the 2005 season with a potential 110 per cent penalty loading because of his previous suspensions. Under the new system, that would have been reduced to 50 per cent.
The Article Sam Lienert/TheAustralian/06Feb06
AFL judicial revamp Rohan Connolly/The Age/07Feb06
"No stone will be left unturned in planning and preparation . . . The gap between the top and bottom clubs is really narrow . . . Grant's philosophy revolves around doing the fundamentals really well, about attitude and effort." Jason Mifsud - TheStandard
Mifsud of Koroit
At the end of last season, few footballers could have been as satisfied as Koroit playing-coach Jason Mifsud. His performances will be spoken about in football circles for years to come. Last July, Mifsud was captain of the Victorian Country team that played the Victorian Amateurs at Barooga. With five goals as a midfielder and floating forward, he played a large hand in the country team's comfortable win. But it was back at Koroit, a club seeking its first premiership in 30 years, that Mifsud truly made his mark. Late in the second quarter of the Hampden league grand final at Warrnambool's Reid Oval, Camperdown was threatening to thrash Koroit. "We just couldn't get the ball," Mifsud said.
The Article Paul Daffy/australianrules.com.au
Mifsud steps out with Saints Andrew Thompson/WarrnaboolStandard/03Feb06
Dal Santo in terrific Nick
Young gun builds hopes as Saints prepare to take next step. Regarded as a Rolls Royce on the field, Nick Dal Santo now holds a similarly regal rank within his club. Comfortably voted into the Saints' eight-man leadership group for this season, the boy from Bendigo is riding a bullet to future captaincy under the coach's rotation policy. It was only last year that Dal Santo nominated himself and was overlooked for such a role, despite his sublime skills making him one of the most highly rated players in the competition. Two years ago Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy compared Dal Santo with triple Brownlow medallist Ian Stewart and Saints legend Neil Roberts touted him as a ready-made winner of footy's highest individual honour.
The Article Jackie Epstein/HeraldSun/05Feb06
Taggers put on notice
A fourth field umpire will be used in NAB Cup matches to highlight illegal tagging at stoppages. At a Telstra Dome launch yesterday to announce National Australia Bank's sponsorship of the pre-season competition, AFL chief Andrew Demetriou announced the introduction of four field umpires for the series, which begins in three weeks time. Two umpires will line up in the centre square, one to bounce the ball and the other to spot players intent on blocking or scragging their opponents. Illegal tagging has been debated in recent seasons, prompting the AFL rules committee to try to find a remedy.
The Article Jon Anderson/TheAustralian/03Feb06
Umpires to rotate roles in country trials Grantley Bernard/HeraldSun/04Feb06
Pre-season trial of four field umpires Jake Niall/TheAge/03Feb06
Most memorable practice match incidents Michael Coulter/TheAge/04Feb06
AFL's punt into China Matthew Shulz/HeraldSun/05Feb06
Settle down everyone! Rod was answering a question at the AGM last Sunday. The question was; "Is the club looking at extending the current club song"? Both he and Ross Levin (Director) answered that people like Ross Wilson and Michael Godinski had spoken to them about it and they said "Yeah, We'll look at it in due course, but it is not a priority" As per usual, this has been grabbed by the media and blown completely out of proportion! - Eastern/Saintsational
Saints want starch in the march
. . . When The Saints Go Marching In is a timeless and much-covered spiritual classic but as St Kilda's song of celebration, it might soon be given the rock 'n' roll treatment by Ross Wilson, one of the royals of Australian music . . . Butterss and the St Kilda directors were asked about a possible change of the song at Sunday's annual general meeting, at which it was revealed that Mushroom Records czar and former St Kilda vice-president Michael Gudinski had agitated for an updated version and even put together a band that recorded a rock rendition.
The Article Stephen Rielly/The Age/01Feb06
Is this the Saints' holy grail? Geoff McClure/The Age/06Feb06
Jack Howard's Proposed Anthem The Age/06Feb06
AOK Saints Anthem aussierulesok.com.au
Away strip edict for clubs
The AFL will make it compulsory that all clubs wear alternate away playing strips. The league yesterday informed club chief executives and marketing managers that they must provide an alternate away guernsey to avoid clashing with similar opposition colours. Under the heading of updated commercial operations guidelines, a letter from AFL general manager of commercial operations Gillon McLachlan was sent to the 16 clubs.
The Article Greg Denham/TheAustralian/02Feb06
It's our year: X-Man
As one of the new members of St Kilda's expanded leadership group, speedy utility Xavier Clarke has no doubt the Saints are well-placed to win a much sought-after premiership in 2006. Following a disappointing 31-point loss to eventual premier Sydney in last year's preliminary finals - when the Saints gave up a slender lead at three-quarter time - they are widely expected to strongly contest again for the flag with what is considered one of the most talented playing lists in the AFL. Clarke, 22, admits the mood at Moorabbin is one of expectation and a premiership is firmly in the club's sights.
The Article Scott Spits/Sportal/saints.com.au/01Feb06
Watts feels at home at Moorabbin
With his father Jim as St Kilda's chief executive, you would expect Fergus Watts to cop a fair bit of baiting from his teammates. But the strapping 20-year-old says most of the ribbing has been good-natured and not really a factor since he was traded from Adelaide in October. "It hasn't really hampered me or helped me in any way. It's just like being at any other footy club," Watts said. "It would probably be different if your old man was the coach or something, but it's not an issue at all."
The Article Michael Stevens/HeraldSun/30Jan06
Saints defence must lift: Maguire
St Kilda defender Matt Maguire says the Saints backline will have to step up now that key tall Luke Penny has retired. Penny produced a shock last November when he announced his retirement at just 24. Restricted to just nine matches in 2005 due to persistent knee injuries he believed he was unable to continue at the highest level. Penny is no longer on St Kilda's list despite having re-signed for four years earlier in 2005. "All of us are really going to have to take on an extra role, because he was always one that could take the really big-bodied blokes," Maguire told afl.com.au. "I'm only six-foot-three-and-a-bit and Luke just had that little bit of extra size about him that Max (Hudghton) and I and Sammy Fisher don't have."
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/30Jan06
"This year is one of huge expectations and we're under no illusions about that. We expect to finish top four, we expect to play in a grand final and we expect to win premierships," (Grant) Thomas said. "That's no different from a lot of other teams. I think there's probably eight teams that think they can win the premiership this year and 16 who believe they can finish in the finals. That's the nature of the business we're in." The Age
Expectant Saints talk premierships
The St Kilda annual meeting yesterday morning was an informal and modest occasion. Directors wore open-necked shirts and jeans rather than team blazers and ties. They sat before and spoke to fewer than 100, mostly elderly fans in a corporate-grey conference room situated at the rear of the Moorabbin campus of Holmesglen TAFE. But if at first the gathering resembled something more like a monthly meeting of the local pigeon fanciers' club than a chance for a national football club and its fans to reflect on the previous year, the illusion was short-lived. The Saints made more than $1.4 million last season and revealed yesterday that they have spent almost $1.2 million of it on the team - in the form of new and extra coaches, training and medical facilities - in a bid to add a second premiership to their first, won 40 years ago. They are, if not wealthy, no longer impoverished and very nearly unrecognisable to anyone familiar with the spectacular amateurism of the past, those times when it was more appropriate to call them the Aints. These are strange days for the club, for quite apart from having money in the bank, it now has to do something that it has rarely, if ever, had to do before. Live up to expectations.
The Article Stephen Rielly/The Age/30Jan06
Maguire ambitions on hold
. . . Maguire said having firmly etched a place in the best 22 meant that he felt comfortable within himself to take on added responsibility in 2006. "For myself, last year in the backline I tried to take a bit more responsibility, along with Maxy (Hudghton)," Maguire said. "The two of us really tried to lead the backline and set the example down there and I just thought that this was a natural progression. I've been doing this for a year and I felt like I cemented my spot and just felt that it was time to take a bit more control."
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/27Jan06
"Mick McGuane is a study in substance over style. An astute thinker of the game, the former premiership midfielder has finally been given his break at AFL level as an assistant coach at St Kilda." Michael Gleeson
Saints careful with Kosi
St Kilda's Justin Koschitzke has not yet returned to full training after surgery to his right-knee patella tendon during the off-season. Veterans Robert Harvey and Stephen Powell, along with Raphael Clarke, also were restricted to running drills as their teammates trained in sweltering conditions at Moorabbin yesterday. Coach Grant Thomas said Koschitzke was no longer troubled by the right quadricep (thigh) tear that saw him miss the Saints' finals campaign. "He's just had his knee cleaned up and he's very frustrated because he'd like to be out doing everything," Thomas said. "But we've learned a lot about Kosi, so we're just taking a very careful approach."
The Article Michael Stevens/HeraldSun/28Jan05
Punting on Mick
"I reckon the only way to eradicate this perception about my attitude is if you speak to any footy person I played with or coached me or I coached. They know when you get to the point of footy I was locked in. I tried to be the best I could be, you don't win a couple of Copelands and run second in another, be a member of a premiership side, unless you are totally committed and switched on to be an elite performer."
The Article Michael Gleeson/The Age/24Jan05
Bana puts Saints before success Chloe Adams/HeraldSun/23Jan05
Newest Saint is Jason Who?
When St Kilda announced it had appointed two new assistant coaches last week, there was a ring of "Jason Who?" about one of them - in much the same way that one famous newspaper headline asked rhetorically - "Peter Who?" on the selection of spinner Peter Taylor for the final Ashes test against England in 1986/87. Jason Mifsud joined 1990 Collingwood premiership hero Mick McGuane as one of the two new Saints to join Grant Thomas' coaching staff. The football fraternity knows all about McGuane, but what about Mifsud? If you look closely at the 32-year-old's career in the Victorian Country Football League, there is little to doubt about his ability as a footballer and integrity as a person.
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/19Jan05
Mifsud promises his best
An email from the St Kilda football department got the ball rolling for Jason Mifsud, who then underwent an exhaustive interview process before being appointed one of two new assistant coaches for the Saints. Although the 32-year-old knew through the wider football community that St Kilda was on the hunt for a couple of assistant coaches to Grant Thomas, he hinted that it was only when the Saints contacted him that he threw all of his energies into obtaining the role. "Obviously these positions aren't advertised and it's very much a searched exercise the clubs go through and I just received an email from the footy club one day - and then I spoke to Matt Rendell and I coordinated the interview from there," Mifsud told afl.com.au. "It was very left-field from the initial contact, and I was really ambivalent in regards to what it was all about and after a couple of discussions, I was really excited to learn that it was the assistant coaching role."
The Article Matt Burgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/19Jan05
"Both Mick (McGuane) and Jason (Mifsud) have great qualities, terrific track records and are the type of driven guys that continually deliver successful outcomes . . . We are extremely pleased with their appointments and look forward to the influence they will have on the St Kilda Football Club from this point on." Grant Thomas.
Saint Jason
. . . He said he was being realistic about the new job. "All the hard work is in front of me, so I'm pretty realistic about it," he said. "I'm excited to get the opportunity coming from a country level." Mifsud said he wasn't nervous about the upcoming year at St Kilda. "I've been realistic about coaching for 10 years," he said. "Being in a health industry and managing people, it's no different . . . There's some more scrutiny around it but I have no great fear or apprehension (surrounding the position)." Mifsud was drafted to St Kilda in 1993 but never played a senior game. "It's been a full-circle aspiration," he said, "It's something I'm excited to be and excited by. Grant (St Kilda coach Grant Thomas) has been a great mentor."
The Article Liz McKinnon and Greg Gliddon/Warrnambool Standard/13Jan05
Mifsud interviewed by St Kilda for key job Liz McKinnon/The Standard/29Dec05
"Not everyone who has a critical opinion of something we do is a moron. We have not won anything yet so we are open to critisism. Like it or not we have a tragic history of f***ing up, which is why it will be a fairytale to win, and it would ease the pain of long suffering supporters. This history/culture stigma will stay with us until we do something (ala Hawthorn and N.Melb in the 70's-90's) they were hideous up until then." st.mart/Saintsational
Thomas lauds new assistants
"We're really confident that the two guys we've selected - are going to have an immediate impact with our club," Thomas said before training at Brighton Grammar on Friday. "It was a fairly exhaustive search and we were probably a lot more patient than we have in the past and I think that's paid dividends." The appointment of Mifsud - a successful Victorian country league coach without AFL experience - raised a few eyebrows in AFL circles, but Thomas was glowing in his assessment of his new assistant's qualities. "He's a guy that's got a huge work ethic and whatever needs to be done he'll do and whilst he's not well-known - I'm sure none of the players will know him - I'm sure he'll earn their respect really quickly," he said.
The Article Jason Phelan/Sportal/saints.com.au/13Jan05
Saints appoint assistants
. . . Former Magpie great McGuane was understandably pleased with the outcome. "I am tremendously excited and I am really fortunate with the timing of my appointment in relation to St Kilda being a club on the rise," McGuane said. "I look forward to assisting them towards the ultimate goal." Mifsud, who had formerly coached Koroit in the Hampden Football Netball League, echoed McGuane's sentiments. "It is an unbelievable opportunity and I am very excited about making a significant contribution to the St Kilda Football Club in its quest to be a power in the AFL," he said.
The Article Jason Phelan/Sportal/saints.com.au/12Jan05
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