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Follow this link for: 2008 ARCHIVES St Kilda's communications manager Former South Australian Matt Schmidt has just scored the job as general manager communications for the St Kilda footy club. His brother Chris played for the Brisbane Lions and cousin Tim plays for the Sydney Swans. Chris, Tim and Matt - who used to work for Fosters - all grew up in Robertstown, 130km north of Adelaide. saintsational.com 'snakeman' Source: Adelaide Sunday Mail (page 110)
Fitness maestro rebuilding Saints It has been eight weeks since Misson left the Sydney Swans and took up the position as head of fitness at Moorabbin, an off-field recruiting coup for the injury prone Saints. Yesterday, after the club's last training session before the Christmas break, Misson said it had been a steep learning curve getting to know the players, their bodily quirks and injury histories. At Sydney, Misson was credited with helping to develop a system based on individual programs for players that gave the club the best injury record in the league. So can he replicate that at St Kilda, a club that has one of the most talented lists but finished ninth this year, held back from on-field success because of injuries? "We hope so. One of the biggest stats we got out of the Swans was if you do the majority of the pre-season without too many hiccups it sets you up for a pretty good year, so at the moment we have a lot of guys here tracking that way," Misson said. "There is a bit of an air of anticipation. We are playing a straight bat and keeping a lid on it, all those cliches, but we have had a really good last month and everyone is starting to gel. The medical and fitness team and the relationship with the coaching staff is very similar to the Swans, and the talent in the playing group is equal, if not a little bit better than the Swans, so if we can keep them on the park, who knows?" More Jenny McAsey/TheAustralian/22Dec07
Saints' training has new spark St Kilda is likely to be in its best injury position for years when the pre-season matches kick off next year. Defender Matt Maguire is expected to be fit for Round 1 after a stress fracture in his foot while Michael Gardiner, Robert Harvey and Fraser Gehrig are training well. "The boot has just come off and Matt's walking around," football manager Matthew Drain said. "He'll probably start running when we get back from the Christmas break but, certainly for the start of the season, he'll be ready to go. Fraser has gone overseas for a trip already planned and I've been really impressed with Gardiner. He's very, very realistic and he's got to get back on the park and play some games. But he's going well." The Saints have earned a reputation as the AFL's most injury-prone side in recent years, but hope the recruitment of fitness boss David Misson will turn their fortunes around. Misson has spent the past seven years working with Sydney, the club considered the benchmark for durability in the AFL. More Jackie Epstein/HeraldSun/23Dec07
Final 2007 training session The last training session in 2007. The coaching staff and players will return to Moorabbin on 7th January. TRAINING: REPORTS | IMAGES Saints' training has new spark St Kilda is likely to be in its best injury position for years when the pre-season matches kick off next year. Defender Matt Maguire is expected to be fit for Round 1 after a stress fracture in his foot while Michael Gardiner, Robert Harvey and Fraser Gehrig are training well. "The boot has just come off and Matt's walking around," football manager Matthew Drain said. "He'll probably start running when we get back from the Christmas break but, certainly for the start of the season, he'll be ready to go. Fraser has gone overseas for a trip already planned and I've been really impressed with Gardiner. He's very, very realistic and he's got to get back on the park and play some games. But he's going well." The Saints have earned a reputation as the AFL's most injury-prone side in recent years, but hope the recruitment of fitness boss David Misson will turn their fortunes around. Misson has spent the past seven years working with Sydney, the club considered the benchmark for durability in the AFL. More Jackie Epstein/HeraldSun/23Dec07
Nick's heart at Saints but leaves door ajar Nick Riewoldt, the best player produced by the local junior system, doubts if he will ever get the chance to play back home with a new Gold Coast AFL team. Contracted to St Kilda until the end of the 2010 season, Riewoldt said all his energies are being channelled towards helping the Saints break their 41-year flag drought. But Riewoldt left the door slightly ajar by conceding that, if circumstances change, he would not rule out a return to Queensland. "My heart is firmly set on winning a premiership with St Kilda," he said. "From a footy person's perspective, a team up there would be great -- but all my focus is on staying with the Saints and getting that flag. Down the track, who knows what could happen with trades and all that." The AFL's decision to have a 17th franchise up and running on the Coast by 2011 at the latest has sparked speculation on which players could be enticed here. Riewoldt, St Kilda's superstar forward, certainly heads the wish list of anybody who will be associated with recruiting for the new club. He is the dux of a list of 14 Gold Coast juniors currently contracted to AFL clubs. Other key potential recruits raised through the Coast junior system include Ricky Petterd (Melbourne), Andrew Raines (Richmond), Michael Osborne (Hawthorn), Kurt Tippett (Adelaide), Sam Gilbert (St Kilda), Ben Hudson (Western Bulldogs) and even Daniel Merrett and Wayde Mills (Brisbane). Sources close to Riewoldt say the champion forward would love to be a part of a new team based on the Gold Coast. By the time Riewoldt comes out of his contract he will be 28, still very much with a few seasons of football left in him, although St Kilda are certain to extend his current deal to keep him in the red, white and black. The blond star has won four best and fairests with the Saints since he started there in 2001. More Terry Wilson/GoldCoastNews/13Dec07
In good Nick, Saints fighting fit December 12, 2007 St Kilda star Nick Dal Santo says the players are showing greater accountability for their fitness as they seek a head start for season 2008. Dal Santo admitted the Saints' fitness last season was not at the level it should be and the players had taken it upon themselves to lift their work rate this summer. "We needed to change a few things and I think that was driven by the players," Dal Santo said. "We have taken some actions during the off-season break to come back in good shape. And also the way we have trained over the past several weeks of pre-season to get ourselves in as good a shape as we can be." More Rebecca Williams/HeraldSun/12Dec07
Jeld-Wen is the largest privately-owned company in Oregon, and is controlled by four siblings, Jewel, Evelyn, Lester and Dick, whose father Dick Wendt founded the company in the 1960's. It has revenues estimated at $3 billion worldwide, and employs approximately 25,000 people, nearly three thousand of whom are Australian. 'Oh When the Saints' & 'mick13' saintsational.com Saints to open window of opportunity St Kilda has signed a three-year contract believed to be among the most lucrative sponsorship deals in the AFL with international window and door manufacturer Jeld-Wen. The deal replaces the club's naming-rights partnership with telecommunications company Vodafone, which did not renew its contract at the end of this season. Jeld-Wen also has global business interests in real estate, resorts and marketing and three years ago acquired Australian company Corinthian Doors, which will sponsor the Saints' coaches. Club president Greg Westaway said the deal with a global company was among the "key changes" he forecast when his Footy First ticket challenged the former Rod Butterss-led board. "When we challenged we were approached by (Jeld-Wen), who said they would like to be on board, they liked the direction the club was heading. It's a fantastic foundation for us." Westaway said the agreement "completes the commitment to Saints members" to secure a major sponsor. In October the new board vowed to increase spending on the football department after slipping to 11th of the 16 clubs in football expenditure in 2006. In that year the Saints total football outlay was $11.28 million - $2.27 million behind West Coast, which outlaid the fourth highest amount in its premiership season. St Kilda and its new sponsor declined to reveal the amount of the deal, reported by Channel Nine last night to be $6 million, but Corinthian Doors managing director Doug Brown said the company looked forward to a long partnership. "Jeld-Wen are extremely excited to be St Kilda Football Club's major sponsorship partner for the next three years and hopefully beyond as well," he said. The new deal includes company logos on the front and back of St Kilda's jumper, the coach's box and coaches' shirt collars. St Kilda chief executive Archie Fraser, who last month announced that the club would "break even at best" in 2007, said it was thrilled to add a global brand to its sponsorship. More Martin Boulton/RealFooty/12Dec07 www.jeld-wen.com.au Video Sponsorship announcement
Official 2008 Victorian Football League Senior Fixture The official fixture for the 2008 Victorian Football League Season has been released. The fixture incorporates 20 Home and Away Rounds, 2 Split Round weekends and a full competition bye for the Interstate Representative Match to be played in South Australia on Saturday 31st May. Finals Dates are Qualifying and Eliminations Finals: Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th September, Semi Finals: Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September, Preliminary Finals: Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st September, Grand Final: Friday 26th September VFL SENIOR FIXTURE - BY ROUND vfl.footballvic.com.au
VFL SENIOR FIXTURE - BY CLUB vfl.footballvic.com.au
Community Leadership Award Popular Sydney Swans defender Craig Bolton is this year's winner of the AFL Community Leadership Award. Bolton has worked tirelessly with homeless people over the past four years and has been active with the Street Swags organisation. He receives $10,000 from the AFL Foundation which is to be donated to Street Swags, a registered charity providing compact and portable swags to people who are homeless in Sydney and south-east Queensland. More AFL/saints.com.au/19Dec07
Judd the bookies' Brownlow medal favourite Today, when TAB Sportsbet unveils its market for next year's Brownlow Medal, the 2004 medallist will find his name at the top of the list, as an outright $10 favourite, more than half the odds of this year's winner, Jimmy Bartel, and a whopping $31 less than the price of the best-priced fellow Blue, Nick Stevens. Mind you, it's not difficult to understand why TAB Sportsbet reckons Judd is in line to snare his second Brownlow - not only did he start 2007 as the outright favourite but may well have proved the pundits on the money had it not been for injury. He polled votes in eight of the first nine rounds to lead the count at that stage with 16 votes, two ahead of Brisbane Lions' Simon Black, before his well-publicised groin injury took its toll even though he played out most of the rest of the season. Second favourite for the 2008 Brownlow is Geelong's Gary Ablett, who is $12, ahead of Brisbane's Jonathan Brown and West Coast's Daniel Kerr (both $13) and Sydney's dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes ($15). Nick Riewoldt $21, Nick Dal Santo $35, Lenny Hayes $126 More Geoff McClure/TheAge/18Dec07
Graphic 2008 Brownlow Odds
Roos' survival plan to follow Saints strategy One of the central planks of James Brayshaw's survival plan for the Kangaroos will be the adoption of the unique business strategy that enabled the former St Kilda administration of Rod Butterss to post million-dollar profits for many of its years in power. With a keen interest in how the Saints transformed their financial position in the early part of the decade from debt-ridden pauper to consistent seven-figure profit-maker, the new Kangaroos chairman met with Butterss and former St Kilda director Glen Casey six weeks ago. Brayshaw was not in power at the time - he was elected chairman four weeks later - and Butterss and Casey, along with St Kilda directors Ray King and Andrew Bassat, had resigned in the face of a board challenge only weeks earlier. The three discussed what Brayshaw says will now be the fundamental financial principles guiding his attempt to secure a future for the Roos in Melbourne. "I spoke with Rod Butterss and Glen Casey about how they were able to make such a success, a financial success, of St Kilda while working with a revenue base very similar to ours," Brayshaw said. "I went along and basically asked them how they did it, because our revenue is almost identical but we make losses while they make profits." More Stephen Rielly/RealFooty/19Dec07
Butterss happy end to hard year It might have been a tough year for former St Kilda Football Club president Rod Butterss, who was ousted amid a boardroom coup, but it's certainly going to be a merry Christmas. Listed recruitment company Peoplebank has spent $100 million to buy Ambit, the family-owned recruitment company founded by brother Peter Butterss back in 1995. It's a cash deal from Peoplebank, which will merge the two companies into a $500 million recruitment giant with 270 staff and estimated pre-tax earnings for 2008 of $24 million. Ambit, originally ISES IT, was 45% owned by Peter and his wife Rosemary Butterss, nee Raffaele, 45% by Rod Butterss and 10% by former Ambit chief executive Nick Barnett. More Mark Hawthorne?theAge/19Dec07
AFL Announce 2008 Finals Packages The AFL have announced their 2008 Final Series MCG packages. The costs are a little beyond many supporters but it was interesting to note the generosity of the AFL for providing a free Footy Record for those lucky enough to book a ticket. Legends/Hassett/Yarra Park Dining Room Packages - Table of 10 for the four games is $27,500 Medallist/Miller Dining Room Package - Table of 10 for the four games is $26,500. Toyota AFL Grand Final Day Package - Table of 10 in the Hassett/Yarra Park Room is $20,950 or a table of 10 in the Medallist/Barassi Room is $19,950. Elite Suite Package - Table of eight is $19,950. This package includes the four finals series matches at the MCG - a qualifying final, a semi-final, a preliminary final and the Grand Final. Please note that this room does not overlook the ground. More AFL/14Dec07
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