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St Kilda's 2003 report card
Grant Thomas took his young Saints from five wins to 11, which was as much as could have been expected. There was the required development from his host of kids, the only concern being too many losses by huge margins. His "zero tolerance" comments when axing Matthew Capuano caused a stir, but St Kilda may benefit long-term from his strong stance.6/10
More - Jon Anderson - HeraldSun - 05Sept03

Milne, Matera, Farmer, Medhurst and Neon Leon
All cast out of the same mould, one positional players who can be too easily shut down when the crunch comes against 'real' opposition. It would be interesting to see how many goals these types kick against 'lesser teams' and how many against quality opposition. In my opinion unless a pocket specialist can have a run up on the flank on his lean days his team value is minimal in the long term . . . trade milne while he still has some value in the market
Saintsational Fan Forum Thread - Rogerwa

The Rotating captains Policy
Rogerwa: Both sides put up good arguments for and against rotating captains. At the end of the day all we want is a flag and if that comes about by rotating captains or sticking with one captain I couldn't give two hoots, as long as that flag/flags come our way. Reading further into the rotating captain plan it cannot be succesfull unless it is carried out over a decent period of time . . . 7 to 10 yrs at least. It's no good setting it in motion and handing the reins over to another person/coach/administrator who may have differing views and dismantle the idea after taking control . . . i.e. If Thommo coaches for the next five years it continues, if Wallace (example only) takes over and dismantles the idea it makes the captaincy a joke . . .
Saintsational Fan Forum Thread - st.rob8 - Saintsational Forum Thread

All-Australian, all arguable
Naming the All-Australian team is an important but thankless task for the eight selectors involved. Conservatively, there are 40 players with some sort of claim on just 22 spots, so almost as many footballers will end up disappointed as honoured. There are no formal criteria for selection, which can make even the most considered judgements seem contentious.
More - Rohan Connolly - The Age - 07Sept03

Mitchell 1. Polak 2. Koschitzke 3.
Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell is the National AFL Rising Star winner for 2003. The 20-year-old midfielder polled 33 votes in the award, seven clear of his nearest rival, Fremantle defender Graham Polak. St Kilda midfielder Luke Ball finished third on 17 votes, ending the Saints' run that had produced the last two Rising Stars in Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke.
National AFL Rising Star winner for 2003: 1 - Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn) - 33 votes, 2 - Graham Polak (Fremantle - 26, 3 - Luke Ball (St Kilda) - 17, 4 - Daniel Wells (Kangaroos) - 11, 5 - Adam Schneider (Sydney) - 8, 6 - Ashley Sampi (West Coast) - 4, 7 - Michael Osborne (Hawthorn) - 3, 8 - Marc Bullen (Essendon) - 2, 9 - Byron Schammer (Fremantle) - 1,
More - Barry Levinson - (via) saints.com.au - 04Sept03
Hawks' Mitchell wins 2003 Rising Star - AAP - HeraldSun - 04Aug03

Dr Dans Player and Coach Review 2003
Xavier Clarke. - Hit and miss season. Full of highs and lows. at 19, won't reach his potential for another 2 years if players of his build and frame are anything to go by. Will be a class winger as GT trains him (BP, FP, HFF, Wing this season). I suspect GT EXPECTS great things from Clarke, and hense the punishing tasks he's been given. Worked harder than Ball, Dal etc by playing nearly every game this season, even when form hasn't warranted it. GT pushed Clarke, but maybe thats whats needed to get the best from this laconic inconic genius 6/10 (but I have every faith that this will average out to 9/10 in two years time!)
More - All Player Reviews - DanWarna - Saintsational Fan Forum - 03Sept03

Darrel Baldock to present Norm Smith Medal
Elsie Rose, the wife of Collingwood legend Bob Rose, will present the premiership cup to the winning team at this month's Grand Final. And St Kilda and Footscray legends Darrel Baldock and Charlie Sutton will also be involved in the celebrations. Baldock, captain of the Saints' 1966 premiership side, will present the Norm Smith Medal to the best player in the Grand Final.
More - Michael Stevens - HeraldSun - 03Sept03

Let's cut the poor kid some slack
One television station went so far as to say Brendon Goddard had been cleared of any involvement. Where was the suggestion he had been involved? Can there be a clearer example of guilt by association? Goddard is a boarder at Caulfield Grammar; his father and mother, Patti, separated seven years ago. There is an undeniable link and we can argue "public interest", but there's also the question of fairness and privacy. "I think it's extremely unfair," St Kilda chief executive Brian Waldron said yesterday. "We all know they (footballers) are public property, but people should take a breath and realise he's an 18-year-old kid completing his schooling. All he's doing is using his God-given talent. You see and read all the reports and you think, 'What has the kid done to deserve this?'."
More - Mike Sheehan - HeraldSun - 03Aug03

Goddard's dad in dock
During a brief hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court, Beau Goddard and six others were remanded in custody to reappear on December 19. None applied for bail. Magistrate Jelena Popovic extended Robert Goddard's bail to the same date. An earlier out-of-sessions hearing was told that Beau Goddard and six others were accused of trafficking 350-gram blocks of heroin worth between $105,000 and $115,000.
More - Katie Lapthorne - HeraldSun - 03Sept03

Goddard's father in drug bust
The father and half-brother of St Kilda star Brendon Goddard have been arrested in connection with a $3m heroin bust. Beau Goddard, 25, the footballer's half-brother, was among seven people charged with trafficking heroin. And his father, Robert, 46, was charged with a drug offence and possessing the proceeds of crime. They alleged Goddard sold blocks of heroin for between $105,000 and $115,000. When asked by the bail justice if he was applying for bail, Goddard said: "Yeah, if I can get bail. I had no comment at the (police) interview and I state my innocence now. I just want to go home." Mr Goddard said he did not feel an urgency to tell his son. He did not believe the charges to be serious. "We haven't talked yet to Brendon. They are out celebrating," he said. "I will tell him the first chance I get. I'll tell him when I see him."
More - Ian Haberfield - HeraldSun - 31Aug03

Hamill keen to lead on, but Thomas firm on rotation
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas yesterday said the greatest sign that the club's rotational captaincy policy was a success would be if it proved virtually impossible to separate candidates when the time came for the appointment. Current captain Aaron Hamill, who will finish his stint as St Kilda skipper today, admitted this week that he would "love to be captainagain. On the current policy I'd doubt it very much (being reappointed) . . . I haven't conceded, but that's just the way it goes and I'm very comfortable with it," Hamill said.
More - Melissa Ryan - TheAgeRealFooty - 30Aug03

The eight we had to have
Malthouse's gripe is that the AFL's highly regulated system, with its priority draft picks for clubs that fail dismally in a given year, provides reward for mediocrity. He believes that even in this salary-capped land of the level playing field, all clubs may be equal but some clubs are more equal than others. Rod Butterss, the St Kilda club president and businessman, has no doubts the rules work. He believes the emergence this year of the financially strong at the top of the ladder is 'nothing but cyclical'. "I think the AFL have done an outstanding job in introducing an environment . . . that truly does even out the competition," Butterss said. "In a unique marketplace like Australia, with a fairly small population compared to global markets, regulation has been fundamental to growing a national competition. From that perspective, I'm very comfortable that the environment has the capacity to deliver both an evenness and a fairness."
More - Mark Fuller - HeraldSun - 31Aug03

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