St Kilda Football Club
The St Kilda Football Club is an Australian football team from Melbourne . The club plays in the Australian Football League , the highest league of the sport in Australia . The Saints have been playing at the Etihad Stadium since 2000, which has a capacity of 56,000. The club colors are red, black and white.
history
The founding phase
The club was largely founded in 1873 by members of the South Yarra Football Club , which had disbanded a year earlier. St. Kilda initially played in a stadium called the Alapaca Paddock . The membership of St. Kilda grew rapidly, also because shortly after it was founded, it merged with another local club, Prahran Football Club . When the Victoria Football Association , the AFL's predecessor, was founded in 1877 , the Saints were among the founding members. In 1901 the Saints moved to the Junction Oval Stadium . The first few years in the league, later renamed the Victoria Football League, were not particularly successful. It wasn't until 1907 that you could qualify for the finals for the first time, but had to admit defeat to Carlton , just like a year later. In 1913 they reached the grand finale, but eventually lost to Fitzroy . Two years later, the club changed its club colors because they matched those of Germany, the enemy of the World War. This was only reversed in 1923 when the old colors were used again. There was no play in 1916 and 1917 because of the war.
After the First World War
After the game was resumed in 1918, the finals could be reached again, but in the first round they lost to Collingwood . In the following years, the club was able to establish itself as a competitive member of the league, but without achieving major success. The player Colin Watson became the first Saints player to win the Brownlow Medal in 1925 , the league's top player award. In 1929 they reached the finals again but lost again to Carlton. In the 1930s there were no major successes except again unsuccessful reaching the Finals in 1939, where you had to admit defeat Collingwood. In the 1940s and 1950s that followed, the Saints could not keep up with the big clubs and mostly had to be content with the lower places in the table. However, Brian Gleeson was the second time a player from the club won the Brownlos Medal in 1957. He was followed in 1958 by Neil Roberts and in 1959 by Verdun Howell . In the 1964 season, the last home game took place in the Junction Oval. St. Kilda moved to the Moorabbin Oval Stadium the following season
The successful years
In the mid-1960s, times were more successful for the Saints. Shortly after the stadium change in 1965 they were able to complete the regular season as first in the table, but lost in the Grand Final against Essendon. A year later they moved into the Grand Final again and this time won. The Saints beat Collingwood just 74:73. This meant that the club's only championship to date could be won. In 1968 the finals were reached again, but St. Kilda lost to Geelong in the semifinals. In the following years 1970 to 1974 the team was able to reach the finals four times, but they only reached the Grand Final in 1971. This they lost against Hawthorne with 82:75. At the end of the 1970s the club was struggling with serious financial problems and after some players had to be sold and given away, there was no more money for new players. That changed when former player and millionaire Lindsay Fox became the club's director. He restructured the Saints and introduced a sustainable youth policy. The 80s passed without any major successes, also because financially it became increasingly tight.
Waverley Park, home of the Saints 1993–99
The Etihad Stadium, home of the Saints
Nick Riewoldt, current captain of the Saints
The presence
Just one year after Ken Sheldon was appointed as the new coach, the team managed to qualify for the finals in 1991 and 1992. Both times the team was eliminated in the semi-finals. In 1993 the Saints moved to the much larger Waverley Park stadium in which the Saints played up to and including the 1999 season. The Morrabin Oval has been used as a training facility ever since. In 1997 St. Kilda reached the Grand Final for the fifth time in its history, but lost it with 125: 94 against Adelaide. In 2000 they moved again to the Etihad Stadium , which is still played today. In 2004 the Saints won the AFL's preseason competition, the Wizard Home Loans Cup . In the final Geelong was defeated with 98:76. Overall, St. Kilda has been able to establish itself as the top team in the league since 2000. Since 2004, with the exception of the 2007 season, the Saints have managed to qualify for the finals every year. In 2009 they even made it to the Grand Final after finishing the regular season as champions. However, the game was lost 80:68 against Geelong. In 2010, Coach Ross Lyon's team reached the Grand Final again. Before that, Geelong had been beaten in a final game for the first time ever. In the Grand Final they first reached a 68:68 draw against Collingwood. In the replay, however, the Saints were clearly inferior to Collingwood and lost 108: 52. Since then, however, a steady decline in sport has set in, culminating in the "win" of the Wooden spoon in the 2014 season.
successes
Victorian Football League 1966
Grand Finals 1913, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1997, 2009, 2010
Finalist 1907, 1908, 1913, 1918, 1929, 1939, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 , 2011
AFL preseason cup 1996, 2004, 2008