Complex sentence: St Kilda finished second in both 2009 and 1997 after qualifying for the 2009 and 1997 finals series in first position and winning the 2009 and 1997 minor premierships and were eliminated in preliminary finals in 2004,2005 and 2008.
Split into simpler sentences: St Kilda finished second in both 1997 and 2009 after qualifying for the finals series in first position and winning the minor premierships. They were eliminated in preliminary finals in 2004,2005 and 2008.