St Kilda FC (AFL)

St.Kilda is an existing club that plays in the Australian Football League, and has previously played in the Victorian FL and the Victorian FA. The club was formed in 1873 and has won one premiership.
== Formation ==
The club was formed almost as an upshot of the folding of the original South Yarra club on April 2, 1873. This was quickly followed by an amalgamation with the original Prahran Football Club which may have amounted to a takeover creating what on paper was a reasonably strong club.
== Early years ==
The club played it's first year as a junior club before being elevated to the senior ranks in 1874. It's first season was not a success finishing last in the rankings in what would become an unfortunate habit. In 1875 the club formed a short lived partnership with University before finishing fifth out of seven teams on it's own again in 1876, with a curious record of five wins, five losses and five draws.
== VFA ==
St Kilda was a founding member of the Victorian Football Association, but they finished on the bottom of the rankings in the first two years before failing to finish the 1879 season. The club was then a junior club until 1886 when they tried again. A tenth place finish out of fifteen clubs was promising, but they slid to fifteenth out of eighteen in 1887. A rise to eighth in 1888 was again promising and the ninth place finish in 1889 was followed by sixth in 1890. But this would be their peak in the VFA. From 1891 to 1896 they finished seventh, ninth, seventh, twelfth, thirteenth (and the wooden spoon again) and ninth.
== Start of the VFL (1897-1907) ==
Many were surprised at St Kilda's admission to the VFL, and this was justified in the first three seasons of the competition as not only did they get the wooden spoon every year, they also failed to win a game - racking up 42 losses in a row. It would be 1900 before St Kilda won a game, the opening round clash with Melbourne by a single point at the Junction Oval. But it would be their only win and another wooden spoon while Melbourne would go on to win the flag that year. There would be just one win in 1901 as well, against Carlton late in the season. 1902 would again be winless.
But things got better finally in 1903 with a leap to fifth place with seven wins and a draw. A slide back to yet another wooden spoon in 1904 didn't instill much confidence despite three wins that year, and it was only one game and one position better in 1905. Six wins in 1906 netted sixth position, and then at last St Kilda made the top four and the finals for the first time in 1907. They finished third and met minor premiers Carlton in their semi final. St Kilda had won the opening round clash at Princes Park but lost the return game at the Junction Oval. Carlton players were generous before the game applauding their opponents, but once the siren blew any generosity disappeared as the final margin was 56 points ending St Kilda's season.
== To World War 1 (1908-1915) ==
St Kilda made the finals again in 1908 only to run into Carlton for a second time and another thrashing - this time by 58 points. In 1909 St Kilda slid back down to the bottom of the ladder and another wooden spoon, followed by another in 1910. A rise to ninth in 1911 wasn't much better, but eighth in 1912 showed some improvement.
In 1913 St Kilda made the finals finishing fourth. They played South Melbourne in their semi final and caused an upset winning their first final by 33 points. They then played minor premiers Fitzroy in the final and caused another upset with a 25 point victory. As minor premiers Fitzroy had the right to challenge and they did with St Kilda hoping to repeat the final result for their first ever premiership. But Fitzroy wouldn't be upset twice and won by 13 points. St Kilda would not make another grand final for 52 years.
In 1914 the club slipped to seventh on the ladder and maintained that position in 1915 as the clouds of World War 1 gathered.
== Post War (1916-1924) ==
The Saints were in recess for two years during the war returning in 1918. The return was a good one as they made the finals finishing fourth, only for Collingwood to end their season in the semi final. A slide to seventh followed in 1919 and another wooden spoon in 1920. In 1921 St Kilda managed to rise a place and then another in 1922, followed by yet another in 1923 - almost as though the Saints were climbing the ladder rung by rung a year. That effort ended in 1924 with a slide back to last before the landscape changed.
== To World War 2 (1925-1942) ==
With the arrival of three new clubs in 1925 the challenge was there for St Kilda to stay above the newbies. For a number years they did, finishing sixth twice over the next four years (in 1925 and 1928) and seventh in 1927. They finished ninth in 1926. In 1929 the Saints made the finals for the first time since 1918 finishing fourth only to be eliminated by Carlton. They slid to eighth in 1930 and ninth in 1931, before dropping in to the bottom three for the first time with the twelve clubs - finishing eleventh and avoiding the wooden spoon by percentage only.
For the next few years St Kilda battled in the middle of the ladder, finishing ninth in 1933, seventh in 1934, fifth in 1935, seventh in 1936, sixth in 1937 and eighth in 1938. It would be in 1939 that the Saints would make the finals again finishing fourth. This time they would win their first final since 1913, defeating Richmond. But it would be Collingwood who would end their season in the preliminary final. World War 2 began and St Kilda dropped back into the bottom three again finishing eleventh avoiding the wooden spoon by a game in 1940. The following year they would finish eleventh again, this time avoiding the bottom by percentage only. As the war intensified in 1942 the Saints managed to find their way to seventh place.
== Post War (1943-1959) ==
In 1943 St Kilda dropped to a familiar spot - the wooden spoon. In fact it was fixtured that the bottom team would not finish the season due to the absence of Geelong because of war time travel restrictions. Things would not improve much for over a decade as the Saints didn't finish higher than ninth from this point to 1957. The only seasons they finished ninth were 1944, 1950, 1953 and 1957. St Kilda added six more wooden spoons in 1945, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954 and 1955 but there was a positive - no winless seasons. In 1946, 1949 and 1956 the club finished eleventh and in 1951 they finished tenth.
It took until 1958 for the Saints to get out of the bottom four, finishing eighth - repeating the dose in 1959. It would lead into brighter times for St Kilda.
== 1960's ==
The Saints started the new decade with a sixth place finish. A change of coach to Allan Jeans in 1961 had St Kilda making the finals for the first time since 1939, finishing third. A nine point loss to Footscray though ended their season. A slip back to sixth followed in 1962 but the Saints were back in 1963 finishing fourth in a very close battle. Another narrow loss, this time to Melbourne, again ended the season at the first hurdle. Another sixth place followed in 1964.
In 1965 St Kilda left the Junction Oval and moved to Moorabbin, with immediate results. The Saints finished on top of the ladder and then despite poor conversion got past Collingwood to enter their first grand final since 1913. It would be Essendon who would oppose them and a poor third quarter cost St Kilda and that elusive flag seemed as far away as ever.
But in 1966 they were back finishing second behind Collingwood. The Magpies were too good in the second semi final, but the Saints bounced back with a strong win over Essendon for another crack. With scores level late in the game it looked like a draw was on the way when Barry Breen managed to get a wild kick away to score a point. It would be the point that would win the game for St Kilda and finally the last of the eight teams that founded the VFL in 1897 had won the premiership.
The Saints would miss the finals in 1967 by a game finishing fifth. In 1968 they managed to hold fourth spot despite a draw with Essendon in the second last round but Geelong took them out comfortably in the first semi final. In 1969 St Kilda finished seventh in their worst season for the decade.
== 1970's ==
The Saints were back in 1970 finishing third, and they faced South Melbourne and won after a strong second half. But Carlton stopped them from entering the grand final. So in 1971 St Kilda made a determined effort and managed to hold Richmond out and finish second. A narrow two point loss to Hawthorn in the second semi final was a setback, but the Saints bounced back against Richmond to face the Hawks in the grand final. In one of the toughest grand finals in history the Saints couldn't hold Hawthorn in the final term and were beaten - and there wouldn't be another grand final for awhile.
In 1972 the final five was introduced, and St Kilda finished fourth after beating Hawthorn in the last round. They played the first ever elimination final against Essendon and scored the comfortable victory, and then followed that with a three goal win over Collingwood in the first semi final. But Carlton stopped them in the preliminary final. In 1973 the Saints finished fifth and again met the Bombers and again won comfortably. But Richmond stopped them in the first semi final in what would be St Kilda's last finals appearance for some time.
In 1974 St Kilda slid to tenth. They climbed to sixth in 1975 but slipped back to ninth in 1976, and then a familiar place for the first time since 1955 - the wooden spoon. A rebound back to sixth followed in 1978 with Geelong denying them a spot in the finals with a win in the final round despite the Saints upsetting Carlton. A slip back to the wooden spoon again followed in 1979.
== 1980's ==
In 1980 a draw in the final round against finalist North Melbourne helped the Saints avoid their third wooden spoon in four years. In 1981 they finished tenth and then eleventh in 1982 again narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon on percentage. But in 1983 they couldn't avoid it and in 1984 it was two in a row - and then 1985 and 1986 made it four. Finally in 1987 the Saints got out of the basement finishing tenth in the now 14 team competition. But in 1988 it was back to the bottom again. The club finished the decade with a twelfth place finish in 1989 and things once again looked bleak for St Kilda.
== 1990's ==
The VFL became the AFL in 1990 and St Kilda finished ninth. But in 1991 the Saints leapt back into the finals for the first time since 1973 finishing fourth. This would be the first year of the final six but in a botch the fourth placed St Kilda would face third placed Geelong with the loser eliminated despite the other elimination final being between fifth and sixth. The Saints would be the side eliminated.
In 1992 St Kilda held their place in the finals having to sit out a bye in the final round and hope like mad that Carlton didn't upset West Coast. They didn't and the Saints finished sixth. A win in the elimination final over Collingwood gave St Kilda heart but Footscray ended their season in the first semi final. A slip to twelfth followed in 1993 and then thirteenth in 1994 before the club finished fourteenth in 1995. Things didn't look good.
But in 1996 the club started to move in the right direction again finishing tenth. And in 1997 the Saints backed that up with their best season since the 1960's finishing on top of the ladder. In the first week St Kilda defeated Brisbane to earn a week off, and in the preliminary final the Saints defeated North Melbourne to enter their first grand final since 1971. They faced Adelaide and only trailed at three quarter time by ten points. But the Crows ended St Kilda's hopes of a second flag with an eight goal final term.
The Saints finished sixth in 1998, slipping there from top spot after 14 rounds but only winning two games in the last eight rounds. The loss and season end at the hands of Sydney in the qualifying final was expected but not the margin - just 2 points. St Kilda dropped to tenth in 1999.
== 2000's ==
The Saints started the new millenium in a familiar spot albeit for the first time since 1988 - the wooden spoon in 2000. It was fifteenth in 2001 and 2002 before a rise to eleventh in 2003. But in 2004 St Kilda leapt into the top four finishing third. They met Brisbane and were thrashed in the qualifying final. They had a big rebound win over Sydney in the semi final but had a heart breaking six point loss to Port Adelaide in the preliminary final.
In 2005 the Saints finished fourth and in a superb effort upended top side Adelaide in the qualifying final to earn the week off. There was huge confidence going in to the preliminary final but Sydney ended their season by 31 points. A slight slip to sixth followed in 2006, (which should have been third as a result of Sirengate) and then an immediate exit in the elimination final courtesy of Melbourne. Another slight slip to ninth followed in 2007, thanks in part to Adelaide beating Collingwood in the final round to deny the Saints access to the eight.
St Kilda were back in the top four in 2008 finishing fourth, but they had to contend with a dominant Geelong in the qualifying final. It wasn't even close and the Saints had to rebound in the semi final against Collingwood. They won that comfortably, only for Hawthorn to deal with them in the preliminary final.
2009 was a magnificent season though for St Kilda. Nineteen straight wins, including a blockbuster round 14 victory over Geelong - before two upset losses in a row to Essendon and North Melbourne (both of them by less than a kick) de-stablised the Saints. The last round win over Melbourne was a welcome revitaliser with top spot already assured, and St Kilda took out Collingwood in the qualifying final to get the week off. A 7 point win over the Western Bulldogs put them into the grand final for the first time since 1997 where they met their round 14 opponents the Cats. In a great and tough grand final, the Saints fell short by 12 points - a final margin caused by a post siren goal that made the margin wider than it really deserved to be.
== 2010's ==
St Kilda came back for more in 2010, finishing third and then delighting their fans with a 4 point win over the reigning premiers Geelong in the qualifying final. The week off led to the preliminary final where they met the Western Bulldogs for the second year in a row. This time the Saints did it a little more easily winning by 24 points, and made their second grand final in a row. The last time they did this, they won the flag. And in 2010 their opponents were the same team - Collingwood. The game was just as close, but in a nail biting finish the game ended in a draw and a replay was required. The replay was a disaster for St Kilda - they were thrashed by 56 points.
In 2011 the Saints managed to finish sixth only be ejected in the elimination final by Sydney. This led to another period of struggle dropping to ninth in 2012 and then sixteenth in 2013 before falling to yet another wooden spoon in 2014. In 2015 the club got back to fourteenth and then ninth in 2016 before slipping to eleventh in 2017 and then sixteenth in 2018. St Kilda finished the decade finishing fourteenth in 2019.
== 2020 ==
A two point loss to North Melbourne opened 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season until June. But on the return a good win over the Western Bulldogs augered better. The very next week a big loss to Collingwood was a setback but then the Saints rattled off six wins over the next seven games to climb all the way up to second spot after ten rounds. A 59 point thrashing at the hands of Geelong sent them back to fifth just like that and St Kilda were shaken and the momentum was lost. But the Saints kept their spot in the eight despite narrow losses to Brisbane and Melbourne and in the final round they belted West Sydney by 52 points to finish sixth.
That led to St Kilda's first finals campaign since 2011. It started with the elimination final against the Bulldogs and they got the narrow win by 3 points. But they then ran in to a fired up Richmond in the semi final and were beaten by 31 points.
== 2021 ==
The Saints got off to a tardy start in 2021, only winning two of their first six games. Two wins in a row kept St Kilda away from the lower reaches of the ladder but this was followed by two losses in a row - including a percentage destructing 111 point defeat by the Western Bulldogs. A win and two narrow losses led to the bye. However after the bye the Saints rattled off three wins in a row to get to ninth spot. But in the last six rounds they would only win two games, and ended up tenth.
== 2022 ==
St Kilda were keen to get back their 2020 form and while the opening loss to Collingwood stung they bounced back with five straight victories. Port Adelaide knocked them off by a point but curiously the Saints went up a spot to fourth as they went past Sydney on percentage. Melbourne handed them a second loss in a row but St Kilda then picked up three wins going into the bye regaining fourth spot. But the second half of the season was another story. For the rest of the season the Saints only got three wins. While the last win over Hawthorn got them back into the eight they lost the last three to finish tenth for the second year in a row.
== 2023 ==
2023 started tremendously with four straight wins leading to top spot on the ladder. But St Kilda then started to stutter alternating between wins and losses all the way to the mid season bye. At that point the Saints were sitting in fifth place. After the bye they won only two games from the next six but somehow maintained sixth spot. Two wins however only restored fifth and they couldn't break into the top four. The loss to Carlton in round 21 put St Kilda under the pump in seventh, but two wins confirmed finals. The loss to Brisbane in the final round nearly cost the Saints a home final as West Sydney were only 0.8 percent behind them.
That was who St Kilda met in the elimination final and the Saints were beaten by 24 points to end their season.
== Reserves ==
St Kilda were a part of the VFL Reserves competition from it's formation in 1919. They have only won three flags in 1942, 1943 and 1961 - with two of them during World War 2. After the competition disappeared the Saints fielded a stand alone team in the VFL in 2000. In 2001 the club formed an alignment with Springvale and followed them to Cranbourne and the re-naming to Casey in 2006. The alignment ended after the 2008 season and St Kilda aligned instead with Sandringham - a club with something in common with the Saints. The legendary Trevor Barker.
Category:Australian FL clubs