St Kilda great Stephen Milne has credited his then Saints coach Ross Lyon for providing the turning point in his 13-year playing career.
Speaking on the Real Talk with Beno podcast, Milne indulged into Ross Lyon's unmistakable and distinct approach to coaching, also claiming Lyon is "such a good man".
He recalled a moment in his career where he was dropped after Lyon sprayed him for his choice of boots for a rain-affected match in Sydney, claiming it was essentially a turning point in his career.
"Nicky Dal (Santo) and myself got dropped after that Sydney game. I think we were 14-0. It was 2007 or 2008, maybe 2007. I don't know. I haven't got it in my diary when I was dropped," he said.
"We were playing Sydney. It was raining, (I) kicked two (goals), shaved my head... I wore one screw and one blade... screws used to kill your feet and stuff.
"So i wore one screw and one blade, but I kept falling over."
Milne said Lyon's ensuing spray was a pivotal moment in his career as he realised the importance of a well-rounded, team-oriented contribution.
"He gave us a spray after the game, we went back to Moorabbin (and) we had the game review," Milne continued.
"I would've fallen over up to five or ten times... couple crucial times... couple holding the balls, couple s*** moments that game... didn't have may tackles, (but) still kicked two or three (goals).
"That was the start of the 'you're not just in the team to kick goals you gotta do everything'."
"I remember going to the boots room to get the boots. I gave him (Ross Lyon) the boots and there's one blade and one screw.
"Ross said 'no, the boots from the weekend. There's f**ken one screw and one blade... you cant wear these'.
"He grabbed them and threw them against the wall, in front of everyone.
"(Ross said) 'Don't you f**ken wear these again', so I never wore them again."
Milne joked that he andย Dal Santo were the scapegoats for the poor performance against Sydney, both being dropped for the following week.
But he identified that moment as the kick-starter for finding some consistent footy, revealing he was never dropped again after then.
"I had 20 (disposals) and kicked four (goals)... straight back in (to the senior side the week after) and learnt my lesson," Milne continued.
"It was probably the turning point, I was 26 or 27 at the time.
"That was the turning point... I didn't get dropped again... played some decent consistency footy after that".
Listen to the full interview here.
