There's nothing quite like being a St Kilda supporter.
I've been one for 41 very long years. I grew up on the outer wing at Moorabbin - it's in my DNA, even spending part of my wedding day there! These days, I co-host a show about the Saints called “Unpluggered” - check it out on YouTube or Podcast platforms if you're so inclined.
We've all heard the jokes and taunts before … can't swim between the flags because we only have one. Record wooden spoons. Financial ruin. We get it. I promise you, nobody knows failure like we do.
Despite the failures, we also have a loyalty like no other. A passion not bound by success, but by eternal hope. Hope brought on about by people, and by singular moments like Goddard's soaring Grand Final mark. Centurion Plugger's fists-in-the-air celebration. Harvey on his haunches. Riewoldt running back with the flight.
So while never having the team success of (nearly) every other V/AFL team, the Saints have been jam-packed with individual talent, and when building a Top-10 list of St Kilda players of my lifetime, it is tougher than you would imagine - but let's give it a go.
Before we start, there's a heap of honourable mentions. I know he should be on this list, but I only saw the tail end of Trevor Barker's storied career, and, albeit live and in the flesh, I was a baby. So, it's hard for me to keep him in my personal top 10.
If we'd won the 2010 Grand Final, Brendon Goddard is a lock for this list. One of the all-time great St Kilda moments probably becomes the all-time V/AFL moment... if the Saints get up, instead of again snatching defeat (or in this case a draw) from the jaws of victory. Likewise Nick Dal Santo, who was at the heart of most things good on the bayside during the second most successful period of Saints Footy.
Max Hudghton, heart and soul. Spida Everitt, unique, authentic, quality. The scintillating Aussie Jones. There's plenty more.
So, without further ado, here's my Top-10 Saints of the last 40-ish years.
7Nicky Winmar
One of the most naturally gifted and influential players to pull on - and famously, up - the St Kilda jumper, combining elite skill, athleticism and flair with a powerful cultural legacy.
Nicky Winmar is one of the few stars of the 90s who might actually have been even better in today's modern game. Capable of playing across half-forward, the wing or through the midfield with equal impact, his ability to glide across the ground, leap and grab at the ball's highest point, and use the ball cleanly on both sides, made him one of the most exciting players of his era.
Beyond his on-field achievements, "Cuz" became a defining figure in Australian sport through his stand against racism in 1993 at Victoria Park, an iconic moment that transcended the game, and helped shift the conversation around racism in the game.
A dual All-Australian and two-time Trevor Barker Medal winner (St Kilda's Best and Fairest award) who also led the club's goalkicking in 1988, Winmar may have even landed higher on this list had he retired a Saint, instead famously parting ways at the end of 1998 before finishing up after a singular season in Footscray.
