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.
3Robert Harvey
I said it earlier about Stewart Loewe, but having Harves at just #3 on this list seems even more insulting. Would absolutely be deserving of the #1 spot, holding one of the more incredible career achievement lists in footy.
Two-time Brownlow Medallist. AFLPA MVP. Four-time St Kilda Best and Fairest. Eight-time All Australian. Three-time EJ Whitten medallist. AFL Hall of Fame. St Kilda Team of the Century. St Kilda Legend. All-time St Kilda games leader.
Another who spurned the riches outside of Moorabbin to stay loyal to the Saints, there are not enough words to describe how important "Banger" is to St Kilda fans.
He weaved in and out of traffic and collected disposals at will. Made it look easy. When times were tough, we always had Robert Harvey to fall back on and celebrate. While others often did, he rarely faltered.
Legendary Carlton coach David Parkin once said it best: “We couldn't have laid a tackle on him in a phone box.”
Maybe the game's most underrated superstar.
