Letter to members: mid-season review

[Sanctorum]

For non-member St Kilda supporters, below is copy of a letter to members from Andrew Bassat in which he summarises the 2023 season at the halfway mark. I make no comment other than to say that I agree with his assessments of where the team is at right now.

"Dear Will,

I hope this note finds you well.

As we reach the second half of our milestone 150th year, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide our loyal members with an update on how we see ourselves tracking against our own expectations and goals for our future.

We are only at the beginning of implementing a long-term vision for our football program, but so far, we are pleased with what is transpiring on and off the field. Over the past eight months, there has been a cultural shift in the way we operate to ensure we are exhausting every avenue to improve as a football club and ultimately, achieve sustained success.

We want to build towards competing for flags before too long but, to do this, requires us to be clear about our processes and expectations.

In setting the tone for his first season, Ross Lyon emphasised that this is a year of exploration for our club. We’ve talked about accepting results as feedback and are looking beyond our win-loss tally, as we embrace new markers to judge our performance.

This is a year where we intend to find out about the capabilities of our list whilst trying to build our football brand and identity around the constant application of absolute effort above all else.

Positively, we are seeing initial signs that we are building something lasting. Among them player buy-in, consistent compliance to the game plan and a commitment across the club to prioritise football performance.

Early wins, despite the unavailability of key personnel, and the emergence of young players who have impressed despite their inexperience - coupled with a consistent display of effort from our senior core - are all strong indicators that the program is trending in the right direction.

We know this process will not be linear. Our recent form prior to the bye saw us deviate from our brand. This was subject to strong review from players and staff who believe they know what is needed to be done to move forward. We now have the perfect chance to begin the second leg of our season on the right note this evening against Sydney in the annual Pride Game. 

Regardless of the result, we will stick the course and continue to focus on the process, and our commitment to becoming the best Saints we can possibly be. That is how we will reward our loyal members.

This extends to our women’s program who last week officially commenced their pre-season training, led competently by Head of AFLW Tessie McManus and Senior Coach Nick Dal Santo.

After two seasons in one calendar year, our group have a clean run at an exciting opportunity ahead. Bolstered by the additions through the trade period of former AFLW captain Steph Chiocci, All-Australian Jaimee Lambert, AFLW leading goalkicker Jesse Wardlaw and emerging leaders Natalie Plane and Serene Watson, we expect to take important strides forward as a program.

We anticipate the AFLW season to commence in August later this year and we urge our supporters to rally around the team as we continue our 150-year celebrations alongside our newest generation of players.

Last month, the club also officially completed Stage 2 construction of the Danny Frawley Centre (DFC) which now includes the addition of a community gym, yoga and pilates spaces, and mental health consulting suites, with a vision to launch DFC Psychology within the next 12 months.

It has been a successful first year of the DFC, led by Executive Director Kirstan Corben, and supported by CEO Simon Lethlean and the wider Frawley family, who have been instrumental on this journey.

The DFC has reached over 8,000 people with its mental health programs since its opening, and we expect this number to grow significantly as we widen our impact in the community.

To achieve this goal, we are once again calling on the faithful to help us raise funds for the DFC in the third iteration of Spud’s Game: A Match for Mental Health on Friday June 23 against Brisbane.

We would love as many Saints fans as possible to show up in solidarity of this important cause and in honour of club legend, Danny ‘Spud’ Frawley for who we are forever indebted to for his commitment to this club and this cause.

We hope to see you at the footy soon.

Take care,

Andrew Bassat "