St Kilda going home !!

[dragit]

Anyone with a clue about marketing, the faintest notion of brand or a shred of an idea about PR will understand the massive advantages a St Kilda base would give us... It's okay if you don't understand how any of this works, but it is important stuff.

[saintspremiers]

You're only problem... With that training base argument is

Hawthorn... I would consider the most successful club ATM are out of 'the city' and are looking to go further?
Richmond are the closest club to the city
And it has done little for them?!

Why would a club rot training 35km out of the city?

People need to go to games... Not training?... The club doesn't actually WANT anyone at training.

Last I checked we play at Docklands.....

Fair point.

Probably the most important way of getting more sponsors and money into the club is through having a business savvy administration not where we are based.

[gringo]

You're only problem... With that training base argument is

Hawthorn... I would consider the most successful club ATM are out of 'the city' and are looking to go further?
Richmond are the closest club to the city
And it has done little for them?!

Why would a club rot training 35km out of the city?

People need to go to games... Not training?... The club doesn't actually WANT anyone at training.

Last I checked we play at Docklands.....

The problem is if you make the finals you will have masses to the training. I went down a few years ago to Moorabin and an old guy about 1 km from the ground remembered the good old days and charged us $10 to park on his lawn with about 6 other cars boxing us in. Didn't get our car out for about 2 hours after it finished because the last guy in stuffed about.

Seaford is great for the Frankston community but I'm more for the image and progress of our club than helping the mornington peninsula feel like they have something special. They need parking there, public facilities, standing area around the fence and it's tiny and looks outgrown already. Moorabin will struggle to be ready for VFL let alone building an elite training facility there. Junction is possibly going to be paid for by the AFL to get cricket out of the G. The cricket board and the local council will want to get it up as a shared environment and like Collingwood sharing the Lexus centre while getting money for it, it will benefit us.

No one is going to want to rebuild Moorabin no one is going to want to extend Seaford for us. we might be able to ride Cricket Victorias coat tails into the junction oval with a shared elite training facility. This is why it is an option.

[Dave McNamara]

... you wouldn't bother signing up again to a club that has no presence except on home game days, and let's face it, what the hell feels like us at Etihad? The day that Eastern helped organise last season was the first time I'd heard of anything even close to making that stadium feel like home. It might as well be a function room otherwise, no Saints fan is going to go on a pilgrimage to the Docklands to soak up our history.

Running successful football clubs these days is so much more than the sport side. Its a culture. If you guys ever bother to check out other sports like the English Premier League or La Liga, you'd know what I mean. People buy into an identity. AFL is really slow on catching onto this idea...

This is the point!

Culture, identity, somewhere that is our home, somewhere that is connected to our history... somewhere that is us(!)




PS: Austinnnnnnnnn... you've been away too long. You've forgotten all those wondreful Weddo's songs. Monday's Experts is but an appetizer.

[Dave McNamara]

If you ask me, I'd say our real spiritual base is Moorabbin, simple reason why, the premiership.
All St.Kilda supporters loved Moorabbin, the Animal Enclosure, the stand rocking, the higher than average rainfall. Even my Grandfather who lived his whole life in St.Kilda and played for the Cricket Club ( I have his 1909 best and fairest medal) preferred Moorabbin over the Junction Oval.
Because the JO was always associated with an unsuccessful club.
Just remember, while it may be all nice and sentimental to move back there, even if we get a decent deal, the overheads will be higher, such as rates etc.
As I said before, forget about games being played there, wont happen in any lifetimes to come, nobody is going to fork out 250 million dollars plus to build a decent stadium there.
Therefore if we are to based there we will need a decent administrative block to be build, gymnasium, recovery rooms, swimming pool, which will just be for us, not shared with CV.
We will also need a Social Club, a big Social Club that will have to include pokies, and that is something I doubt the local council will allow. Like them or not, they are a mainstream of revenue.

- I love Moorabbin, and would want us playing back there again... but the Junction is way better again.

- We were just becoming very very successful at the Junction. Packed crowds! But the cricket club were taking our revenue. So I do agree that a deal would have to be carefully worded... but so would any deal for anything.

- Why the angst re sharing with cricket? It's a plus actaully. Justifies a bigger spend on better facilities. We train on the Trott Oval in cricket season, the Junction in the footy season. No matter what any extremist may wish, cricket can't be played on the oval in winter. (Ok, the Sri Lankans on Silverton Oval in North Dandenong aside... )

More players, supporters, business types, sponsors... coming through the venue... the more chance of leveraging off some of them. It's synergy... win/win for all parties.

- Pokies?

Club/ Machines/ Revenue to club/ %increase

Carlton 290 $16.8m 130%
Hawthorn 155 $13.3m 93%
Essendon 190 $5.8m 134%
Collingwood 180 $5.6m 119%
Geelong 180 $5.2m 141%
Melbourne 172 $4.7m 147%
W. Bulldogs 50 $1.7m 121%
Richmond 87 $2.3m 150%
St Kilda 83 $1.6m 203%
N. Melbourne 0 0 0

Total 1397 $42.9m 127%

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl ... 6591023028

We only make 1.6mil! That would be more than offset by the extra income streams the Junction Oval site would open up.

Big rockin' Social Club? Hell yeah! (Think the Bowlo', think the SKANC.) Porkers! Hell no!
The AFL is trying to wean the clubs of this evil, and we can join Nuff Nuff in leading the way. Mega brownie points to help our standing within the local community and the wide community too.

The AFL has now adopted a “strong social stance” on pokies and wants to act as a broker to help clubs divest themselves of machines, indicating it understands the Australian community sees poker machines as socially damaging and addictive, and that continuing to associate the code with this product is likely to damage the brand.

Carlton player Chris Judd demonstrated this in early May, when a court was told he had concealed a $500,000 stake in a pokies venture because he didn’t want to be publicly associated with gambling.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/05/18/afl ... her=mobile

[Dave McNamara]

This arvo' the Hillibillies will host another home game at HillbillyHoedown stadium (and they'll win it too).
Then they'll pocket another $850,000 from playing infront of their average crowd of 26,000.

Tomorrow we will hammer another nail into the Crone's coffin. Crowd may well be 26,000(?)
If so, we'll pay out ~$75,000 for the privilege...


But not to worry, we can just bump along like this for another 140 years. We've always survived, so probably always will... or...

[Dave McNamara]

He sold the club to them.

The club meant a lot to the them, it was more than just a place of employment. It was a family, a brotherhood...

Now your getting to it Mart.

That's what the club is to us supporters... a family. This family hails from St Kilda. Some of us have moved afield, but St Kilda is home. Where we can all feel that we have a footballing home. Our history, our culture, our sense of belonging... our sense of identity.

It's not about just training... it's soooooooo much more.




(Oh, and sponsors can sense, and will want to tap into that. )

[3rd generation saint]

Dave, please understand, there will never be another game played at the Junction Oval, it will not be developed into a stadium capable of meeting AFL standards in regards to capacity. Trust me the AFL would only be interested in a stadium that would hold at least 30,000 people in comfort, and that means all seated.
So forget about the Hillbillies ground, they have the advantage of being in a one team town that is out of Melbourne.
You also suggested that St.Kilda should forfeit 1.6 million dollars in revenue a year in order to make the move back to the Junction Oval, glad you think we can just casually throw away 1.6 million dollars, if you were in charge of the club we would be like Fitzroy is now.
By the way, if any of you people having multiple orgasms over this proposal, you have noticed that there are plenty of advertising space in the form of billboards down there at the junction, a hell of a lot cheaper and more effective way to get your brand noticed than putting up a sign at a training facility.
As for the theory that we can't attract players where we are now, I guess someone didn't mention that to Longer, Delaney and Bruce who seemed to be insistent that they come play for us.
By the time we are in the market for free agency, we wont find it hard, because players will see the potential of playing finals and being part of premiership.
Two things drive players to move, the chance for success and more opportunity, with either of those comes more money for them.
They don't move to a club because, oh look there's a really good café just around the corner from training.
They don't move for convenience of travel, I'll tell you now, it was easier for BJ to get from Brighton to Seaford, than it is for him to get to Tullamarine. Also note that a good number of Geelong players live in Melbourne and drive down to Geelong for training.
I am still waiting to hear someone explain to me or even show me an example of how simply moving our training base will have the corporates queuing at our door ready to throw money at us, just because we are training in St.Kilda. The way some people are carrying on here, you would think that first thing that is going to happen is that Bill Gates himself will rush down here and hand over a massive cheque to make us the richest club in Australia.
Also someone called us nomads, gee 3 moves in over 100 years of history make you a nomad, interesting. We wont have an identity, last I looked we were the St.Kilda Football Club and have been for the near 50 years I have followed them.
Finally, what would be happening now if we hadn't had that stash with the Kingston City Council and Moorabbin had been redeveloped. I'll tell you, the club and everyone on this site would use that Sam Newman line, "couldn't be less interested."
In closing, I am funnily enough not against the move, providing, we have self determination, we have control, that we do not lose one bit of our revenue stream as it is now, I don't want to be trying to plug a 1.6 million dollar hole trying to get extra sponsorship. If the only attraction of the deal is the romance of moving back to the Junction Oval than it is a dumb and suicidal move.
Yes, there is a romance to this deal, but there is the very real spectre of this being another Etihad.

[plugger66]

This arvo' the Hillibillies will host another home game at HillbillyHoedown stadium (and they'll win it too).
Then they'll pocket another $850,000 from playing infront of their average crowd of 26,000.

Tomorrow we will hammer another nail into the Crone's coffin. Crowd may well be 26,000(?)
If so, we'll pay out ~$75,000 for the privilege...


But not to worry, we can just bump along like this for another 140 years. We've always survived, so probably always will... or...

Dave you can on and on about figures but what you are writing is far from the truth as far as the Saints are concerned. I will give some figures that are guess work but based on the building of previous stadiums. First the 2 grandstands at the JO are protected so the maximum crowd that ground could ever hold in todays comfort is around 15k and that would really be pushing it. To build a ground that size would cost close to 200 million. The governemt of either side would be trown out if they ever put money in for that because there is no justification unlike the new soccer and rugby ground and also the elite ground at geelong because there is nothing else in that area. There is the MCG and Etihad near the JO and that also rules out the AFL's help. So its stuck with the saints. Say we got funding for half which we obviously wouldnt and say we stuck in the other half which obviously we wouldnt that leaves us with an interest bill of 8 million a year so when we make our 400k on a 15k crowd and the 3 games we have there that means we are only out of pocket 6.8 million a year. Yep it sounds like a goer Dave.

[The Fireman]

please..please make the JO our headquarters. with the best training facilities and entertainment precinct for our members.

This must happen...asap.

[plugger66]

please..please make the JO our headquarters. with the best training facilities and entertainment precinct for our members.

This must happen...asap.

Even if controlled by CV and it costs us money?

[Dave McNamara]

Hi 3GS and Pluggs, and genuine thanks for your effort of putting together detailed responses that address issues c/f the "that's great/that's crap" unsupported personal opinions that are often the go on all forums on SS. 3GS, your regularly do this, and now Pluggs, you've shown your critics on here that you can also. (Though I'd already noticed that you could if a topic means enough to you. And isn't this forum an easier read for you now that Matt has pointed out the meaning of those terms you claimed to be struggling with...? )

3GS:
Playing games there... from reading your posts on here I'm very confident that you are way better at deciphering cryptic crosswords than I. So, to answer this, I'll say that 'PM' doesn't only stand for Tony Abbott.

Pokies:
Looking at what the other clubs gouge from the community via pokies, our $1.6 million is almost neither here nor there. However, I take your point that we still need that money. But as I argued in my post, a move to the Junction would open up access to revenue streams that would more than replace the pokies takings.

However... for those who don't share my anti-pokies qualms, there are a couple of other options. I haven't seen the our books, and I don't know all the necessary details to give you a good estimate of numbers, but here goes...

Firstly, we still would have Moorabbin. The pokies could stay there, nothing changes on that front.

Second option. The pokies continue, but we monitor really carefully re problem gamblers loosing what they can't afford to loose. We go way beyond whatever the law requires on that one.
Financially, what would be the worst case scenario? We halve our take?
I doubt that our take would go down by anywhere near that percentage?
And I'd damn well hope not either, coz if we did, that would indicate that on our pokie take is relying very excessively on the wallets and purses of those who can least afford it. A very bad situation, and a very bad look.

Third option. This is my favourite one... pokie licenses would have to worth something...? Quite a lot, given that quite few clubs, and even pubs are going broke coz of the cost of said licenses... Can they be sold? Though if so, maybe selling em' might not be so easy(?) But there's always Carlscum's pokies-king bagman Bruce Mathieson... and there's always the secretive Mr Judd... )

A SERIES of RSL and community clubs are closing their doors or in financial distress after being crippled by debt from poker machine licences they can't offload...

Up to 10 RSL sub-branches are in trouble because of their entitlements' purchases at the auction, which saw industry heavyweights bag bargains but some smaller players overextended.

Two RSLs with pokies have closed in the past year and a third club has had machines taken out, after claiming it was losing $10,000 a month.

In the past year, clubs and pubs have handed back 107 entitlements to the State Government from council areas including Mansfield, Stonnington, Wellington, Kingston, Surf Coast, Melbourne, Bayside, Glen Eira, Port Phillip and Glenelg...

Earlier this month, Hampton RSL surrendered its poker machines after claiming it was losing $10,000 a month. Machines could now be relocated to another RSL branch.

In the past 12 months, Heidelberg and Elwood RSL sub-branches, which both had pokies, have closed...

Other venues are shutting their doors because of pokies-related problems, including the Racecourse Hotel in Malvern, the Exchange Hotel in the CBD, and the Golden Fleece Hotel in South Melbourne.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victor ... 6686865712

Maybe another reason Andy D want the clubs weaned off their pokies habit...?

[The Fireman]

please..please make the JO our headquarters. with the best training facilities and entertainment precinct for our members.

This must happen...asap.

Even if controlled by CV and it costs us money?

as far as control is concerned Im sure an amicable deal could be struck to advantage both...and cost ? everything costs something..it's the return that is important.

[plugger66]

please..please make the JO our headquarters. with the best training facilities and entertainment precinct for our members.

This must happen...asap.

Even if controlled by CV and it costs us money?

as far as control is concerned Im sure an amicable deal could be struck to advantage both...and cost ? everything costs something..it's the return that is important.

We havent got any money and you are right about the return that counts. Just cant work out why a training venue near the JO gives us any major return.

[The Fireman]

Even if controlled by CV and it costs us money?

as far as control is concerned Im sure an amicable deal could be struck to advantage both...and cost ? everything costs something..it's the return that is important.

We havent got any money and you are right about the return that counts. Just cant work out why a training venue near the JO gives us any major return.

the return has already been covered...high profile area that would give us a more solid identity that would draw better sponsorship etc.....and we need to get the money..let's see what the govt bodies have to offer because the move to the JO is a fantastic and smart idea.

[3rd generation saint]

Hi 3GS and Pluggs, and genuine thanks for your effort of putting together detailed responses that address issues c/f the "that's great/that's crap" unsupported personal opinions that are often the go on all forums on SS. 3GS, your regularly do this, and now Pluggs, you've shown your critics on here that you can also. (Though I'd already noticed that you could if a topic means enough to you. And isn't this forum an easier read for you now that Matt has pointed out the meaning of those terms you claimed to be struggling with...? )

3GS:
Playing games there... from reading your posts on here I'm very confident that you are way better at deciphering cryptic crosswords than I. So, to answer this, I'll say that 'PM' doesn't only stand for Tony Abbott.

Pokies:
Looking at what the other clubs gouge from the community via pokies, our $1.6 million is almost neither here nor there. However, I take your point that we still need that money. But as I argued in my post, a move to the Junction would open up access to revenue streams that would more than replace the pokies takings.

However... for those who don't share my anti-pokies qualms, there are a couple of other options. I haven't seen the our books, and I don't know all the necessary details to give you a good estimate of numbers, but here goes...

Firstly, we still would have Moorabbin. The pokies could stay there, nothing changes on that front.

Second option. The pokies continue, but we monitor really carefully re problem gamblers loosing what they can't afford to loose. We go way beyond whatever the law requires on that one.
Financially, what would be the worst case scenario? We halve our take?
I doubt that our take would go down by anywhere near that percentage?
And I'd damn well hope not either, coz if we did, that would indicate that on our pokie take is relying very excessively on the wallets and purses of those who can least afford it. A very bad situation, and a very bad look.

Third option. This is my favourite one... pokie licenses would have to worth something...? Quite a lot, given that quite few clubs, and even pubs are going broke coz of the cost of said licenses... Can they be sold? Though if so, maybe selling em' might not be so easy(?) But there's always Carlscum's pokies-king bagman Bruce Mathieson... and there's always the secretive Mr Judd... )

A SERIES of RSL and community clubs are closing their doors or in financial distress after being crippled by debt from poker machine licences they can't offload...

Up to 10 RSL sub-branches are in trouble because of their entitlements' purchases at the auction, which saw industry heavyweights bag bargains but some smaller players overextended.

Two RSLs with pokies have closed in the past year and a third club has had machines taken out, after claiming it was losing $10,000 a month.

In the past year, clubs and pubs have handed back 107 entitlements to the State Government from council areas including Mansfield, Stonnington, Wellington, Kingston, Surf Coast, Melbourne, Bayside, Glen Eira, Port Phillip and Glenelg...

Earlier this month, Hampton RSL surrendered its poker machines after claiming it was losing $10,000 a month. Machines could now be relocated to another RSL branch.

In the past 12 months, Heidelberg and Elwood RSL sub-branches, which both had pokies, have closed...

Other venues are shutting their doors because of pokies-related problems, including the Racecourse Hotel in Malvern, the Exchange Hotel in the CBD, and the Golden Fleece Hotel in South Melbourne.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victor ... 6686865712

Maybe another reason Andy D want the clubs weaned off their pokies habit...?

Dear Dave, I have never voted for Tony Abbott, assumption is the mother of all stuff ups.
Once again I will tell you, there will never be a game of AFL football played at the junction, no one is going to hand over the 250 million plus it would take to build a suitable AFL standard ground, especially when you would be restricted by those two old antiquated, out-dated grandstands there which would have to bulldozed in order to build a modern state of the art ground.
Again, please explain in detail how training at the junction is going to create a stream of income from all those big corporations who according to you will be fighting each other for the privilege of sponsoring a club simply because it is based in St.Kilda.
Until you can provide a detailed analysis of this, produce blueprints for a new ground that we don't have to put a cent towards building.
Hey, as I said, if we are in control, and can get a great deal out of this without having to bow and scrape to CV, who will be in control, make no bones about it, than by all means we can move back.
But, if we move based purely on the romance of moving back to St.Kilda, with no plan, no up front major sponsors, than the deal could look more like the one we have at Etihad.
By the way that figure of 250 million is conservative and based on that the AAMI stadium in Swan St cost 240 million, but the fact that n AFL ground is larger than a soccer or rugby ground, plus you have to build administrative, social and training facilities, I'd say it would come out way north of 250 million.
Plus as P66 said, why would a state government embark on such a project when they already have the MCG, Etihad, Melbourne Park and AAMI stadium. The need for another major sporting ground in Melbourne is very small indeed and way down the list of priorities.
As for someone's suggestion of a 15 thousand seat stadium, just remember we had over 19 thousand at the GWS game, which 4,000 odd supporters are you going to say can't come.
As I said, if we get a great deal, not a good deal, all good and fine, but the way some people are carrying on here, making wild assumptions of money flowing in endlessly simply because we are based in St.Kilda, players happy because they can get a nice latte in Fitzroy St. Players queuing up so they can train in St.Kilda, please reality check, the world doesn't work that way.
Success attracts big sponsors, not location, they can get location simply by putting up a billboard on the Monash, they don't need a football club for that.

[plugger66]

as far as control is concerned Im sure an amicable deal could be struck to advantage both...and cost ? everything costs something..it's the return that is important.

We havent got any money and you are right about the return that counts. Just cant work out why a training venue near the JO gives us any major return.

the return has already been covered...high profile area that would give us a more solid identity that would draw better sponsorship etc.....and we need to get the money..let's see what the govt bodies have to offer because the move to the JO is a fantastic and smart idea.

Why do sponsors care where you train. No one goes to training. They want bang for their buck by having positive stuff in the media like success. they want their name out there. Training at the JO doesnt help that. I dont even know exactly where the pies training ground is but they get huge sponsorship because they are the pies, not because of the training venue. North are inner city but they dont make money. Melbourne is inner city. They dont make money.

[gringo]

We havent got any money and you are right about the return that counts. Just cant work out why a training venue near the JO gives us any major return.

The point is Collingwood has the best facilities in the country and they share theirs. We could do what they did and use the funding for other sports to build the facility we get use of. The elite training facilities are what Luke Ball claimed help get his body right after he left us. He spoke at my sons footy club and said he went out of St Kilda and touring the facility said it was like going from the 19th century into the 21st. It might not be the major deciding factor in luring a player in FA but it all helps. It looks like an assertive big club roll of the dice. Hawthorn made some bold moves to become a major player and sometimes you just have to stand tall and not play it safe.

Even if it doesn't come off it makes us look like a serious player rather than the sycophantic yes men we had become under the last administration. Not rocking the boat doesn't bring respect, it just make you a door mat. When the set the fixture and you don't bother them they just put you at the bottom of the list every year. We need to be like Collingwood where we become a thorn in the side of the AFL.

[plugger66]

The point is Collingwood has the best facilities in the country and they share theirs. We could do what they did and use the funding for other sports to build the facility we get use of. The elite training facilities are what Luke Ball claimed help get his body right after he left us. He spoke at my sons footy club and said he went out of St Kilda and touring the facility said it was like going from the 19th century into the 21st. It might not be the major deciding factor in luring a player in FA but it all helps. It looks like an assertive big club roll of the dice. Hawthorn made some bold moves to become a major player and sometimes you just have to stand tall and not play it safe.

Even if it doesn't come off it makes us look like a serious player rather than the sycophantic yes men we had become under the last administration. Not rocking the boat doesn't bring respect, it just make you a door mat. When the set the fixture and you don't bother them they just put you at the bottom of the list every year. We need to be like Collingwood where we become a thorn in the side of the AFL.

What has anything of that got to do with going to train at the JO. How is that a thorn in the side of the AFL which by the way is the last thing we need based on our finances that no one on here has shown will improve by moving. And the pies share their facilities with who? And even if they share with someone I will guess they are the bigger patner. If we share with CV we will indeed be the smaller partner. For a start it seems we arent even training on the JO because they will have many cricket pitches and fair enough, it will be home of CV.

[The Fireman]

Your anti JO campaign has been noted Plugger hopefully your camp will not get it's way and we move to the JO.
This thread has been reduced to repetitive banter.

[plugger66]

Your anti JO campaign has been noted Plugger hopefully your camp will not get it's way and we move to the JO.
This thread has been reduced to repetitive banter.

Thats true from both sides. Im very happy to move if we get better facilities without cost and have at least equal rights. I just want people who seem so delighted in the move to actually give us who arent so delighted some actual facts as to why the move will work and make us money not all this lovey dovey stuff that has no real facts behind it.

[Dave McNamara]

PS: (As threatened.)

For the devil's advocates amongst the Saintsationalists...

Did you read Caro's article? (In one of the thirteen, and counting, threads on this topic. )

From reading that piece, it seems clear to me that Caro has again been consulting her number one source on all plumbing issues at the Saints. And the word she was given seems clearly to have been that the club, and in particular, the key club 'money men'...

share and believe in the hopes, dreams, and game-changing possibilities of our prodigal child return home.

[The Fireman]

Your anti JO campaign has been noted Plugger hopefully your camp will not get it's way and we move to the JO.
This thread has been reduced to repetitive banter.

Thats true from both sides. Im very happy to move if we get better facilities without cost and have at least equal rights. I just want people who seem so delighted in the move to actually give us who arent so delighted some actual facts as to why the move will work and make us money not all this lovey dovey stuff that has no real facts behind it.

you want something better without cost...sorry Plugger but we aren't on the same page.

[plugger66]

Your anti JO campaign has been noted Plugger hopefully your camp will not get it's way and we move to the JO.
This thread has been reduced to repetitive banter.

Thats true from both sides. Im very happy to move if we get better facilities without cost and have at least equal rights. I just want people who seem so delighted in the move to actually give us who arent so delighted some actual facts as to why the move will work and make us money not all this lovey dovey stuff that has no real facts behind it.

you want something better without cost...sorry Plugger but we aren't on the same page.

So what seems a reasonable price to you?

[Dave McNamara]

Hi 3GS, no I'd didn't peg you as a Tony Abbott supporter.

Tone's is (currently ) our 'PM', and those are the initials that I was clumsily trying to convey as also standing for 'personal message'.

I wish to apologise in that I'm limited in posting certain points, as to do so is not rightfully my prerogative. However most said details, with only one exception that I can think of, are broadly encompassed in Caro's article (hence why I'm confidently assuming that she has been speaking with her number one informant re matters St Kilda)... and are summarised in my previous 'PS' post.


Now, as I've complained on here before, I only know someone 'connected'... at the Hillbillies. So, no, I'm in absolutely no way trying to imply that I'm up on all the inner plotting and scheming over the Junction Oval. Totally to the contrary(!) I only know a broad 'directional overview', which was very kindly shared to me.

(Obviously ) I see the possibilities and am very keen to see our club back 'home'. Whilst totally realising that lotsa' water has to flow under the bridge first, and that lotsa' ducks have to be lined-up..., after what was shared with me, I'm now confident that all this shall come to be.

Why am I confident?

I've followed our wonderfully exhilarating and exasperating (often at the same time ) Saintas since I discovered the greatest game in the world... in 1967(!) (So I can wait another twenty years if really need be! )

Now, in that whole time, I've never once heard/seen/read 'St Kilda's' and 'money men' in the same sentence... till now.

So..., if these guys share and believe in the same hopes, dreams, and game-changing possibilities re the Junction Oval, as I do... well, I'm gonna' allow myself some (patient) confidence on this one.