This year, the Saints finished fourth and made the Preliminary Final, after being all but written off by most at different stages throughout the year. Midway through the year Ross Lyon bravely made the decision to drop small forward, Stephen Milne and mid-fielder Nick Dal Santo, seen by many as the catalyst for St Kilda’s revival in 2008 (in conjunction with Nick Riewoldt’s form).

From a St Kilda supporter’s perspective, I am happy with the decision for two reasons. The first being Ross Lyon has performed to an acceptable standard, if not to a very good standard. The second being the contrast to what St Kilda has a history of doing, destabilizing the club with unnecessary sacking of boards and coaches. This decision is in line with what St Kilda president; Greg Westaway, mentioned to the media earlier in the year “we’d like to see him there for 10 years because that’s how you run clubs”. Whilst Westaway was clearly just making a point, the general message is that you try not to have coaches worrying about their careers rather than what’s good for the team, and you don’t need the team to be re-adjusting to a new coach every three years.

The St Kilda list has been gradually adjusting to Ross Lyon’s game plan. Both through new players being brought to the club and the players who have remained and have just adjusted (some quicker than others- see (Milne and Dal Santo).

It will be interesting to see if the St Kilda board has the same attitude in two years time.