AFL Team: St Kilda

St Kilda or the Saints are one of the football clubs based in Melbourne. The team has been active since over 148 years ago as it was first founded in 1873. Its signature colours are red, white and black.

This team has a special significance to the VFA and VFL as it is one of the foundation teams for both projects.

Throughout the time, St Kilda has struggled to maintain themselves in a good position in the rankings – or to have a good performance overall. The team has won a single premiership in more than 148 years, and has earned the wooden spoon more than any other team within the AFL.

Quick facts about the team                  

• St Kilda holds the record as the team with the most wooden spoons of all, with 27. Therefore, they have the lowest win percentage in the AFL.
• Their only premiership win happened in 1966. In the grand final, they were paired against Collingwood. Curiously, the team won by a difference of a single point, with their score being 10.14 (74). On the other hand, the reserves have won in three occasions – 1942, 1942 and 1961.
• The team played in its first Grand Final during the 1914 season. However, they lost against Fitzroy.
• Only in two occasions they used a colour different than red, black and white on the uniform. Their first uniform included a dark shade of blue, while the uniform they used from 1915 to 1918 included gold stripes.

Brief history of the team

The team has been active for over 148 years, and played an important role during the creation of both the VFA and the VFL.  They lost their debut game against Collingwood, and their following matches were a bit similar. The Saints struggled a lot during the first years.

Ten years happened since the team joined the VFL until they reached their first finals series. In 1907, St Kilda had a promising season after they won six uninterrupted teams when the season started. Moreover, this season marked the first time where the team played in a grand final, but lost to Carlton. They had a promising season the following year, but weren’t able to beat Carlton again in the semi-finals.

Five years later, the team made it to their first grand final after they demonstrated a great improvement compared to previous seasons. However, they weren’t able to defeat Fitzroy during the final.

As a result of World War I, the team was two years in recess (1916-17) and continued with its activities starting from 1918. During that season, they made it to the finals, but eventually lost to Collingwood by a stretch margin of points – 58 against 49.

The following decades where similar as the Saints kept having a “good streak,” then suddenly declined whenever they reached their highest peak.

Between the 60s and 70s, the team had an excellent performance which peaked in 1966 when they won their first premiership. During the previous year, St Kilda had also won their first minor premiership.

They won their first and only premiership by a single point, as mentioned above. Since then, the team has maintained an average streak, but hasn’t made it to the finals yet.

In the present                                

St Kilda’s current coach is Brett Ratten. The team currently ranks sixteenth in the ladder with a total score of 72.8.

They have lost two matches throughout the season, the first one being against Melbourne and the second against Essendon. They’re next paired up against the West Coast, at the Marvel Stadium. The game will happen on Saturday, April 10.