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AFL 2025

Opinion

‘We needed to stand up for ourselves’: Inside St Kilda’s ruthless rebrand and the great player raid

Caroline Wilson Football columnist for The Age September 6, 2025 — 6.00am Advertisement

St Kilda’s decision to deliver a one-fingered salute to the entire AFL competition was formed towards the end of last season when the club’s leaders brought in a strategist they described as a high-level consultant who told them the Saints needed to change the narrative.

The so-called narrative had been one of a club that had achieved one premiership in 150 years. An organisation that had celebrated individual brilliance but rarely team success. Other clubs might have regarded the Saints over the years as a club of bunglers but what resonated with St Kilda boss

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