A SAINTS FOOTY TRIBUTE A Tribute to Stephen Milne – The best small forward of all time By Andrew de Hoedt For Saints Footy When reflecting on Stephen Milne’s football career, a roller coaster of words come to mind – struggle, persistence, fight, skill, innovation, joy, sadness, frustration, agony, excitement, anger, victory, defeat, celebration. That is Stephen Milne. There is no doubt that when the ball goes near Milney, there is an air of expectation for the unexpected! When you look at the numbers and take the emotion out of it, they just don’t lie. Like his fellow retirees, Milne is in the 200 club and if it wasn’t for personal circumstances, he may have got to 300...maybe he still can if things fall his way. He kicked 4 goals in his penultimate game last week and looked just as quick, just as skilled and just as dangerous as ever. In 274 games, he has kicked a phenomenal 572 goals at 2.09 goals per game and is the 4th highest goalkicker in the StKFC’s 140 year history. Add to that the behinds he has scored and he averages 3.25 effective scoring shots per game. Yet, he wasn’t the sole target. He was supposed to be the foil for Gehrig, Loewe, Koschitzke and Riewoldt who are all proven goal kicking forwards. It is quite astounding for a player who was overlooked by Essendon for over 2 years and nearly played in the VFL for his career. Stephen Milne was born on the 8th March 1980. He was a Hawthorn supporter as a child and his idol was John Platten, which explains his choice of the Number 44. He played for Noble Park, Dandenong Stingrays and then Essendon reserves. He played nearly 50 reserves games without being selected for the Seniors. At an exhibition game in London, he showed some of his skills in the absence of some of the senior players of a very strong Essendon squad. Milne played in the 1999 Reserves Premiership for Essendon where he kicked 3 goals (Video clip on the page) against St Kilda. He still couldn’t get a game and was contemplating going to the VFL when Adam Ramanauskas persuaded him to stay. The lowly placed Saints picked him up in the 2000 Rookie Draft at Pick 23. St Kilda also picked up two others in the AFL National Draft. Their names are Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke. Milne’s 1st game was in Round 4, 2001 against Port Adelaide where he had 17 possessions (11 contested), 7 marks and kicked 2.1 in a losing team and in his 17 games that year he kicked 27 goals, goalless in only 3 of those games. 2002 was a breakthrough year from Milne and with Riewoldt and Koschitzke straightening us up, he was front and square and also weaving some magic. He kicked goals in all of his 22 games and 50 goals 11 behinds for the year to be St Kilda’s leading goal kicker. He had a purple patch where he didn’t miss a shot for 7 weeks and kicked 22 goals in the process. He kicked 5 against West Coast in Round 10 and kicked 4 goals on 4 different occasions. He was rewarded with a place in the Australian team that played International Rules in Ireland where the game was suited perfectly to his style of play-on and round-the-corner kicking before Steve Johnson was even thought of. Milney started 2003 very well, kicking 16 goals in his first 5 games, but got suspended for 2 weeks in Round 5 for striking Matthew Scarlett. He struggled to find form after that, getting a second suspension and then not being selected after that. He kicked 26 goals for the season. Some people remember 2004 and Stephen Milne for an off field issue that has recently re-surfaced. On the football side, his form was pretty good and he was a member of the 2004 Wizard Cup Premiership team, kicked 46 goals for the year including 6 against Carlton in Round 10 and 4 in the 1st Final against Sydney. However, his performance in big games was being questioned after being held goalless in the one goal loss against Port Adelaidein the Preliminary Final. In 2005, Milne had a very consistent season with 61 goals for the year. His crowning glory was an 11 goal haul (11 straight and video clip posted) in Round 22 against Brisbane which launched the now famous Milney chant and became the start of a bit of atmosphere and home ground feeling at Docklands Stadium. He had the ball on a string that night and St Kilda thumped the Lions by over 100 points. The Saints defeated Adelaide in an away Qualifying Final. He only kicked 1 goal and in the heart wrenching Preliminary Final which we led at ¾ time, Milne was held goalless. Form such as this, combined with his trademark reactions to opposition fans and his off field issues, and made him an easy target for other cheer squads. By 2006, teams and even opposition coaches started giving him a lot of attention verbally to rattle him. His form dropped off dramatically with only 26 goals for the year. He was goalless in 7 games and his biggest haul was only 3 goals. However, St Kilda also had an ordinary year compared to the previous 2 years and limped into the Elimination Final but were convincingly beaten by Melbourne. It was no secret that Grant Thomas had Stephen Milne ready to be shipped out as trade bait. Then, Grant Thomas was famously sacked and it was probably the game plan of new coach Ross Lyon that kept Milne at St Kilda. As with all Ross Lyon teams, defence and the defensive skills of forwards were very important and Stephen Milne underwent a great change. Lyon instilled the importance of keeping the ball inside 50 at all costs and to tackle and get the contested ball. This was the start of two way running, the high half forward and small forwards who ran to the midfield if needed. Milney had to work on his physique and his stamina in the pre-season and went into 2007, bigger and with a bigger tank. However, as with the whole team, he was adjusting to the new game plan and scored a moderate 32 goals in his 22 games. In Round 11 against North Melbourne, he played in the midfield where he had 20 possessions, including 5 clearances and although goalless, had a good game. The Ross Lyon game plan started to take shape in 2008, and St Kilda started strongly with a win in the NAB Cup Grand Final beating Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. This year was a stellar year and almost a watershed year and a more muscular and team-oriented Milne playing more selflessly. He kicked goals in all but one game and kicked 60 goals for the season including two hauls of 7, in Round 7 against Richmond and Round 22 against Essendon. He fractured his cheekbone against Fremantle in the first quarter their Round 20 clash. The vision of the golf-ball size swelling was horrific. However, he continued to play, and made a big contribution to the win at Subiaco. He then played the next week and I think the football world had respect for Milne even though they still booed him every week. St Kilda made the finals again with Milne kicking 3 goals in the 1st Semi Final against Collingwood and then having 15 possessions and kicking 1.2 as St Kilda was badly beaten in the Preliminary Final against Hawthorn. In 2009, Ross Lyon continued fine tuning the game plan and by developing small defensive forwards like Eddy and McQualter to help Milne with the forward press. Milne (46 goals), Koschitzke (48 goals) and Riewoldt (78 goals) were also on the end of good supply from our strong midfield and defensive sweepers. St Kilda powered on to win its first 19 games in a row which was clearly a club record and stormed into the 2009 Finals Series atop the AFL Ladder. After a clinical victory over Collingwood in the Qualifying Final and a nail-biting win against the Western Bulldogs in the Preliminary Final, Saints fans were numb with expectation for the 2009 GF. The moment came and went in a flash and most Saints fans still find it difficult to take. Milne did not perform well in the finals series kicking 2 goals and being held goalless in the Grand Final. In 2010, St Kilda took a while to get going, possibly as a result of a Grand Final hangover, but gathered momentum in the 2nd half of the season. Milne was red-hot with 57 goals for the year, including 5.5 against Richmond in his 199th game and 4 goals in his 200th game against Fremantle. He was starting to get the recognition he deserved and it was probably only his off-field issues and his relationship with opposition fans that prevented this happening earlier. He was in career best form and this time he wasn’t going to have a poor finals series with 3 goals against Geelong in the Qualifying Final, and 2 goals in the Preliminary Final. The football moment he will be remembered for, and it is still difficult to write about this even know happened in the 2010 GF. With St Kilda 1 point down, time running out, and playing over the top of a tired Collingwood, a loose ball was rolling towards goal and could have bounced anywhere but decided to roll through for a point with Milne desperately close but arguably out of reach. From my vantage point behind the goals, it appeared to be well out of his reach and just needed a 2013 “Chad Wingard” bounce. The rest is history and we were overrun by Collingwood in the GF Replay. Milne kicked 2 goals in the draw and 2 in the Replay. He was St Kilda’s leading goal kicker in 2010 with 57 goals but I think he would have traded that for one good bounce. In 2011, Milne was really starting to earn a reputation as one of the great small forwards. Ex-players like Matthew Richardson and our own Danny Frawley were spruiking about the consistency of Milne over more than 200 games. This season St Kilda slipped out of the Finals and we all know about the Lyon departure now. While the Saints fans were feeling pretty low, one of the shining lights of the year was Stephen Milne. He was St Kilda’s leading goalkicker for the 3rd time with 56 goals and was amongst the top forwards in the AFL. His best was 8 goals against Adelaide in Round 18 and he scored 4 goals on 4 occasions. Stephen Milne earned All-Australian selection. Milne took that form into 2012, under new coach Scott Watters and although St Kilda did not make the Finals, Stephen Milne equalled his 2011 tally with 56 goals. He kicked a goal in all 22 games including 2 hauls of 5 goals in Rounds 15 and 22 against Essendon and GWS respectively. He was again named All-Australian and at 32 there was no question that he could go on for one or maybe more than one year. Unfortunately 2013, was going to be an unlucky number for Stephen Milne. For well-documented reasons outside of football, Milne and his family’s lives were placed in turmoil. First he was suspended in Round 4 and missed the chance to play St Kilda’s 1st game in NZ. After kicking 5 against West Coast in Round 11, Milne was given a leave of absence by the club and did not play again until Round 16. In the most volatile conditions and personal stress, he continued to play but with pending court proceedings, it seemed that Stephen Milne may be thinking about life after football, although you wouldn’t have known it in Round 22, 2013 where Milne got back to his best with 4 goals in a long-awaited win against the Gold Coast. Now, of course, we know that Milne had made the decision to retire and told the boys before the game. With Blake’s and Koschitzke’s pending retirements as well, the boys fired up and the young kids started to gel with some of the experienced players. A lot of the football media think Stephen Milne should and could go on in 2014 but I think he has drawn a line in the sand, pun intended, and he is about to take on the next chapter of his life. Stephen Milne is an exciting and electrifying footballer, a battler, and was well worth the price of admission. As time goes on, the football world will describe future goals as Milne-like. He has stamped his name into the history books. Stephen Milne has played the 6th most games for St Kilda and is 4th behind Lockett, Mohr and Loewe for goals kicked for St Kilda. He has kicked more goals than any AFL player (355) at Docklands Stadium. It will be a sad day on Saturday, when Stephen Milne pulls on the Red, White and Black Guernsey and ducks, weaves and uses his bag of tricks for the last time but it will be even sadder when we don’t see him on the field in 2014. However Saints fans will celebrate Stephen Milne as a champion footballer and a living highlights package. Like Jason Blake, he has got the most out of himself, endured adversity and will be remembered as a St Kilda legend and the best small forward of all time. Maybe we should launch the Stephen Milne Pocket at Etihad Stadium. There is only one Tony Lockett....but there is definitely only one Stephen Milne. Sources: Saints Footy Personal Experience, AFL, Wikipedia, AFL Encyclopedia.
Posted on: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 01:25:37 +0000
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