AFTER more than a two-year absence from the Friday night timeslot, St Kilda returns to the big stage and chief executive Matt Finnis says his club is relishing the chance to be back in the spotlight.
The Saints were left out of the prime-time slot in 2016, with their most recent Friday night match a 74-point loss to Collingwood in round three of 2015.
That match is part of an 11-game losing streak on Friday nights – a streak St Kilda is hoping to end when it hosts flag fancy Greater Western Sydney at Etihad Stadium.
"It's a terrific opportunity for our players to play on the Friday night stage. Not just for our players, but for all Saints fans to feel that sense of occasion which comes with Friday night footy," Finnis told AFL.com.au.
"We've been a bit in the wilderness in a sense, and it's nice to come in to the big stage."
The run of 11 losses extends back to round 20, 2011, the last time former Saints boss Ross Lyon coached against the Dockers. St Kilda hasn't made finals since that year.
St Kilda has consecutive Friday night matches when it travels to South Australia to face Adelaide in round 12, before facing North Melbourne the following week as the away team at Etihad Stadium.
The Saints also kick off round 17 when they host Essendon at the same venue.
The club missed finals on percentage in 2016, and was praised for playing a fast and attractive style of football.
"In our submission to the AFL on fixturing last year, we made it clear that Saints people felt that the club had done its fair share of the heavy lifting when it came to Sunday twilights, and some of these timeslots that are less traditional and often more challenging for families and supporters," he said.
"To have four Friday night games this year was a positive result for us.
"We understand the way the fixturing system works. We understand that in 2014 and 2015, we weren't playing the most attractive footy. We weren't as competitive as we'd like to be."
Having been saddled with 10 Sunday matches last year, four of which were a twilight fixture in the Victorian time zone, imposed a financial burden for St Kilda.
"We've noticed the impact of having very little Friday night appearances commercially because of the sheer weight of viewers that you get with Friday night football," Finnis said.
"The value (and) the exposure for your sponsors is immense. In one Friday night, you can have as many viewers as you might achieve in four or five games on a Sunday afternoon that aren't on free-to-air (television).
"You get four Friday nights, all of a sudden the value that you're delivering to your commercial partners is incredibly greater than what it's been in the past.
"That doesn't translate to financial upside straight away – it's got a longer tail than that. It takes a little while to catch up, but it's a very important building block of the financial health of our club."
St Kilda posted a seven-figure profit last year, but that included grant funding for the Moorabbin redevelopment and increased depreciation of the Seaford venue that came about because the club is expected to relocate in early 2018.
Gates for the Saints v Giants clash open at 5.45pm AEST and ticket prices start from $25, with more information on saints.com.au.
