ST KILDA coach Ross Lyon first mused that the Saints' golden era might be over after their round three loss to Essendon.
The Saints' mid-season revival, which took them from 15th on the ladder after round eight to sixth by the end of the home and away season, gave the believers hope their premiership window might still be ajar.
But last Saturday night's loss to the Sydney Swans in a home elimination final left most, including Lyon, in no doubt that the era in which the Saints made five preliminary finals from 2004-10 and played off in the 2009 and 2010 Grand Finals was over.
That fact was underlined by the four 'retirements' announced after Saturday night's game. Of those, it is has since surfaced that only Michael Gardiner's was a genuine retirement, with Steven Baker, Andrew McQualter and Robert Eddy all delisted by the Saints, but keen to play on elsewhere.
So where to now for St Kilda?
The Herald Sun's Jon Ralph posed that very question on Monday.
Ralph suggested the Saints' first priority should be to extend Lyon's contract beyond the end of next season to keep him from Melbourne's clutches. Ralph argued Lyon has "wrung blood from a stone" in taking a team that "includes players with such limitations" to the heights of recent seasons.
Secondly, Ralph wrote that the Saints need to extend Brendon Goddard's contract beyond the end of next season. Ralph suggested Goddard would be the No. 1 target of GWS next season, but the Saints can't afford to lose him.
Finally, after losing $1.5 million this season, the Saints also need to relocate their home games to the MCG or negotiate a better deal at Etihad Stadium, Ralph wrote. He also touched on the Saints' sometimes unwelcoming approach to the media and contrasted their inclination for closed training sessions to the way Collingwood opens its doors to its fans.
The Age's Rohan Connolly focused on this issue in his Monday column, highlighting the fact that about 7500 Saints members did not renew their memberships in 2011 - a churn rate of about 20 per cent of St Kilda's total membership of nearly 40,000. This despite the Saints' outstanding on-field record of recent seasons.
Connolly suggested St Kilda's approach to the announcement of the 'retirements' of Gardiner, Baker, McQualter and Eddy was reflective of its lack of engagement with the media and its fans.
Connolly wrote that the media in the rooms at the time of the announcements were told in "no uncertain terms to get back and 'show some respect'". It meant St Kilda fans across the country missed out on "sharing that touching and spontaneous scene", Connolly wrote.
Later, a senior Saint "who does OK out of the media himself" refused to join Jason Blake in speaking to the media, Connolly wrote.
Connolly said such an attitude was "fairly typical" of the Saints, saying another player had snuck home earlier this season rather than doing a post-match interview with 3AW.
"The public face of St Kilda remains closed, scowling, and with a huge metaphorical 'keep out' sign plastered across it," Connolly wrote.
In that way, he argued, Saints fans are denied the chance to get to know the players they pay to watch.
Crows seek harder edge
For a club that's long been known for its stability, 2011 has been a tumultuous year for the Adelaide Crows.
Less than a year after being made a full-time club employee, Neil Craig resigned as coach. And, for the second time in 12 months, the Crows lost a key player to one of the AFL's expansion teams - this year it was Phil Davis to GWS, last year it was Nathan Bock to Gold Coast.
But the Crows are now preparing to recast themselves as the dominant, innovative force they once were.
Obviously, the most immediate issue they have to address is Craig's replacement.
The Advertiser gave us an update on the Crows' coach hunt on Monday. Chief football writer Michelangelo Rucci wrote that the Crows' coaching race had essentially been narrowed to two candidates - caretaker coach and favourite son Mark Bickley and West Coast assistant Scott Burns.
Rucci wrote that the Crows would learn this week if Burns wanted to coach them or replace Dean Bailey at Melbourne.
According to Rucci, both the Crows and the Demons were considering implementing a two-tiered coaching system, with an untried assistant as the senior coach and a former AFL coach as his mentor. Rucci wrote that the Demons were looking at teaming Burns with Craig, while the Crows were considering recently deposed Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade for a senior assistant role.
Adelaide CEO Steven Trigg also told Rucci the Crows were committed to turning their fortunes around, with player development and an aggressive approach at the draft and trade period to be among their priorities.
"We have to demand a harder edge and we need it quickly because time wastage (in the AFL) is a crime," Trigg said.
Hawks need Cyril more than ever
With Lance Franklin all but certain to miss this Friday night's semi-final against the Sydney Swans, Cyril Rioli suddenly becomes an even more important cog on the Hawks' forward line.
With Jarryd Roughead missing since mid-season after rupturing an achilles tendon, Rioli is left as the most dangerous goalkicker in the Hawks' front half.
Hawks skipper Luke Hodge showed in last Friday night's loss to Geelong that he is capable of taking some of the load off Rioli, and David Hale is a capable marking target, but, make no mistake, the Hawks will be looking to Rioli for an attacking spark.
That's why Mark Stevens' Stats Confidential column in Monday's Herald Sun might make troubling reading for Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson.
Stevens highlighted the gulf between Rioli's performances against the competition's top-eight teams this season and the also-rans.
Against teams outside the eight, Rioli averaged 16.6 disposals, 2.2 goals and 106.5 Champion Data ranking points a game in 2011, compared to 14.7, 0.7 and 81.1 against the other finalists.
Against Geelong in Friday night's second qualifying final, Rioli had 11 disposals, one goal and 53 Champion Data points on Cat star Corey Enright.
This Friday night, Rioli will probably face an opponent with a far lower profile in Swan Nick Smith. But Smith won't make life easy for Rioli. He held Saints small forward Stephen Milne to 14 disposals and a goal in the Swans' elimination final win last Saturday night.
It's hard to take your eyes off Rioli at the best of times during a game of football. But, on Friday night, he will be the most interesting sub-plot of what already shapes as an intriguing contest.
In short
Brisbane Lions great Luke Power will play on next season with Greater Western Sydney, The Courier-Mail reports. Power announced his retirement after the Lions' round 23 loss to West Coast last month, but was soon approached by the Giants about a coaching and mentoring role.
Melbourne is expected to up the ante in its bid to poach St Kilda coach Ross Lyon as Dean Bailey's replacement now that the Saints' finals campaign is over, The Age reports.
It would now take a "dramatic twist" for the Grand Final not to feature the competition's top two teams, Collingwood and Geelong, The Age's Rohan Connolly writes.
Former Port Adelaide midfielder and Advertiser columnist Josh Francou writes that Adelaide must ensure they get reasonable compensation for departing Victorian forward Jack Gunston in this year's trade period.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
