THIS HAS not been a calculated reconnaissance mission designed to torture the hearts and minds of the Saints. Indeed, the Sydney Swans are quick to tell you it is pure coincidence.
But St Kilda must be sick and tired of the Swans coming along and raiding its key forward stocks…. or rather, its forwards wanting a 'change of scenery' and heading to the Harbour City.
In 1992 Tony Lockett kicked 132 goals in a season for St Kilda. It is a tally that has not been bettered in 20 years. Lockett was one of a kind, king of the goalsquare, the last key forward to win a Brownlow Medal. Flawed? Yes. Replaceable? Hardly.
But two seasons after kicking his best season haul, the black was gone from Lockett's jumper and he was draped just in red and white. He wanted a change of scenery.
In his first year at the Swans, in 1995, Lockett kicked 110 goals, just to remind Saints fans what they were missing. He backed up with 121 goals as the Swans soared into the Grand Final in 1996.
It was not all doom for St Kilda. That season the Saints unveiled another key-position prospect. His name was Barry Hall. And the following year it was Hall's turn to play in a Grand Final.
While Lockett became the greatest goalkicker of all time, Hall earned the moniker of "Big, Bad, Bustling, Barry…," courteous of Channel Seven commentator Sandy Roberts.
In Hall, the Swans saw something similar to Lockett. Both men were powerful, both men were feared, both had inimitable presence, both were accurate kicks. It was simply a quirk of fate that both men played for St Kilda. And it was simply a quirk of fate that Hall wanted a change of scenery after 2001.
The difference between Hall and Lockett, however, was that Hall's best return for a season prior to joining the Swans was a somewhat modest 44 goals.
In need of a power forward, the Swans rolled the dice. And once again they would have almost instantaneous success. Hall would crack the half-ton for the first time in his career in his debut year for the Swans, despite missing five games with suspension. And he made annual improvements on that tally, peaking in 2005 with 80 goals.
And yes, once again the Swans would ride on the back of their former Saint forward to play in a Grand Final, and this time it was a Grand Final they would win.
Now another St Kilda forward has said he wants a 'change of scenery' and has headed north, albeit, this time he is merely a prospect, an uncapped player.
Needless to say, the bow has to be drawn long, very long, to mention 'Plugger' and Tommy Walsh in the same breath. However, for St Kilda fans, if Walsh simply turns in to a regular player they will surely be aggrieved.
The Swans clearly see something in Walsh (it should be noted that Leigh Tudor and Peter Berbakov, assistant coaches at the Swans, recently spent time at St Kilda, the latter leaving the Saints just a few weeks ago).
Walsh's improvement is already monumental. Not that long ago he was on the other side of the world, kicking about a round ball. His development is such that he has finished in VFL club Sandringham's top 10 best and fairest in the past two seasons and, as of last week, two AFL clubs were chasing his signature.
The Swans won. St Kilda stated its disappointment. Some will think the Swans paid over the odds. But the reality is they probably did that with Hall, Darren Jolly and Shane Mumford as well.
They have been outrageous successes and at age 23 there is plenty of time for Walsh to prove the Swans' judgment right again.
Of course, St Kilda fans will undoubtedly hope their northern rivals are just a little bit right, while the Swans will want Walsh to join the rich history of St Kilda players who have chiselled their name into red-and-white history.
So far, former St Kilda players who have topped the Swans' goalkicking table are Lockett, Hall and Roy Cazaly. It may be accidental, but this kid from Ireland is following the footsteps of titans.
Indeed, it would be some story if he delivered.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
