Star midfielder Nick Dal Santo has agreed to stay a Saint at least until the end of 2013 while Lenny Hayes, Justin Koschitzke, Jason Gram, Adam Schneider and James Gwilt have signed on to the end of 2012.
The signings come after Leigh Montagna and Brendon Goddard signed until the end of 2012 last summer.
Jason Blake and Steven Baker have signed on to the end of 2011, while youngsters Ben McEvoy, Jack Steven, Alistair Smith and Rhys Stanley have also agreed to new deals.
St Kilda CEO Michael Nettlefold said the re-signings were testament to the work done by list manager Matthew Drain in the face of AFL expansion.
“Matthew Drain has done an outstanding job managing our list through an incredibly challenging period, given the contract pressures coming to bear on all AFL clubs with the entry of the two new interstate teams in the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney,” Nettlefold said in a statement released by the Saints on Wednesday.
“It would be hard to recall a period in the club’s recent history where so many people from the members, to the playing group, to the board of directors share the same passion and commitment to delivering excellence.”
Koschitzke will have played 12 seasons by the end of his latest contract and says he took a lot of pride in being a one-club player.
“The club has showed a bit of faith in us. We’ve all made a bit of a pact to stick together. That has happened all through my career. Not too many of us have dropped off on the way,” Koschitzke told the club’s website.
“We’ve held the group together and it looks like with a few young guys like Jack Steven coming on board with long-term contracts, we’ll all stay together.”
“Everyone I came through with - Rooey (Nick Riewoldt), Joey (Montagna), Dal and these guys are ten-year plus players now. We all said early days that we’d finish our career here and it’s certainly good to be a one club player."
