IT ALL started when Ernie Merrick bumped into David Rath at a café in Black Rock on the eve of the pre-season.
The former Melbourne Victory manager had crossed paths with St Kilda's head of football during his time at the Victorian Institute of Sport, but neither knew this chance encounter would lead to the unlikely pairing of two wily coaches this season.
Rath invited the two-time A-League championship winner to speak to the playing group and before the 69-year-old travelled to Scotland in late November, Merrick had agreed to join the football department at RSEA Park in a mentoring role for senior coach Brett Ratten.
Merrick isn’t in the building to tell Ratten how to shut down Jordan De Goey, limit the influence of Darcy Moore and beat Collingwood at Marvel Stadium in round one.
He isn’t the missing puzzle piece that will launch St Kilda back into September. But he will provide Ratten with a sounding board in the lead-up to games, in the box and in the review.
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It should come as no surprise that Rath's fingerprints are all over this.
While St Kilda has higher profile figures in its football department like Simon Lethlean and Graeme Allan, Rath has one of the sharpest minds in the game, honed over 15 years working alongside Alastair Clarkson at Waverley Park and two seasons inside AFL headquarters in Docklands.
St Kilda added Geelong great Corey Enright as an assistant coach, experienced development coach Damian Carroll as head of development and Irishman Nick Walsh as high performance boss at the end of a 2021 campaign that failed to meet expectations.
But it is the arrival of the carefully considered Scotsman that has drawn the greatest level of intrigue from external observers.
"Some could call the role being a mentor or a critical friend. I like to think of it as less critical and more of a friend. The role is really determined by Brett," Merrick tells AFL.com.au with a laugh this week.
"He wants to see how I communicate with players and staff. I will be there for the pre-game session and the team talk the day before; match day he wants me to be in the box sometimes and sometimes on the bench listening to how the instructions are passed along. He wants me to attend the review process as well."
While he is best known in this town for his time as the inaugural coach of Melbourne Victory, Merrick also managed Hong Kong and A-League franchises Wellington Phoenix and the Newcastle Jets.
Now the veteran coach is spending three days a week embedded inside the football department at St Kilda Football Club, adding bits and pieces, gleaning bits and pieces, enjoying a unique opportunity that doesn’t come along too often in the AFL.
"Brett's a really open person," he said.
"He's honest, very considerate and a kind man who has the same relationship with his players as his staff, so it's an absolute pleasure to work with him.
"He doesn’t mind me discussing things with him and he's always interested in what I have to say and I'm certainly interested in what he has to say.
"I've learnt a lot from both Brett and his staff that he has there, whether it be Brendon Lade, Corey Enright, Jake Batchelor – all the staff – Jarryd Roughead's quite a character as well. I'm learning a lot to be honest, probably more than what I'm giving.
"Everyone is best of friends in pre-season and his role is to make sure we're prepared for the season to come. We're undefeated now but the pressure will come when the season starts.
"Pressure is a good thing; it means you're doing what you want to do and you're creating opportunities for other people. Things will heat up with competition."
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Ratten isn’t the first AFL coach to pick Merrick's brains. Premiership-winning coaches Mark Thompson, Damien Hardwick, Mark Williams and Clarkson have all spent time with him on a less formal basis, sharing ideas that are transferrable to both codes.
Merrick is tight with former Adelaide coach Neil Craig – who has performed a similar role recently with Stuart Dew at the Gold Coast Suns – and has previously spoken with Brisbane coach Chris Fagan, while St Kilda assistant coach Brendon Lade came across to Wellington to further his development while he was still in charge of the Phoenix.
"We've got some really good footy intelligence at the footy club; we don’t need to talk too much about kicking the ball or catching the ball too much; it's more about what a high performance environment looks like. Ernie has a look at that and gives feedback around that," Ratten told AFL.com.au earlier this month.
"His success rate and what he's done as a coach (was attractive to us). He's such a positive man. In a short period, I've really enjoyed it. We've clicked really early and feel really comfortable. I really value what he's done in his sport and what he can add to us.
"He'll come game day and look at how we work on game day in the box and on the bench, how we communicate and how we do things. He will be there for us to improve. It doesn't matter what age you are, whether you're a player, coach, administrator, you've got to keep improving."
Despite Merrick's transition from one winter code to another, the Edinburgh lad hasn't retired from football management.
Age is only a number to Merrick, who draws inspiration from Watford manager Roy Hodgson – who was recently appointed to replace Claudio Ranieri at the age of 74 – and feels reinvigorated after spending time with Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou in Glasgow.
"Everyone thought I'd retired, but I'm too young, too healthy, too fit, too excited to retire. I haven’t bought the dressing gown and the slippers and the pipe yet," Merrick quipped.
"Someone advised me to go on social media, explaining that I was out of sight, out of mind. If the right position came along, I would certainly be interested.
"I was pretty keen to stay in Melbourne, but I would look at other options. I like travelling but I'm not sure I'd move to Asia again. Not sure if something would come up in Europe.
"But if something comes up in Australia again, the next season starts in October, my contract at St Kilda ends in October so it might be something I get to do again. I would certainly jump at it."
Twitter is better for Merrick's arrival on the platform. Now the Saints are hoping his arrival will help them return to September. If that happens, Rath might have some A-League clubs calling him by the end of the season.