One Pick From A Premiership: St Kilda Saints
The 1997 AFL Grand Final was the Saints' big chance, but they could not overcome the combination of Jarman and McLeod. Most of the Saints 1997 team had been put together through the drafts and if they had come up with another player or two it might have changed the result. In the 1992 draft two South Australian players were taken at 16 and 17. The Saints took Brodie Atkinson and the next player drafted was Kym Koster, he would be traded to the Crows and would be part of the team that defeated the Saints in 1997.
The Saints drafted North Adelaide's Atkinson instead of South Adelaide's Koster. The Crows had a great team in 1997 and 1998 and might not have needed Koster anyway, but the Saints would have preferred Koster on their team than playing against him. Koster would have started on a wing for the Saints and sent the ball into the forward line of Loewe, Hall and Heatley. The Crows would have been without Koster, and with less run through the midfield Blight might have been a bit more reluctant to take Jarman from the middle to play at full forward.
But maybe Koster would have wanted to leave the Saints, as he did with the Bulldogs, and return to South Australia. That might have been a good move for the Saints too, as the Crows were happy to trade pick 9 in the 1995 draft for Koster. Pick 9 could have been used on Simon Prestigiacomo, Scott Welsh or Kane Johnson.
The Saints were leading at halftime of the 1997 Grand Final, a couple of small changes to the Saints and the result would have gone their way. The first round of the 1992 draft had the Saints missing out on a future dual-premiership player in Koster. If they had drafted him then the Saints might have benefited from his 7 tackles and 14 disposals in the 1997 game, instead of being on the receiving end as Koster helped the Crows to the win.
Tomorrow: Sydney Swans
The Saints drafted North Adelaide's Atkinson instead of South Adelaide's Koster. The Crows had a great team in 1997 and 1998 and might not have needed Koster anyway, but the Saints would have preferred Koster on their team than playing against him. Koster would have started on a wing for the Saints and sent the ball into the forward line of Loewe, Hall and Heatley. The Crows would have been without Koster, and with less run through the midfield Blight might have been a bit more reluctant to take Jarman from the middle to play at full forward.
But maybe Koster would have wanted to leave the Saints, as he did with the Bulldogs, and return to South Australia. That might have been a good move for the Saints too, as the Crows were happy to trade pick 9 in the 1995 draft for Koster. Pick 9 could have been used on Simon Prestigiacomo, Scott Welsh or Kane Johnson.
The Saints were leading at halftime of the 1997 Grand Final, a couple of small changes to the Saints and the result would have gone their way. The first round of the 1992 draft had the Saints missing out on a future dual-premiership player in Koster. If they had drafted him then the Saints might have benefited from his 7 tackles and 14 disposals in the 1997 game, instead of being on the receiving end as Koster helped the Crows to the win.
Tomorrow: Sydney Swans
