Saints 09 Fixture Statement

24 Oct 2008

The St Kilda Football Club is pleased to announce a fixture for 2009 that will allow more members and supporters to attend live games and watch the Saints in action.

The full 2009 fixture released by the AFL this morning revealed an increase in Sunday games for the Saints who will also play five interstate away matches and pioneer the league’s Monday Night Football initiative against Collingwood at Telstra Dome in Round 7.

Senior Coach Ross Lyon said, “It’s a positive draw in a football sense.”

“We play 15 of our 22 matches at the Telstra Dome, only travel to Perth and Queensland once and return to the Gold Coast for a home game against the Demons.”

The key points for the Saints in the 2009 fixture are:

15 of 22 games to be played at the Telstra Dome
The first time in five seasons the Club embarks on just one Perth trip
No game at the Gabba for just the second time in 12 years
Monday Night Football against Collingwood in Round 7
A return to the Gold Coast for a home clash against Melbourne in Round 10
Just one game each against the 2008 Grand Finalists, including playing Hawthorn in Tasmania
Home and away matches against Melbourne, Essendon, West Coast, Kangaroos, Sydney, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs

While St Kilda strongly believes it has been handed a fair football draw, the Club also realises that it faces a significant commercial challenge given the redistribution of highly sought after timeslots which leaves the Saints without a Friday night home game in 2009.

Saints CEO Archie Fraser said, “It’s a major shift away from what the Club has been used to over the past few seasons, but we are committed to making the most of the hand we’ve been dealt and we are well advanced with strategies on how to maximise improved membership satisfaction and growth from this draw.”

“On a positive note, it’s a fair footy draw that gives our members and supporters the opportunity to come and watch more live St Kilda games at the Telstra Dome in a range of new time slots that haven’t been available over the past few years. At the end of the day, we’re all involved to win football games and we believe this draw will give us a solid opportunity to achieve this outcome.”

All media requests for interviews, press releases, information, or images to be directed to:

Melissa Arbuthnot
melissa.arbuthnot@communecom.com.au

Janina Czado
janina@communecom.com.au

CommunEcom Strategic Communications
P.O. Box 689
Balgowlah NSW 2093

Ph: +61 2 9949 9788
Fax: +61 2 9949 9688

Saints 09 Fixture Statement

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