Meeting with Matt Finnis

[George]

Hey all,

New to the forums here. Big Saints man.

I've been doing some work for the Saints social media over the past twelve months and sent an e-mail to the club following the Jake Carlisle saga - Matt Finnis ended up reading my e-mail and inviting me to meet with him in two weeks time to discuss the state of the club, ways I think we can improve, etc etc.

Wanted to send this out to you all as you're all passionate Saints people and ask that if you have any ideas or initiatives on how the club can grow, post them in here! Could be anything from sponsorship to stadium deals to membership, marketing etc.

I won't take credit for any of your suggestions. If you have a suggestion, I'll make sure I let him know who gave it to me.

I honestly cannot believe he is taking the time out of his day to catch up with me lol. So I guess I'm going to make the most of it to not only benefit the club but to benefit the people who support it.

Cheers guys, liking this Saints section already!

 

[gringo2011]

Hey all,

New to the forums here. Big Saints man.

I've been doing some work for the Saints social media over the past twelve months and sent an e-mail to the club following the Jake Carlisle saga - Matt Finnis ended up reading my e-mail and inviting me to meet with him in two weeks time to discuss the state of the club, ways I think we can improve, etc etc.

Wanted to send this out to you all as you're all passionate Saints people and ask that if you have any ideas or initiatives on how the club can grow, post them in here! Could be anything from sponsorship to stadium deals to membership, marketing etc.

I won't take credit for any of your suggestions. If you have a suggestion, I'll make sure I let him know who gave it to me.

I honestly cannot believe he is taking the time out of his day to catch up with me lol. So I guess I'm going to make the most of it to not only benefit the club but to benefit the people who support it.

Cheers guys, liking this Saints section already!

He seems very open Finnis, he came up and introduced himself to me and my kids at last years jumper presentation. Really nice friendly guy. You should have no trouble talking to him.

Anyway the things I worry about are that the Moorabin redevelopment might be outgrown really quickly due to a lack of forward projection. It will wear thin if we go cap in hand saying we need a bigger training ground if we already have funding for two of them. There seems a lack of parking at Moorabin and limited surrounding land available. VFL stand alone will be great though.

I am probably also a little concerned they might have jumped early due to a better than expected year and started to stray from the path we had set out in jumping on Carlisle and Freeman rather than going to the draft.

As a family man the events put on closer to St kilda are much appreciated and really rate the time they are putting into the community. More of a push to get saints players to the Southern metro junior footy clubs would be good- we get Collingwood and ex players at the Caulfield Bears but there are more Saints fans than just about any other there.

Well done on the social media stuff too. They have really improved in the last couple of years.

 

[ERMAHGERD]

Cant remember if I read it on the St Kilda forums or on Facebook but I really like the idea of building our own stadium.
Can you imagine having 40,000 at Moorabbin? Cheering their lungs out for our lads!
Gives me shivers down the spine.
Not only benefiting the club financially but also creating that home ground advantage that interstate clubs have. Would be a dream to see that happen.

 

[George]

He seems very open Finnis, he came up and introduced himself to me and my kids at last years jumper presentation. Really nice friendly guy. You should have no trouble talking to him.

Anyway the things I worry about are that the Moorabin redevelopment might be outgrown really quickly due to a lack of forward projection. It will wear thin if we go cap in hand saying we need a bigger training ground if we already have funding for two of them. There seems a lack of parking at Moorabin and limited surrounding land available. VFL stand alone will be great though.

I am probably also a little concerned they might have jumped early due to a better than expected year and started to stray from the path we had set out in jumping on Carlisle and Freeman rather than going to the draft.

As a family man the events put on closer to St kilda are much appreciated and really rate the time they are putting into the community. More of a push to get saints players to the Southern metro junior footy clubs would be good- we get Collingwood and ex players at the Caulfield Bears but there are more Saints fans than just about any other there.

Well done on the social media stuff too. They have really improved in the last couple of years.

Thanks for the post mate!! Yeah I was emailing back and forth with his assistant and they all seem like genuinely nice people. Really excited to meet up with him.

I guess they've made a real big effort to, like they say, reconnect with the club. I've found it extremely engaging and they are all going about it the right way. I'll definitely let him know re Moorabbin, may even just link him to this thread if we get enough feedback lol. Thanks again though.

PS Caulfield Bears! I played 130 games there from 1996-2006! Grew up in the area too. Small world.

 

[George]

Cant remember if I read it on the St Kilda forums or on Facebook but I really like the idea of building our own stadium.
Can you imagine having 40,000 at Moorabbin? Cheering their lungs out for our lads!
Gives me shivers down the spine.
Not only benefiting the club financially but also creating that home ground advantage that interstate clubs have. Would be a dream to see that happen.

Like the Cattery hey haha

 

[Ads734]

I would love for you to ask him about how we aim to develop Moorabin, and our own VFL team whilst being in such a poor finnacial position. My suggestion is that you ask him to really consider, not just putting our eventual profis back into football departmant spending but also into investment ventures so we can really become a sustainable organisation ,prpoerty,shares etc.
Thanks

 

[austinnn]

One big area the the Saints seem to have improved in which needs constant improvement is match day experience. The cheer squad needs strengthening and revitalising. I'd like people to watch our games on TV and think "wow, it looks amazing to be a supporter at those games", either loads of fun or part of something really powerul and fearsome for opposition. Something which will encourage people to go to games themselves not watch on TV.

This means getting the right people involved on the ground and giving the licence and resources to thrive, not just shooting cheap Chinese merch out of a cannon.

 

[Gangnam Saint]

Hey all,

New to the forums here. Big Saints man.

I've been doing some work for the Saints social media over the past twelve months and sent an e-mail to the club following the Jake Carlisle saga - Matt Finnis ended up reading my e-mail and inviting me to meet with him in two weeks time to discuss the state of the club, ways I think we can improve, etc etc.

Wanted to send this out to you all as you're all passionate Saints people and ask that if you have any ideas or initiatives on how the club can grow, post them in here! Could be anything from sponsorship to stadium deals to membership, marketing etc.

I won't take credit for any of your suggestions. If you have a suggestion, I'll make sure I let him know who gave it to me.

I honestly cannot believe he is taking the time out of his day to catch up with me lol. So I guess I'm going to make the most of it to not only benefit the club but to benefit the people who support it.

Cheers guys, liking this Saints section already!

First off, well done! Great to hear they are willing to listen too.
Thinking about the long term future, the issue I am interested in is the introduction of draft academies for Melbourne clubs and potential re-introduction to zoning which seems to be a hot topic with the AFL.
We have a natural zone where we work with the community which stretches down Bayside into the Peninsula and is now threatened by the Hawks proposed $50m academy and training centre in Dingley. The facility would be a major drawcard for talented young players in the area.
Wondering if the club is aware of this competitive threat and if they are taking steps to safeguard our natural catchment to ensure we maintain access the best future talent?

If you get the opportunity I would love to know Matt's thoughts on the matter. Cheers

 

[gringo2011]

One big area the the Saints seem to have improved in which needs constant improvement is match day experience. The cheer squad needs strengthening and revitalising. I'd like people to watch our games on TV and think "wow, it looks amazing to be a supporter at those games", either loads of fun or part of something really powerul and fearsome for opposition. Something which will encourage people to go to games themselves not watch on TV.

This means getting the right people involved on the ground and giving the licence and resources to thrive, not just shooting cheap Chinese merch out of a cannon.

Yeah I'm not sure how you do the cheer squad better but we sit next to them sometimes as my kid loves being up the front behind the goals. They are seriously bad chants that make me cringe when I hear them. When you get a few outsiders who start cooler ones they get shouted down by the main CS. I remember suggesting on SS that we get the schools to make a banner and have some school reps to hold the banner. Go around bayside getting them on board. Give the schools Saint supporters the floggers and sit them in free seats for the day. Night games get a country supporters group on board or something. War heroes or homeless lesbians or some other special interest group. The soccer does cheers squads better.

I would like to see some theatrics and see if it works. Something like how the Melbourne Tigers ran on in the 1990s with Dr Albarn playing "Say hallelujah" with the light dimmed and spot lights on only maybe with "Saints are coming" or something appropriate. Some loud kitschy thing like that.

 

[gringo2011]

First off, well done! Great to hear they are willing to listen too.
Thinking about the long term future, the issue I am interested in is the introduction of draft academies for Melbourne clubs and potential re-introduction to zoning which seems to be a hot topic with the AFL.
We have a natural zone where we work with the community which stretches down Bayside into the Peninsula and is now threatened by the Hawks proposed $50m academy and training centre in Dingley. The facility would be a major drawcard for talented young players in the area.
Wondering if the club is aware of this competitive threat and if they are taking steps to safeguard our natural catchment to ensure we maintain access the best future talent?

If you get the opportunity I would love to know Matt's thoughts on the matter. Cheers

I reckon they could academy out the Private schools, Haileybury or Caulfield Grammar get a Saints trainer to come in a day a week to manage them into career AFL expectations or something and ask for drafting rights on the kids they develop. All the Melbourne clubs get one or two.

 

[Keg on legs]

One big area the the Saints seem to have improved in which needs constant improvement is match day experience. The cheer squad needs strengthening and revitalising. I'd like people to watch our games on TV and think "wow, it looks amazing to be a supporter at those games", either loads of fun or part of something really powerul and fearsome for opposition. Something which will encourage people to go to games themselves not watch on TV.

This means getting the right people involved on the ground and giving the licence and resources to thrive, not just shooting cheap Chinese merch out of a cannon.

Like it.

I can tell you, as someone who lives in Geelong, the cats do game day amazingly well.

They have brass bands playing as you walk in to the ground, LifeSize pictures of the players on the wall to stand next to and compare how tall they are compared to you etc. it has a real carnival feeling. whilst I appreciate its their ground and they don't have to share, there's got to be some portability about what they produce.

Also, i would love to see a bit more engagement from the players post game. They are better than back in the day where they would just stand in the centre square and clap the crowd - that felt a bit like "here I am... Adore me".

I love the presentation of the footy to kids, but maybe just stop and chat for ten seconds. It would mean so much to the kids (and us parents) to get to have a quick chat or even a quick photo with the guys. After all, we are all part of the one club.

Good job mate!

Edit- whilst I'm on a roll-

I thought with the pride match, we should invite gay and lesbian players from around the country to come in their club colours and they can have a kick or something on the ground at half time. It will show our support for them, and may even help some "come out" in a supportive environment. Being straight I don't know if that would help at all, but maybe??

 

[RoundCubic]

Did we look into a permenent partnership with Sandy always thought they were natural partners also they have a huge area around beach oval for facilities and we could upgrade the function area and use it for corp events in a similar way to the junction oval plan (still train at moorabbin some days)
Also just think they are all doing a great job and looking forward to 2016

 

[NeXus Nick]

Thanks for the post GJD23.
I really hope Matt and the Saints do not give up on New Zealand. Just a little background first.....My name is Nick and I was at the AGM all those years ago when (BUTTHEAD) Rod Butters announced that St Kilda were abandoning Tassie. During the Q&A I put my hand up to speak and to my surprise I was selected. I told BUTTHEAD that this was a very short sighted decision by the club and would one day come back to haunt us $$$$ wise. I mentioned that this would be a huge bonus for Hawthorn and pleaded for the decision to be reversed. Of course he just fobbed me off and said the players and coaches don't like playing there and went to the next person's question.

Please make sure that Matt doesn't make the same mistake with New Zealand. NZ is the best way to grow our club and potentially could make us as big as Hawthorn and Collingwood (if done right). Find out if the AFL will help fund the re-configuration of Eden Park for AFL. If they don't plan to then make them!! If we could play 2 home games and a NAB cup game there each year that would transform our club into a Power House. Will it happen overnight? No. Will it be easy to win the hearts and minds of the Kiwis? No. However if we do it right and stick to it I see no reason why we couldn't have 10,000 Kiwi members within 10 years. Not to mention all the flow on effect, eg. Kiwi's migrating to Australia automatically barracking for St Kilda.

Let me know how you go GJD23 and go Saints.

 

[Bushy70]

Heres an idea for you to pass on to him....

For our ressies (vfl) 1st game at Moorabbin have them olay in 1980's style polyester jumpers ( the ones with the big white collar). Have TISM play after the game. They were all big Saints fans.

Thanks Bushy.

 

[gringo2011]

Heres an idea for you to pass on to him....

For our ressies (vfl) 1st game at Moorabbin have them olay in 1980's style polyester jumpers ( the ones with the big white collar). Have TISM play after the game. They were all big Saints fans.

Thanks Bushy.

My son was having a laugh at Freeman's 1980s style Capper shorts so we might have something planned

 

[Sainttony]

The thing I worry about is that Hawthorn are moving to Dingley only 4 to 5 Ks away from Moorabbin. Does he think this is of concern as I imagine Haw trying to push for new members in OUR BACKYARD.

Has Junction oval been permanently abandoned.

 

[Munga]

Question: Are there any jobs available at the Saints? Specifically in IT? I'll happily take a pay cut and mow the lawns

 

[By a Point]

whilst we should make visiting our ground a great experience for our members, I would encourage to club to make the visitors welcome. Footy in Melbourne is great because there are two teams of supporters. I remember last year seeing North and St Kilda at Bellerive and thought we might as well not exist. We have still paid to go and made a spectacle of the game. Need to do too much, but just something to acknowledge the visitors.
I would also like to see a St Kilda cycling top.

 

[Loyal Sainter]

Hey mate, great that you've got the opportunity to chat with the great man Matty Finnis.

Cheer squad needs a MASSIVE overhaul. We need banner signs (one that says "That was SIGNIFICANTLY PLEASING" would be a great tip of the hat to Richo) and decent chants!
It just seems to be run by school girls at the moment. It's embarrassing to see the away team with a bigger cheer squad than us at our home games.
Not the biggest of problems I know, but probably an easy one to fix.

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts.

 

[STK2020]

I would love to know how the Saints are going to pay for Moorabbin .
And also how , what and when are members / supporters going to contribute to the move ?

 

[Mindtraveller]

Yeah I'm not sure how you do the cheer squad better but we sit next to them sometimes as my kid loves being up the front behind the goals. They are seriously bad chants that make me cringe when I hear them. When you get a few outsiders who start cooler ones they get shouted down by the main CS. I remember suggesting on SS that we get the schools to make a banner and have some school reps to hold the banner. Go around bayside getting them on board. Give the schools Saint supporters the floggers and sit them in free seats for the day. Night games get a country supporters group on board or something. War heroes or homeless lesbians or some other special interest group. The soccer does cheers squads better.

I would like to see some theatrics and see if it works. Something like how the Melbourne Tigers ran on in the 1990s with Dr Albarn playing "Say hallelujah" with the light dimmed and spot lights on only maybe with "Saints are coming" or something appropriate. Some loud kitschy thing like that.

I've always wondered why they don't go around after qtr time and asking people to come sit in the cheer squad. Will always look better if it's full.

I remember Freos being quite good this year when they played at Etihad.

 

[Winners Only]

Open up club to tours meet players etc, recruiting staff and deliver a package.

Sell game day packages with groups entering change rooms either before or after games! Then onto then function rooms...

Get our marketing team to attend some A League games and watch their supporters in their thousands chants and sing motivational songs throughout the entire game! AFL supporters are just as passionate they just need organising. It really makes for a memorable experrience at the soccer!

 

[George]

Gee cheers for all the suggestions fellas, really great stuff!!

Someone asked about how we're paying for Moorabbin. Got it on good authority that the Saints are looking to set up some kind of fundraising setup like Richmond did to clear the clubs debt. I think the Saints from what I've read need about 5m for the redevelopment. If I had the throw away cash for it I'd help em haha.

I'll definitely forward the info onto him though. Seems like the main concerns are Moorabbin and the Hawks moving up the road in Dingley. Also I guess just a continuation of the club-fan involvement, possibly taking it to a new level next year.

Cheer squad banner of SIGNIFICANTLY PLEASING is excellent hahaha, I'm all for that!!

BTW boys I'm seeing him on the 11th of December, so still a couple weeks away. If anything pops up that you think of just put it in this thread!

Cheers

 

[George]

whilst we should make visiting our ground a great experience for our members, I would encourage to club to make the visitors welcome. Footy in Melbourne is great because there are two teams of supporters. I remember last year seeing North and St Kilda at Bellerive and thought we might as well not exist. We have still paid to go and made a spectacle of the game. Need to do too much, but just something to acknowledge the visitors.
I would also like to see a St Kilda cycling top.

http://shop.saints.com.au/st-kilda-saints-mens-cycling-ss-jersey-107645.phtml

 

[George]

Question: Are there any jobs available at the Saints? Specifically in IT? I'll happily take a pay cut and mow the lawns

http://www.saints.com.au/club/about/Careers

Keep an eye out mate Believe me I'd work there as a volunteer if I had the time.