THROUGHOUT the course of their histories, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs have been parallel in many ways.
The most obvious similarity is the fact that they are the only two Victorian based clubs to have won just one premiership – the Saints in 1966 and the Bulldogs in 1954.
But the similarities run deeper than that.
The two clubs are seen in many ways as the underdogs of the competition – not quite with the membership base of Collingwood, Essendon or Carlton but still capable of punching above their weight.
The two identify with areas of suburban Melbourne – the Dogs synonymous with the western suburbs while the Saints have always been linked with Melbourne’s bayside.
Then there are the men who have represented both clubs over time – Shane Birss, Farren Ray, Luke Penny and Brian Wilson all began their careers at the Bulldogs before finding their way to St Kilda.
Unfortunately for the Saints, the bigger names have gone the other way with Nicky Winmar, Barry Hall and Bruce Duperouzel all finishing up in the kennel after starting out as Saints.
St Kilda director and former club best and fairest Andrew Thompson cut his teeth as a supplementary list player with the Bulldogs before embarking on a long career with the Saints.
Another St Kilda best and fairest winner, Max Crow went on to finish his career in the red, white and blue.
The Saints have had some stirring wins in preliminary finals against the Bulldogs in 2009 and 2010 that saw them through to Grand Finals, while the Bulldogs had wins over the Saints in finals in 1961 and 1992.
Some other memorable St Kilda wins came in the round eight, 1984 clash. Saints stars Tony Lockett and Trevor Barker had been injured early in the game with a groin and concussion respectively. Barker returned late in the game to kick a goal in the Saints’ resurgence.
Twelve years later, the courageous blond number one was once again foremost in the minds of St Kilda fans as the Saints took on Footscray just days after Barker’s premature death from cancer.
Both teams had an emotional minute silence before the game and the Saints had an inaccurate day in front of goal. But eight majors from Stewart Loewe and an impressive performance from Joel Smith, including the sealer got the Saints over the line in an emotional victory.
The Bulldogs’ biggest ever score came in a not so memorable game for the Saints in 1978.
That day the Bulldogs booted 33.15 (213) to the Saints 16.10 (106) at Western Oval. Star forward Kelvin Templeton kicked 15.9 in what remains a club goal kicking record.
