Every morning Alan Richardson and the rest of the St Kilda Football Club walk into the Linen House Centre, through reception, turn right down a corridor adorned with red, white and black legends and through the kitchen area which seemingly always has piles of fresh fruit perched on tables.

For more than six years, VF Siciliano & Sons has provided the Saints with a wide range of fruits for not only the playing group, but the entire football club. This may sound normal, but for the fact that for the entire journey, the company has sent the fruit free of charge, with no expectations of anything in return.

“There are a lot of people that give to your footy club to make it work. Every morning I come into the footy club you can’t help that notice the fruit that sits in the kitchen area for not only our players, but our whole club,” Richardson said.

“At the Best and Fairest last year I was introduced to Tony and told this is the man, who off his own back donates all the fruit we consume at the club each week, and he’s someone who wants nothing in return and no recognition.”

On the back of that meeting at the Trevor Barker Award last September, and with the players in the middle of their four-day break, Richardson made the trip up to Swan Hill on Friday to pay Tony Siciliano and his wife Gina a visit.

“I mentioned to him that I wouldn’t mind popping up one day. I just wanted to go up and say thanks and explain that what he does for our club doesn’t go unnoticed, that it’s really important for our players to help them perform at their best,” Richardson said.

“And given he can’t get down to games because of where he lives, this is the least we can do to show our appreciation for what Tony and his family do for our club.”

For Tony and his two brothers, Bruno and Fred, who jointly run the stone fruit supplier, football has been in their blood their entire lives.

Tony is a diehard Saints supporter who also has a strong link to the game in their local community through their work with the Woorinen Football Netball Club. As for the other two, they both support rival teams now, but according to Richardson they showed signs of wavering and could be close to becoming Saints fans.

Richardson spent Friday night with Tony and Gina, being treated like a king, before seeing how the whole business operated on Saturday, as well as the impact the company has on the local community.

“I had a wonderful night with Tony and Gina. They’re an Italian family, so there was pasta, schnitzels, roasted eggplant – everything you can imagine. It was incredible; just unbelievable hospitality,” Richardson said.

“The next day, when the plant was up and running I was able to go through and see the whole operation. They employ over 200 people in the town, they do an amazing job.

“I got to meet some people from their local footy club who they support and sponsor extensively. So they do some terrific work within the community.

“I learnt that Tony’s a very, very loud snorer. In fact I thought the neighbour had the chainsaw out at one stage. He can certainly pump out the Z’s. It was an amazing experience.”

There are many unsung heroes, like the extended Siciliano family inside the Saints and every football club. For Richardson and St Kilda, the trip to Swan Hill was simply to show that the club truly appreciates their generosity and don’t take it for granted.