Alan Morrow couldn’t help thinking back to 1965 when he was shown around our great new facility at RSEA Park.

“It makes me feel like coming out of retirement,” said the 81 year old Saints hero.

While filming a story with Channel Nine’s Tony Jones, Morrow recalled that when the Saints moved into the ground 53 years ago the new surface was littered with debris.

“Yabby (coach Allan Jeans) said that we can’t train on this. There were bits of stone and glass and bits of wood and Yabby got us to line up with buckets and a couple of wheelbarrows and went right down the ground picking it up.”

Morrow wasn’t sure that the ground would be completed for the start of the ’65 season.

“At first I wasn’t sure why we had moved (from Junction Oval) but when I thought about it, I lived in Cheltenham so I was just around the corner," he said.

"I had just finished working in a foundry in South Melbourne and started working for Lindsay Fox, so they had followed me.”

The 1965 season started well for the Saints when they beat Collingwood by six points in the first game at Moorabbin, but it ended sadly with a loss to Essendon in the Grand Final. The day was made worse for Morrow when Essendon’s Charlie Payne landed on his foot in a marking contest just five minute into the game. Eventually he limped off and thought that the broken foot would end his career.

He showered in the rooms and when he headed into the grandstand faced the added indignity of an attendant refusing to give him a seat. It was only the intervention of a Saints official that enabled him to watch his teammates battle it out unsuccessfully against the Bombers.

He was talked out of retirement by Chairman of Selectors Des Nisbet who reminded him that another season would be his 10th and he would receive automatic life membership.

The story ended perfectly when Morrow had the ball in his hands at the final siren of the 1966 Grand Final.

While touring the new facility Morrow met Rowan Marshall and Jack Billings. The 201 cm Marshall was amazed that the 183 cm Morrow had played as a ruckman, matching the giants of the time such as Len Thompson, Polly Farmer and John Schultz.

For Alan Morrow it was a happy return to a place that held great memories and promises a bright future.

“This is tremendous, just huge”.