Jason Heatley remains one of the most loved Saints of the late ‘90s.

Following the departure of one of St Kilda’s favourite sons, Tony “Plugger” Lockett in 1994, Heatley filled the considerable void left at full-forward when he arrived from West Coast for the start of 1997.

His influential 73-goal season that year and deadly accuracy from set shots endeared him to Saints fans everywhere, and one of the biggest St Kilda cult heroes of recent times was born.

21 years on from that storied season at St Kilda, the Heatley name has returned to Linton St.

15-year-old Shelby Heatley was all set to undertake her Year 10 work experience at a law firm, but in a strange twist of fate, the daughter of the iconic Saint has landed at RSEA Park and spent this week learning the ins and outs of an AFL football club.

Gallery: Southern Saints debut game

After Shelby’s original arrangements fell through a few weeks ago, her mother Tash made a last-ditch phone call and the Saints leapt at the opportunity to welcome an old St Kilda name back into the fold.

With aspirations to one day represent the Saints in the AFLW, Shelby has revelled in the experience of working in an elite sporting environment, but says she didn’t know the magnitude of her father’s reputation at St Kilda.

“I knew he’d made a pretty good name for himself, but I didn’t realise just how well-known he was,” she told saints.com.au.

“Dad gets kind of a bit shy about the whole thing and doesn’t really talk about it much. There’s been a few times where people have come up and asked for photos, and he goes pretty red when that happens!”


Jason Heatley was an incredibly popular figure among the Saints faithful.

It’s no surprise that her father was instrumental in Shelby’s decision to choose football.

“It was my Dad, he definitely influenced me,” she said.

“Every Saturday we’d go to the footy, so my life already really revolved around footy.

“He signed me up for the Father-Daughter Program, so he’s all for me playing footy. He’s always calling me and asking how my games are going and about the different opportunities I’ve had.”

Southern Saints start strong

It’s also been a special week for Shelby, as returning to her father’s old stomping ground has deepened her connection to his footballing past.

“I didn’t really think about Dad being here too much before I arrived, but once someone mentioned Dad’s name, I realised how much this ground meant to him,” she said.

The timing of her work experience placement couldn’t be better for Shelby, with the inaugural VFLW season for the Southern Saints kicking off just last weekend.

Southern Saints Team Manager Kerry Hann pulled some strings with head coach Peta Searle, and Shelby sat in on the game review on Monday night before being asked personally by captain Georgia Walker to train with the VFLW side on Thursday night.

“I wouldn’t knock back the opportunity to train with such good players, so I’m excited and grateful for the experience, but I’m freaking out a little bit!”

Become a member of the Southern Saints

The hard-running onballer is into her third season of football, playing for Phillip Island and then last year representing Gippsland Power in the V-Line Cup, but her biggest goal is still ahead of her: to run out in the red, white and black her father proudly wore.

“It would be really awesome to put on that jumper, and it would connect me to Dad a lot, too,” she said with a grin.

“Just to be able to even train out on Moorabbin where Dad trained, it will be really cool.”

Shelby has already impressed onlookers with her athletic capacity and kicking skills, and she’ll look to keep improving as she tries to bring the Heatley name back to St Kilda.