This week St Kilda takes on the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, which will also be the annual Barker-Whitten Challenge, a game that pays tribute to Bulldogs legend Ted Whitten and St Kilda champion Trevor Barker, who both passed away from cancer. The Barker-Whitten Challenge was established in 2000, with the captain of the winning team presented with the award after the game.
For St Kilda fans Trevor Barker will always fly high. Almost twelve years have passed since he died so tragically and with so much left to give. He was the local kid who lived out his dream of becoming a St Kilda player. He was spectacular, acrobatic and was the red, white and black hero of his age.
But beyond those qualities he also possessed an insatiable work ethic and a willingness to do the hard things. The skyscraper marks may live on in the video highlights packages, but his tackling technique was perhaps better than any St Kilda player before or since.
Yes he had true star quality, but he was also a footballer who constantly worked to improve his game and his club. Those are the attributes that make him such a shining light in our history and a person to whose values every
St Kilda footballer should aspire.
Barker-Whitten Challenge Stats:
2000 Western Bulldogs
2001 St Kilda
2002 Western Bulldogs
2003 St Kilda
2004 Western Bulldogs
2005 St Kilda
2006 St Kilda
2007 St Kilda
Rivalry Round Stats:
Western Bulldogs v St Kilda
• 142 matches, Saints have won 68, Bulldogs 71, 3 draws
• St Kilda has won 4 of the last 5, the most recent contest was a draw, Round 18, 2007 at Telstra Dome
• The two sides have met twice in finals, both wins to the Bulldogs, 1961, 1992
• Have never met in a Grand Final
• Both sides have just 1 premiership each, the Bulldogs in 1954 and the Saints in 1966
• Both sides are in a unique position, there will be at least three 300 game players playing in this match, Robert Harvey for the Saints, Scott West and Brad Johnson for the Bulldogs
