Games: 230
Career: 1987-1998
Accolades: 2 x Trevor Barker Award (1989, 1995), 2 x All Australian (1991, 1995), Mark of the Year (1992), Michael Tuck Medal (1996), Aboriginal Sportsperson of the Year (1999), St Kilda Team of the Century member, St Kilda Hall of Fame inductee (2003), Indigenous Team of the Century, West Australian Football Hall of Fame (2009)

In our quest to narrow down the most influential Saint of the 1990s, we couldn’t overlook the man who made arguably the most iconic stand in Australian sporting history.

When Nicky Winmar lifted his jumper at Victoria Park to the jeers and vitriol of an irate Collingwood home crowd, the racial landscape of this country was altered forever.

So celebrated is his strong, defiant pose in that timeless photograph that Cuz’s unmatched ability as a footballer is often clouded by his sizeable legacy in race relations.

Winmar’s natural skills covered the full range of the champion's repertoire, and the boy from the West Australian wheatbelt proved to be an inspired recruiting selection.

He came to the Saints with a reputation for inconsistency, but in his first three years ran second in the best and fairest and also won the award.

He was a superb kick and had the capacity to soar for huge marks from only a couple of steps.

The understanding and synergy he developed with Tony Lockett made them one of the most formidable combinations in the game.

He was the first Aboriginal footballer to play 200 AFL games.

Growing up as a youngster he would practise on a muddy piece of ground that had been hosed to replicate the wintry conditions in Melbourne.

Aside from his superb ball skills he was also a technically perfect tackler who could mow down unsuspecting players with his lightning pace.

He could anticipate the direction players would take on the field and could nail them with a superbly applied tackle every time.

Renowned for his quiet nature, Winmar retreated from the public eye after his career, but recent years have seen the superstar Saint return to Melbourne and reignite his ties with the club.