Club historian Russell Holmesby watched his first Saints game at the age of six, and over six decades has literally seen it all. Nothing delights a footy fan as much as a comeback from nowhere. Here are his favourite four.

4. St Kilda v South Melbourne, 21 July 1962 at South Melbourne

The Lake Oval was more aptly the 'Mud Oval' on that gloomy afternoon.

In that era there is no wet-weather rule to change the ball at the end of each quarter and by late in a soggy afternoon the footy is sodden and heavy. The Saints trail by six goals at the final change and something desperate is needed.

Coach Allan Jeans summons champion full-back Verdun Howell to the forward line, which has so far managed just three goals for the day. In an instant, Howell boots a goal and sends the ball soaring out of the ground.

Not only does it give the Saints a flicker of hope, but more importantly means the lost ball has to be replaced with a fresh footy and the Saints have the breeze at their backs.

Howell revels in the role of key forward and gives his team a focal point. To this stage of his VFL career he has kicked just a single goal in 70 games, but his three in this magic half hour turns the tide.

A stunned South Melbourne fails to score in the closing term as St Kilda piles on 8.5 and bolts to a 17-point win.

3. St Kilda v Western Bulldogs, 9 May 2015 at Docklands

There is nothing in the opening quarter to suggest that this game will become memorable for every Saints fan.

The Bulldogs hold a seven-point lead after the first 30 minutes, before they kick in to gear with a seven-goal second term to hold a hefty 49-point lead at the long break.

The Saints have only managed one point for the quarter, but seem to be sparked into action when a Bulldogs hot-head bowls over skipper Nick Riewoldt and ignites a wild melee just on half-time.

Suddenly, St Kilda discovers the touch and positivity that had been absent from the game, but when Jake Stringer kicks the opening goal a minute into the third quarter, the gap has been stretched to 55 points.

The Saints then find momentum as the Bulldogs are becalmed, booting seven unanswered goals including three in time-on from Luke Dunstan, Jack Sinclair and Josh Bruce to cut the margin to 12 points.

It’s not over yet as the Bulldogs score two goals in the opening three minutes of the last quarter, but that will be the end of any resistance as they will only add three rushed behinds for the rest of the day.

Nineteen-year-old Jack Billings turns on the game of his life and with his third goal for the quarter, and fourth for the game, seizes the lead for the first time all day as the last quarter enters time-on.

The Bulldogs have nothing left in the tank as St Kilda celebrates a seven-point win. Billings’ heroics capture two Brownlow votes and is only surpassed \by David Armitage’s three votes for a 45-disposal extravaganza. 

2. St Kilda v Sydney, 8 May 1994 at SCG

No matter how many times a hardcore Saints fan watches this game on YouTube (which at one stage in the third term had ballooned out to a 51-point Swans lead) , you still ponder with time running out in the last quarter, 'How did we get up from here?'.

The answer comes in two words – Tony Lockett.

The afternoon was a Kaleidoscope of the total Plugger package – a headline-grabbing report for running through Peter Caven, a failed attempt to fire a jet-propelled kick at a foul-mouthed abuser behind the goals and above all else, an 11-goal masterclass that transcended all else on the field.

And to top it all off, the match-winning goal in the closing minute complete with an 'up yours' gesture to his tormenters.

While Swans star Paul Kelly was awarded the three Brownlow votes, the umpires only saw fit to give 'Plugger' the two votes. They did notice him often enough to penalise him with seven free kicks against and only one for.

The one-point win came at the end of an eight-goal Saints final quarter.

1. St Kilda v Melbourne, 27 July 27, 2025 at Marvel Stadium

First off, let’s get this into perspective.

In 128 years of VFL/AFL football and 16,791 games, no team has previously been 46 points down at three-quarter time and then won the game.

No team. Ever.

So if any outsiders reckon we celebrated excessively, we simply need to recite those stats.

Nobody saw that coming, especially after the Saints had completed probably their worst three quarters in the previous five weeks.

When Jack Higgins bagged the first goal of the final quarter, the best we could hope for was that at least it gave the boys a sniff. Few fans dared to believe we would actually go on to overcome the whopping deficit.

The Saints prevailed and those moments have been pored over and analysed endlessly over recent days.

The closing minutes and the calm and brilliant strategy of Rowan Marshall and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera will live on forever in Saintly hearts. One wag posted his personal Brownlow votes: 3 - Nasiah, 2 - Wanganeen, 1 - Milera.

And that says it all about our greatest ever comeback.