Ross Lyon is the “warming favourite” to return to coach St Kilda, and he’s got a former Saints star ready to stand alongside him as assistant coach.
Former number one draft pick Brendon Goddard believes his ex-mentor Lyon would be “perfect” to replace Brett Ratten, who was sacked in shock scenes earlier this week.
And Goddard, a two-time All Australian who played 205 games for the club, says he’d be available as a potential assistant if the club needed.
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“I’m pretty confident in my ability to see the game, know the game and be able to teach, essentially,” he told the Herald Sun.
“I’d be pretty confident in doing anything, but a line coach or something along those lines.”
Goddard said there was “no reason” why Lyon couldn’t walk back into Moorabbin after his infamous defection to Fremantle back in 2011.
Another former one draft pick, Bryce Gibbs, said he believed the Saints had someone in mind to replace Ratten given the timing of the decision.
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“Whether they just didn’t tell the media and tell everyone yesterday of their actual plans, they would have to have some sort of idea of who is next in line,” he said on SEN.
“You can’t be making these decisions a couple of weeks out from pre-season and the start of a draft when you only signed this coach, Brett Ratten, three months ago to a contract extension.”
At Friday’s press conference, Saints CEO Simon Lethlean said the club had made “no decisions” about the next coach.
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“What I would say is between Andrew and myself and the board, we’ve uncovered what we need and our members need to know we’ll be swift and decisive and go and find the coach we need,” he said.
According to 7NEWS journalist Mitch Cleary, Lyon remains the “warming favourite” to replace Ratten – who was sacked just three months after he signed a two-year contract extension.
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And he’s not the only senior figure who could depart amid a thorough review of the club’s football operations.
“St Kilda’s decision to sack Brett Ratten may not be the only change from its review – they’ve reached out to Port Adelaide list boss and former Saint Jason Cripps about a role to bolster their recruiting team,” Cleary revealed.
“(But they are) seen as a long shot to land him.
“Current Saints list manager James Gallagher (is) weighing up commuting back and forth to Adelaide.”
St Kilda is already welcoming back one of its favourite sons in 2023, with Lenny Hayes announced as an assistant coach back in August.
While Hayes had said he was “looking forward” to working under Ratten, he saw a lot of “upside” to the club.
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“To be back involved and help St Kilda work towards its second premiership is something I’m really excited to be a part of,” he said in August.
Fox Footy commentator Kelli Underwood said St Kilda’s decision to sack Ratten was “absolutely brutal” and believed the club had “panicked” by re-signing him earlier this year.
“It was amateur hour at St Kilda. When are clubs going to become accountable for how they run their business? This is a club that has a history littered with bad, bad decisions,” she said on Offsiders.
“The handling has been completely botched.”
