For more than 40 years, Barry Breen has existed mostly comfortably in his dual role as St Kilda’s hero and nemesis. This is largely due to the easygoing nature of the man, his notable capacity for happiness and his unconditional love for the Saints, where he played 300 games and played a pivotal role in their only premiership.
But Breen could never quite forgive the club bosses and ultimate financial administrators who asked him back in 1979 to put his wages on hold when the club was bleeding money and then, over 1983 and 1984, agree to a scheme of arrangement which cost him more than $400,000 in today’s money.
St Kilda great Barry Breen.Credit: Getty Images
For years, he regretted his role in selling the deal to his teammates alongside his vice captain Bruce Duperouzel, while also celebrating the fact he had helped save the club. Under president Lindsay Fox, the Saints could not have survived the $1.45 million debt that ended up with a total settlement to football and non-football creditors of $195,000.
For years, the fact of that scheme of arrangement has haunted the Saints and Breen – as the club’s biggest football creditor – has never backed away from his position that he and so many others deserved the thanks they never received.
He has been happy to haunt the Saints, the AFL and the AFL Players’ Association, in whom he remains bitterly disappointed. And Breen took personally the shameful fact that his premiership coach Allan Jeans (owed $27,000) was effectively told by club bosses: “Like it or lump it.”
Over generations, St Kilda boards have fretted about their ugly history and sought to right the wrong that finally came to some sort of resolution last week – a resolution achieved by Andrew Bassat and Carl Dilena after Breen said to Bassat in 2023, the club’s 150th year: “We want recognition, Andrew, but it’s not going to be a plaque on a wall.”
St Kilda chief executive Carl Dilena speaking at the Danny Frawley Centre last year.Credit: AFL Photos
The late Jeans’ family, Trevor Barker’s, and former assistant coach Jack Clark were not among the recipients of the club’s gesture to settle financially with former players and coaches. In the end, the payout totalling $300,000 was divided among 35 living players and three officials – including former coaches Alex Jesaulenko and Ross Smith – and not the dead because the club deemed that move could prove complex and divisive.
And while some debts can never really be truly settled, there is no doubt that the move ultimately instigated by Bassat’s board, and pushed for years by Breen, seems to have gone some way to removing a shadow long-cast over the club still holding a debt of $6 million and has continued to struggle on and off the field.
Both the AFL and St Kilda refused to publicly discuss the club’s settlement with the total 38 players and officials. In fact, they did not want this story to become public at all.
The media-shy league general manager overseeing the clubs, David Grossman, credited with approving the $300,000 in payouts, would not speak with this masthead. Nor would he return Barry Breen’s calls when the latter attempted to seek answers after hearing from his friend and lobbyist on his behalf, Ian Robson, last November that a payout was imminent.
Paul Marsh (left) has resigned from the AFL Players Association to return to cricket. He’s pictured here with former AFLPA head Patrick Dangerfield.Credit: Getty Images
The AFL fears that the settlements – described by Dilena as “gifts” – could open up a can of worms relating to other long-time creditors, not to mention those non-football creditors who accepted just 7.5 cents on the dollar in the deal pushed through by president Fox and administrator David Crawford. League officials have warned that other clubs could be exposed by what has taken place with the Saints.
Club insiders, who would not be quoted because they have all been told not to discuss the payouts, said that outgoing director and Kings Counsel Jack Rush had searched in-vain to find the original scheme of arrangement finally struck in 1984. In the end, through hours of research, CEO Dilena hopes he has succeeded in contacting every player involved.
Former Blues boss Ian Collins.Credit: AFL Photos
Only two creditors – the Carlton Football Club, whose then-boss Ian Collins had been trading players with St Kilda, and a small furniture supplier – refused to accept the deal.
Breen and many of his former teammates also remain disenchanted with the AFL Players’ Association.
The players’ association view was that it was not their responsibility but St Kilda’s, and the fact that the players had agreed to the deal at the time, even if they were under pressure, made the situation more difficult.
Outgoing players’ association boss Paul Marsh did contact them and then-St Kilda CEO Simon Lethlean in a bid to help the players. But the St Kilda view then was to also ask the players’ union to contribute – something Marsh felt could create a dangerous precedent.
League officials also became nervous when Breen, now a Sydneysider and AFL life member, asked to attend the AFL’s annual general meeting in February. His purpose was to demand answers regarding the AFL’s multi-million dollar funding of the AFLPA. Breen was told the AGM was a very short meeting and offered an invitation to the season launch instead.
Last month, the St Kilda Football Club held an intimate dinner at the MCG for its foundation members – an event described by one long-time supporter as the best club function he had attended in his long and involved association with the club.
St Kilda president Andrew Bassat.Credit: Penny Stephens
The 1966 premiership cup was placed in the middle of the MCG and Breen and Smith addressed the foundation members who stood around it.
In total, they contributed just under $1 million on the night and chairman Bassat promised that none of the money raised would go towards the club’s debt, but that all would be spent on football and the quest for a second premiership.
The event predated by less than a fortnight the Dilena letters to the former players and officials, and although the Saints’ hierarchy will not discuss the payout, there is no doubt the gesture has been welcomed as a symbolic reckoning with the club’s history punctuated by turmoil and a lack of success.
Lindsay Fox.Credit: Eddie Jim
Breen remains unabashed with his role as provocateur on behalf of himself and his teammates.
He doubts many of the past players who received Carl Dilena’s letter last week have been aware of the constant lobbying that he and his former vice captain Duperouzel have done on their behalf.
Breen followed by Duperouzel – the two leaders charged with selling the original moratorium on wages to the players back in 1979 – received the biggest settlements last week with Breen, who was initially dudded twice by the club because of the money he sacrificed in its testimonial season, receiving more than $57,000. This would be worth more than $400,000 in today’s value. Duperouzel received an estimated $28,000.
One former teammate, Gary Lofts – who still believes he was owed significantly more than the club’s original estimates because he played for handshake agreements – received about $9000 last week, and smaller settlements included that to Michael Roberts, who had been owed about $2000 at the time.
Breen did receive a call from his old teammate Bill Mildenhall, who was delighted to learn of his $2000 gift from the club. “Billy,” said Breen to Mildenhall, “You can kiss my feet.”
He also singled out former Hawthorn and Essendon chief executive Ian Robson, a long-time friend and Saints clubmate, for the work he has done behind the scenes influencing AFL boss Andrew Dillon to help the players receive some financial recognition.
Ross Smith and Breen took part in the parade ahead of the grand final replay in 2010.Credit: Mal Fairclough
Back in 2017, when the club was rattling the cans to help fund its move back to Moorabbin, Breen ruffled feathers with then-CEO Matt Finnis, who was nervous about offending Fox when he told this masthead: “I’ve moved on, and we did what we felt was right because we were told the club would not have survived otherwise.
“But at no stage did anyone acknowledge that we did it. Lindsay was chairman at the time, and we never even received a letter of thanks. I was really disappointed, and I continue to be disappointed to this day.
“And I would be even more disappointed if Lindsay didn’t contribute something to our move back to Moorabbin.”
Now Breen is retired and, while he will never quite stop counting the cost of what his role in the scheme of arrangement cost him financially, he admits he is at peace with his life. This is after a long and successful career which included three years as CEO of the Sydney Swans in the early days, five years running the Tasmanian Football League, and 25 years as a general manager at Valvoline.
And he never stopped loving, supporting and working for the club where he played 300 games and kicked the point that sealed the 1966 grand final win over Collingwood.
“It cost me a lot of money,” said Breen now. “It cost me a house and a whole bunch of stuff, but I’m just so appreciative of the work that Andrew Bassat and Carl Dilena have done for us to finally give us some sort of recognition.
“I’m happy to sing the praises of the footy club up hill and down dale. I’ve never been shitty at the football club, and I never understood how KB [Kevin Bartlett] could spend decades at odds with Richmond. It’s the individuals, not the club.
“You don’t get shitty at the football club. I was just dirty on certain individuals.”
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
