St Kilda will host Essendon under in a round three MCG blockbuster to celebrate their 150th anniversary next year.
The Saturday night lights will be on the Saints, who have been granted their wish to mark the occasion against a big Victorian club in front of a prime-time free-to-air audience.
St Kilda will play Essendon to mark their 150th anniversary.Credit:Getty
The April 1 fixture is a rare MCG home game for the Marvel Stadium-based Saints, in a clear indication the club is aiming for a crowd well in excess of 50,000.
There is some poignancy that it will be played before the Shane Warne Stand, named after the cricket great who was one of the Saints’ most famous and ardent fans. The Saints will wear a commemorative guernsey for the game.
There will be plenty of interest early in the season on the Saints, who sensationally dumped Brett Ratten as coach in favour of the man who led them within a whisker of flags in 2009-10 in Ross Lyon.
Saints chief Simon Lethlean said the club would “honour our past while embracing our future” in their landmark season.
“In our 150th year, we’re looking forward to celebrating the contributions of everyone, not only our players, but all those who have helped make this club what it is today,” Lethlean said.
“Over the past century and a half we have fielded some of the greatest and most iconic players to ever take the field and have created a community of dedicated and unwavering fans who make the club a truly special place.
“While we would have loved to deliver more premiership success for our fans, we hope that next year, we can honour and celebrate the loyalty that has helped us get to this milestone.
“This celebratory game in round three will be an opportunity for everyone, whether you’ve been a fan for one year or fifty years, to come together, celebrate and cheer on the tricolours in the passionate manner Saints fans are known for.”
One of the then VFL’s eight foundation clubs in 1897, the Saints are on the hunt to end a league-high premiership drought that extends back to their one and only flag in 1966.
The Saints do not have a celebrated rivalry against the Dons, though the two clubs played off in the 1965 grand final – one of only four finals clashes between the pair.
The two teams featured in one of the more bizarre games ever played when the lights went out at the 22-minute mark of the third quarter of their 1996 round 10 encounter on a Saturday night at Waverley Park.
The match was completed on the following Tuesday night with two 12-minute halves plus time on. The Dons, who had led by 20 points at the blackout, prevailed to win by 22 points.
The Saints will be hoping their 150th celebrations go better than the Dons, who were defeated by Carlton on their night of nights last year.
The AFL is expected to release details of their extra round, to be called Gather Round, on Friday, with the rest of the fixture to be unveiled over the weekend.
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