St Kilda appoints Lyon 11 years after ugly split

2 years ago 105

Ross Lyon has been appointed arsenic St Kilda manager 11 years aft his disfigured departure from the nine helium led to 3 expansive finals.

Lyon joins St Kilda connected an archetypal four-year woody and volition officially commencement successful the relation astatine the opening of November.

He past coached successful 2019 with Fremantle, the nine helium controversially joined astatine the extremity of the 2011 play aft 5 palmy seasons with the Saints.

The 55-year-old had flirted with a fig of coaching returns since being sacked by Fremantle, astir notably with Carlton past twelvemonth and Essendon earlier this year, but said past week that meetings with Saints powerbrokers had opened his bosom up to coaching erstwhile again.

"I person ever had a beardown affinity to the Saints, and it feels unthinkable to beryllium backmost present arsenic elder coach," Lyon said successful a nine statement.

"I person unfinished concern with St Kilda and privation to play a relation successful delivering occurrence to the industry's astir loyal fans.

"I person been impressed with the imaginativeness of (Saints president) Andrew Bassat and (Saints CEO) Simon Lethlean, and on with Geoff Walsh, I americium keen to get to work."

Bassat said Lyon's "unwavering pursuit of connected and off-field excellence" was what St Kilda needed to spell to the adjacent level.

"While his elder coaching grounds and estimation arsenic a person speaks for itself, Ross has a wide passionateness for St Kilda and is determined to bring the nine and its radical long-awaited success," helium said successful a statement.

"Ross is aligned successful our vision, and his experiences wrong the manufacture – peculiarly arsenic idiosyncratic with specified in-depth cognition of St Kilda – should springiness our members a precocious level of assurance moving forward.

"As we embark connected our 150th year, we volition not shy distant from our ambitious goals for this nine some connected and disconnected the field."

Lyon has coached successful 305 games total, winning 172 of them for a 57.21 per cent winning percentage. His teams person reached the finals successful six retired of his 13 seasons arsenic coach.

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!