Ross Lyon is set to be officially announced as St Kilda’s new coach.
Lyon and the Saints have met a number of times over the past week with his return to the club becoming clearer by the day.
The 55-year-old replaces Brett Ratten at Moorabbin who was sacked by the club last week.
Lyon last coached with Fremantle in 2019 and returns to St Kilda where he is the second-most successful coach in club history having taken the Saints to three Grand Finals (including one replay) during his five years at the club from 2007 to 2011.
The veteran coach all but confirmed he’d be the club’s next coach prior to the announcement after he stated he was “very close” to inking a deal on Thursday after his heart “opened up” to a return.
Lyon coached the Saints to 76 wins from his 121 games in charge during his first stint with the club.
Statement to members from president Andrew Bassat
I am pleased to be providing you with an exciting update.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to announce that Ross Lyon has been appointed as the Senior Coach of our men’s AFL program.
With more than 35 years’ experience in the AFL as a player, coach, analyst and commentator, Ross is one of the most widely respected senior coaches in the competition and brings a breadth of experience to the role.
We have spent the last 10 days talking extensively to Ross. He has presented to our Board and met multiple times with myself, Simon Lethlean and Geoff Walsh to share his vision for the future of our program.
Ross emerged from our review as the primary target and it became clear in our discussions that he had the vision and characteristics that we need in our Senior Coach.
Ross’ unwavering pursuit of on-field excellence and uncompromising standards are exactly what we believe we require to take this club forward.
Importantly, Ross shares with you a love and passion for our club and he has a deep desire to see it respected and celebrated.
The appointment of a new Senior Coach and a new General Manager of Football in Geoff Walsh are key outcomes of our review that we commenced in late July.
I have made a commitment to report back to you on the review process and will share the high-level outcomes after we have finalised the internal processes.
Importantly, securing our new Senior Coach has completed the major changes that we need going forward into season 2023.
As we embark on our 150th year, we will not shy away from our ambitious goals for this club both on and off the field.
The last few weeks have been incredibly difficult. As hard as it has been, the Board’s commitment is to drive sustainable success for our deserving and loyal supporters. We are confident that we have made the right decisions in pursuit of this goal.
Over the last five years we have returned to our spiritual home, built state-of the-art facilities for our athletes and people, welcomed an AFLW team, ensured we are on the path to being debt-free and are building the foundations of long-term football success.
There is still more to be done and the Board is absolutely committed to the work ahead.
Our club is now creating a culture we can all be proud of, and the fact that we are able to attract some of our industry’s best football administrators and coaches is testament to that.
We are so thrilled to have Ross back at St Kilda, and I know that our members will be feeling hope and excitement for what is to come.
Take care and go Saints,
Andrew Bassat.