Just as the finals were set to commence, St Kilda confirmed the appointment of Brett Ratten as senior coach. In the last six games of the season the Saints won three under the coaching of Ratten. Ratten is the third and final "caretaker" coach of the season to be appointed after Rhyce Shaw at North Melbourne and David Teague at Carlton.
St Kilda President Andrew Bassat said Ratten had impressed the selection panel at every stage of the recruitment process, “We were able to evaluate Brett across six weeks ...
and through the opportunities he had to present to the panel ... he gave us great confidence that he is the right person ... Brett is an extremely experienced, knowledgeable and tactically astute ... His greatest strength is building relationships with players, coaches and staff, and we have seen that first-hand ...He brings a great balance in building relationships and creating a positive environment, while also driving uncompromising standards ... we have to lift in a number of areas to achieve the consistency required to play finals football. “We have a young, talented group ... who we need to develop, add to, and inspire to take their football to another level ... Brett is the right person to lead our coaching group ...".
Ratten said he was honored by the opportunity, “I’ve made no secret of my desire to coach again, but to be given an opportunity with this group is really special ... I’ve loved working with the guys over the past 12 months and their development gives me great confidence ...". During a press conference, he was asked what the most difficult aspect of his interviews was and joked that it was the psychological review, but when he saw an ambulance pass nearby and not stop, he reckoned he was safe.
Ratten played 255 games for Carlton from 1990 to 2003 after which he became an assistant coach with Melbourne in 2004. He then coached a suburban club before returning to Carlton as an assistant in 2007. That same year he replaced Denis Pagan as senior coach and was appointed senior coach of the Blues in 2008, He remained in the position until being dismissed at the end of 2012. From there, he joined Hawthorn as an assistant under Alastair Clarkson and remained with the Hawks until this year when he crossed to the Saints.
Source: Clair White, St Kilda Media Release, sen.com.au, Encyclopedia of League Footballers, AFL Record Season Guide
Article last changed on Monday, September 09, 2019 - 5:03 PM EDT
