URNING RESPECT
THE urn has pride of place in front of every team meeting.
At just 10cm tall, the replica of the original Ashes urn — the symbol of Australian cricket’s great rivalry with England — has been a key element in the Saints’ surge to third on the ladder.
Coaches are always looking for ways to inspire.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge famously turned to the gobstopper scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory during his team’s 2016 premiership campaign, while in 2019 Richmond coach Damien Hardwick left weekly gifts for his players with his message cleverly intertwined.
When the AFL was relocated out of Victoria with initial plans for a five-week block interstate, St Kilda coach Brett Ratten and his colleagues got cracking.
“It was about trying to come up with something that had five events in it,” Ratten said. “Whether it was maybe a war, or car racing, it didn’t matter what. But then one of the coaches mentioned ‘the Ashes have got five’.
“That’s where it got born.” Starting against Fremantle in Round 6, the Saints framed each game as an Ashes Test. The series started at “Edgbaston” and ended against Gold Coast at “The Oval”.
After the loss to Fremantle in the first “Test”, Ratten joked that “maybe we should burn it”.
But with the help of Australian cricket greats — including Mike Hussey and Greg Chappell — the Saints won the next four games to “take home the urn” to Noosa.
“It was a good one for us, because they (Australia) go into a hub situation over there in England,” Ratten said. “There was a really good connection.”
The players have embraced the different tack as they embark on the most challenging period of football in history.
“You’ve got to win three out of the five to win the urn,” midfielder Jack Steele said.
“I think we might have been 3-2 when we came up, and if we could turn that into 6-4 before we came home, then that would be a win.”
With the five Tests over and “the Ashes retained”, Ratten said some joked the “tour” should continue.
“We did joke that when the whole competition got changed on its head, it was ‘sorry boys, we’re now off to India and Pakistan and back through New Zealand on the way home, and we’ll have our last Test in Christchurch and then who knows where we’ll be’,” he said with a laugh.