St Kilda has re-appointed Ross Lyon as its senior coach 11 years after his abrupt departure from the club.
Lyon will be back at the helm of the Moorabbin-based club for the next four seasons as he takes over from the sacked Brett Ratten.
The 55-year-old led St Kilda to three Grand Finals through 2009 and 2010 but just fell short of claiming the club's first premiership since their only one in 1966.
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Lyon shocked the AFL world at the end of the 2011 season when he left the Saints for Fremantle, where he coached at until 2019.
But now he is back at St Kilda and hoping to lead the club to success from 2023 and beyond.
"I have always had a strong affinity to the Saints, and it feels incredible to be back here as senior coach," Lyon said in a statement.
"I have unfinished business with St Kilda and want to play a role in delivering success to the industry’s most loyal fans.
"I have kept a close eye on the competition since leaving the coaching ranks and have used this time to grow in areas I believe will assist me in this next chapter of my football career.
"I’m looking forward to meeting all the players and staff in the coming weeks and am excited to get started."
Where to now for St Kilda under new coach Ross Lyon?
The Saints will be hoping Lyon - traditionally a defensive coach - can insert some steel into the team's defence going forwards.
Recent grand finalists Geelong and Sydney are arguably strongest in defence, while Melbourne's journey to AFL premiers in 2021 was built on their backline.
The challenge will be to add transition and enough scoring to Lyon's defensive model, something he struggled with in the later stages of his time at the Dockers.
Lyon only won 29 of his 87 games at Fremantle between 2016 and 2019 - a record that ultimately caused his sacking from the club.
And there are question marks over the health of St Kilda's list and what it's capable of in the future.
What is the state of St Kilda's list?
While the Saints played some good football in 2022 - and at one stage looked like a top-four contender - they ultimately crashed and burned to finish in 10th position and miss finals.
Based on the last couple of seasons there is only two bona fide stars on St Kilda's list - Jack Steele and Jack Sinclair - with the duo both reaching All-Australian status across that period.
Gun full forward Max King can reach that status but has to sort out his wayward goalkicking that is costing his team wins, while Brad Crouch has been a success since his move from Adelaide.
Behind those four appears to be a whole heap of players that can play good football but are either inconsistent or not quite top echelon.
Small forward Jack Higgins was in All-Australian form at one stage but ended up being dropped from the team shortly after.
Brad Hill is in the top 10 for highest-paid players in the AFL yet he is not arguably in the top 100 for performance since he joined the Saints from Fremantle in 2020.
Jade Gresham has showed flashes of brilliance but is still inconsistent and has become injury-prone in recent seasons.
Several players look capable of being stars but are too hot and cold with their performances, such as Dougal Howard, Jack Billings, Hunter Clark and Dan Butler.
The one shining light for St Kilda is their three top draft picks from last year all look like they are going to develop into guns.
Marcus Windhager established himself in the midfield and was arguably the second-best first year player last season behind Nick Daicos.
Mitch Owens excited with his physicality and ability to win the football in the latter few games, while the supremely-skilled Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera looks primed be worth the price of admission.
Is there enough for Lyon to take St Kilda back to the top?
It's probably not going to be a quick fix.
