Brett Ratten bombshell leaves AFL world in uproar: 'Total disgrace'

AFL fans have reacted with shock and anger over St Kilda's brutal move to part ways with coach Brett Ratten.

The Saints confirmed the sacking of Ratten on Friday despite only signing the coach a two-year contract extension in July.

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Ratten's departure comes amid a review of the club's football operations, with St Kilda president Andrew Bassat admitting he regrets extending the coach's contract three months ago.

"We gave Brett assurance at the start of 2022 we would give him clarity mid-year," Bassat said.

"At the time, the team was winning games and in contention, and we wanted to give Brett all the support he needed to give him the best chance of success and to show that he could be our long-term coach.

"If we as a club have regrets about that in hindsight, we cannot let those regrets get in the way of making the right decision for the future."

Ratten had been coach of St Kilda for the past three full seasons, taking over from Alan Richardson midway through 2019.

He steered the Saints to the finals that year, but has failed to make the top eight in the past two seasons.

The Saints, who will celebrate their 150th year in 2023, hold the competition's longest premiership drought - with their maiden flag coming in 1966.

Veteran administrator Geoff Walsh said earlier this month that he wanted to help bring "relevance" back to St Kilda after being appointed the club's new football boss.

"This might sound abrasive and the Saints fans might get upset, but one of the things that I think when asked about how I see St Kilda, I think the the competition would say there's been a degree of irrelevance," Walsh told SEN radio.

"That should be abrasive, that should sort of choke down peoples' throats, and I hope moving forward that I can contribute to a profile that gives the Saints the due respect that they crave."

AFL world in uproar over news about Brett Ratten

Walsh, who brings more than 35 years' experience to his role as executive general manager of football, conceded St Kilda need to recruit more elite talent in order to climb back into premiership contention.

It comes after the Saints missed out on high-profile target Jordan De Goey, who opted to remain at Collingwood.

"One of the things the Saints need to do over this trade and draft period and the next, and even the next, is an injection of top-end talent," Walsh said.

"They've got a lot of good players. I think that they would really do well and benefit from the injection of some top-end talent.

"That's one of the things that I think will help them up the road."

St Kilda started the 2022 season in impressive fashion, going 8-3 in their first 11 games.

However they fell away badly in the second half of the year to finish 11-11 and miss the top eight.

It was a disappointing result after club president Andrew Bassat had claimed it was the year when the Saints' premiership window would open under Ratten.

"It's not as if they're devoid of talent or devoid of hope," Walsh said.

"I think that there's some opportunities there for them to springboard into that bottom half of the eight, as a first step. That's exciting to me."

AFL fans and commentators reacted with disbelief to reports of Rutten's sacking on Thursday night.

with AAP

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