Retired Melbourne Storm rugby league great Billy Slater is switching codes and joining St Kilda AFL club to work in a leadership development role.
The Storm superstar, who retired after their NRL grand final loss earlier this month, will link with the Saints in a newly-created position.
Former Collingwood AFL skipper Nick Maxwell performs a similar role at the Storm.
Regarded as one of the NRL’s greatest players and one of the key leaders of Storm’s revered culture, Slater will work closely with all AFL players, coaches and high-performance staff at the Saints.
The part-time position will see the 35-year-old play a mentoring role with the club’s leaders, while also sharing his experiences in relation to professionalism, training standards and match-day performance across the whole playing group.
St Kilda general manager of football Simon Lethlean said Slater’s appointment was a major coup for the club.
“Billy’s sporting resume is second to none, and he will add great value to our club,” Lethlean said.
“He’s been an impressive leader in his own right, but he’s also been a key member of a culture that is highly respected across all sports.
“Over the course of the season, we identified that there was an opportunity to strengthen our leadership and development programs, and we think Billy can play an important role in that.
“He will work closely with our current leaders as well as our emerging leaders to help them develop their leadership capacity and optimise their professionalism and performance.”
Slater is expected to the begin the part-time role early in the pre-season.
Rob
Guest
Most truly knowledgeable League fans recognised a great try saving bump. In all seriousness i’m waiting for Feki to be charged for a counter shoulder charge on Slater. The contact was not anymore or less dangerous than 100’s of other regulation tackles made every weekend.
Rob
Guest
Best of luck Billy. I think Billy will enjoy doing something different. In all honesty I wouldn’t be surprised if he Smithy walked away from the Rugby League world after the garbage childish and spiteful crap they have had to put up with over their wonderfully successful careers.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
I suspect Billy has had a longer association with AFL than we care to admit. He has totally changed the fullback role and covers more ground with or without the ball than any other FB that I can remember. Maybe a bit like an AFL Rover I think they call them. The storm have had specialist coaches from all sports, in fact have probably led the way. Slater is not at st Kilda for a hand out , he knows he'll make a difference.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
That's right, thanks for the reminder, heard him talking about the GGs on SEN very recently.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Yeh, just read that as well. I guess it still helps seeing another environment if he ever wants a key role at the Storm in the future.
RoryStorm
Guest
Billy and his wife have bought a large allotment and are training racehorses. He won't be leaving Melboune as his kids have known no other city or town. They are very Victorian now.
Bernie Vinson
Roar Rookie
I hope Bills contract when playing wasn't backloaded with post retirement coaching monies!!!!
Bernie Vinson
Roar Rookie
I think a lot of league fans were disgusted that Billy got off. Certainly on these pages but a shoulder charge is OK in AFL (so long as you don't hit the head)
Paul
Roar Guru
Billy's entering another phase of his life and whether you hated him or liked him on the footy field, you'd have to be a real clown, ( I was going to say a dog), not to wish him the best of luck. He's clearly got plenty of knowledge & experience to impart and the marketplace will determine whether he's any good at this new line of work
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
Good decision by him. He’s got his work cut out for him at St Kilda so I wish him well. Their supporters have had a barren 52 years. Something we Sharks can relate to!
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
He does JK.A specialist coach, mentoring young Storm backs. MF.Thus he hasn't removed himself completely from the Storm environment.
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
I think he has a storm role as well. Mate of mine who knows him reckons he loves Melbourne and intends to bring his kids up there.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
The other aspect about all of this is that Slater has probably decided to settle with his family in Melbourne. He came across at a young age, and has lived almost half his life here. Down the track, he might return to the Storm in some capacity, but to spend some time in a different environment immediately upon retirement can only be beneficial for him as well.
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
Couldn’t have put it better. Slater is a huge addition for the Saints. Good move by them. I hope it pays off. I watched their last game against the Roos and they were terrible!
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
Yep. Three this week.
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
League fans in my experience are far more lucid than Steve. Nice atttempt at a dig though mate!
IAP
Guest
Steve must be a League fan; go easy on him.
Bernie Vinson
Roar Rookie
Jaycar thru Ryan are Owners/sponsors of the Storm /St Kilda and of course Collingwood ex captain Maxwell has been a Storm development coach (PT) for a while. BTW what does this mean for marquee payments in NRL (TPAs) which were going away when the Storm trio retired allegedly
BA Sports
Roar Guru
Good luck to him. Sounds like a great opportunity for him to sound out what sort of role he is looking for in the long term.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
St Kilda needs all the help it can get. For mine, having someone from outside the sport for these sorts of general coaching spots can only be a plus. AFL clubs employ more coaching staff than they have players on the field, so there's space for coaches who come from other sports. Also, there is huge respect for Slater right across the Melbourne sports community. At our club, we employed Ben Graham in a similar role, obviously he has the footy background, but the main thing he brought to the club was what he had learned in an NFL environment.