Milne set for grand stage

With 1:40 left on the clock in the final term and St Kilda trailing Collingwood by one point, the Saints’ Lenny Hayes launched a booming kick deep into attack where Milne and opponent Ben Johnson were one-out.

Milne worked back off Johnson and looked set to pounce on the ball and run into the open goal that would have put the Saints - chasing their first premiership since 1966 - five points in front.

But the ball famously took a 90 degree turn to the right, eluding Milne and bouncing through for a behind that was the last score of the match.

The epic grand final finished in a 68-all draw - just the third in VFL/AFL history - before the Magpies won the replay by 56 points the following week.

“Not a day goes by where I don’t think back to what could have happened had that ball not bounced the way it did,” Milne said on Thursday.

“But at the end of the day, that’s the way it went and you’ve got to move on the best you can.

“If it was close enough I would have grabbed it.”

While Milne fell short in his quest for an AFL premiership in both 2009 and 2010 with the Saints, he has the opportunity to win a Bendigo Football League flag with his new club Strathfieldsaye at the Queen Elizabeth Oval on Saturday.

Milne will be one of the grand final’s star attractions when the Storm - chasing its first flag - meets Sandhurst.

A year ago Milne sat in the QEO grandstand watching the Storm lose to Golden Square by 21 points in the grand final. 

Following his retirement after 275 games and 574 goals with the Saints, Milne this year joined the Storm, coached by close mate Darryl Wilson.

“I came up here to try to win a flag and there’s one game to go, so hopefully, we can finish it off,” Milne, 34 said.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I was lucky enough to play in a few grand finals with St Kilda, but didn’t get a win.

“Hopefully, I can get a few kicks and help the boys get across the line.

“We’ve played good team footy all year where we’ve had 22 contributors each week, so that’s what we’ll be looking for again.”

Milne was a runaway winner of the BFL’s Ron Best Medal, with his 89 home and away goals 25 clear of his nearest rival, Kyneton’s Ben Weightman (64).

He’s kicked at least five goals in 12 of his 18 games - he missed the Storm’s only loss in round three against Sandhurst - and after booting six in the second semi-final, goes into the grand final with 95.

The pursuit of the five goals he needs for the ton will be one of the added points of interest in the grand final, not that Milne is concerned by it.

“I really couldn’t care if I don’t kick a goal but we win the game,” Milne said.

“As long as I play my role, that’s all that matters. If I get shut down we’ve got plenty of other forward options.”

As well as Milne’s 275 games of AFL experience on Saturday, the Storm side will also include Steven Baker, who played 203 AFL games for the Saints.

Like Milne, Baker played in the Saints’ 2009 grand final loss to Geelong, the 2010 draw with Collingwood, and the loss to the Magpies in the replay the following week.

The pair are expected to have a contingent of their former St Kilda team-mates at the QEO on Saturday.

“You can say it’s just another game, but there’s a big reward at the end of it,” Milne said.

“I think it’s important that you don’t try to play the game in your head before you get out there.

“It’s all about sticking to your routine, because that’s what has got you this far.

“Grand finals don’t come around every year, so it’s all about enjoying it and making the most of it.”