Southern Saints
{{Short description|Australian rules football club}}
{{Infobox Australian football club
|color1 = black
|color2 = white
|color3 = solid #ED0F05
| clubname = Southern Saints
| image = SouthernSaints.png
| image_name =
| image_size = 150px
| fullname = {{nowrap|Sandringham Football Club}}
| formernames =
| nicknames = Saints, Sainters
| formernicknames =
| season = 2024
| afterfinals =
| home&away = 13th
| pre-season =
| bestandfairestname =
| founded = {{Start date and age|October 2017}}
| dissolved = {{Start date and age|1 November 2024}}
| colours = {{color box|#ED0F05}} Red
{{color box|White}} White
{{color box|Black}} Black
| league = VFL Women's
| owners =
| president =
| chairman =
| ceo =
| ground =
| capacity =
| ground2 =
| capacity2 =
| ground3 =
| capacity3 =
| pattern_b1 = _redwhiteblack
| pattern_sh1 = _sides_on_white
| pattern_so1 = _hoops_black_red
| body1 = ffffff
| shorts1 = 000000
| socks1 = ffffff
| url = [https://www.sandringhamfc.com.au/ sandringhamfc.com.au]
| jumper =
| current = 2024 VFL Women's season
}}
Southern Saints was the name of an Australian rules football club that played in the VFL Women's (VFLW), the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria. It was affiliated with both the St Kilda Football Club, which competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the Sandringham Football Club, which competes in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
The club competed in the VFLW from 2019 until its brand was consolidated with Sandringham at the end of the 2024 season.
History
The Southern Saints entered the VFLW in 2018, after the Seaford Football Club left the competition and had its licence transferred to the St Kilda Football Club.{{cite web |title=Southern Saints to join VFL Women's |date=10 October 2017 |url=https://www.saints.com.au/news/107474/southern-saints-to-join-vfl-womens |publisher=St Kilda Football Club}}
In its first season, the club had an agreement with the Frankston Football Club. It finished 8th on the ladder at the end of the season.{{cite web |title=Current Ladder |url=https://websites.mygameday.app/comp_info.cgi?c=0-118-0-478229-0&a=LADDER |publisher=MyGameDay}}
In 2019, St Kilda and its VFL affiliate, Sandringham, co-managed the club. After St Kilda entered the AFL Women's competition in 2020, Sandringham took over the Southern Saints team licence and full responsibility for the commercial and operational management of the team.{{cite web |title=Southern Saints VFLW |url=https://www.sandringhamfc.com.au/teams/vflw-2023 |publisher=Sandringham Football Club}}{{cite web |title=Zebras and Saints Strengthen Commitment to Women's Footy |url=https://www.sandringhamfc.com.au/latest-news/zebras-and-saints-strengthen-commitment-to-womens-footy |publisher=Sandringham Football Club |access-date=10 June 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250411015809/https://www.sandringhamfc.com.au/latest-news/zebras-and-saints-strengthen-commitment-to-womens-footy |archive-date=11 April 2025 |date=8 March 2020}}
The club's best season came in 2022, when it finished fifth on the home-and-away ladder. They lost in the grand final to Essendon, going down by 35 points.{{cite web |title=Bombers fly to VFLW premiership |url=https://www.womens.afl/news/95680/bombers-fly-to-vflw-premiership |publisher=AFL Women's}}
On 28 October 2024, Sandringham announced that the Southern Saints would be known as the Sandringham Zebras (as of 1 November 2024), consolidating both identities under the one club for the 2025 season.{{cite web |title=Southern Saints to become Sandringham Zebras |url=https://www.sandringhamfc.com.au/latest-news/southern-saints-to-become-sandringham-zebras |publisher=Sandringham Football Club |access-date=17 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241217231541/https://www.sandringhamfc.com.au/latest-news/southern-saints-to-become-sandringham-zebras |archive-date=17 December 2024 |date=28 October 2024}}{{cite web |title=Southern Saints to become Sandringham Zebras |url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/1250600/southern-saints-to-become-sandringham-zebras |publisher=AFL.com.au |access-date=17 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241217231755/https://www.afl.com.au/news/1250600/southern-saints-to-become-sandringham-zebras |archive-date=17 December 2024 |date=28 October 2024}}
Seasons
| class="wikitable"
| style=background:#F0E68C|Premiers | style=background:#C0BFBD|Grand Finalist | style=background:#D0E7FF|Minor premiers | style=background:#96CDCD|Finals appearance | style=background:#FFCCCC|Wooden spoon | style=background:#FAECC8|VFLW leading goalkicker | style=background:#DDFFDD |Lambert–Pearce Medal |
| class="wikitable" |
| style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"| Year
! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"| League ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"| {{Tooltip|Finish|Finishing position on the ladder after the home-and-away season}} ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"|{{Tooltip|W|Won}} ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"|{{Tooltip|L|Lost}} ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"|{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}} ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"| Coach ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"| Captain ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"| Best and fairest ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"| Leading goalkicker ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"| Goals ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:solid #ED0F05 2px"|{{Tooltip|Ref|Reference}} |
|---|
| 2018
| align="center" | VFLW | align="center" | 8th | align="center" | 5 | align="center" | 9 | align="center" | 0 | | | | | align="center" | | align="center" | |
| 2019
| align="center" | VFLW | style=background:#96CDCD; align="center" | 2nd | align="center" | 11 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 0 | | | | | align="center" | | align="center" | |
| 2020
| align="center" | VFLW | colspan="4"; align="center" | (No season) | | | colspan="3"; align="center" | (No season) | align="center" | |
| 2021
| align="center" | VFLW | style=background:#96CDCD; align="center" | 6th | align="center" | 7 | align="center" | 7 | align="center" | 0 | Dale Robinson | Frankie Hocking | | Tara Bohanna{{cite web |title=Season 2021 Coleman |url=https://vfl.aflwstats.com/coleman/2021 |publisher=VFLW Stats |access-date=22 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305105321/https://vfl.aflwstats.com/coleman/2021 |archive-date=5 March 2024}} | align="center" | 19 |
| 2022
| align="center" | VFLW | style=background:#C0BFBD; align="center" | 5th | align="center" | 9 | align="center" | 4 | align="center" | 1 | Dale Robinson | | align="center" | 10 |
| 2023
| align="center" | VFLW | align="center" | 7th | align="center" | 8 | align="center" | 6 | align="center" | 0 | Michelle 'Alpha' Densley | Ali Hynes; | | align="center" | 10 |
| 2024
| align="center" | VFLW | align="center" | 13th | align="center" | 4 | align="center" | 10 | align="center" | 0 | Michelle 'Alpha' Densley | | | align="center" | 18 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{St Kilda Football Club}}
{{VFL Women's}}
Category:St Kilda Football Club
Category:Australian rules football clubs in Melbourne
Category:2018 establishments in Australia
Category:Australian rules football clubs established in 2018
Category:2024 disestablishments in Australia
Category:Australian rules football clubs disestablished in 2024
Category:Women's Australian rules football clubs in Australia