STEWART Loewe still pays close attention to his old club, in particular three players who were beginning their careers as his was winding down.

He remembers Jason Blake as an unassuming youngster who “didn’t really know what AFL footy was all about,” Stephen Milne as the lifeblood of the dressing room, and Justin Koschitzke as one of the hardest workers on the training track.

Loewe, who played 321 games for St Kilda across 16 seasons and was named in the Saints’ team of the century, paid tribute to all three veterans this week.

“I have always kept an eye on Kosi,” Loewe said. “I’ve sort of watched him all the way through and I’m looking forward to seeing him in an old Haileybury jumper next year (laughs).”

“Kosi has played alongside Nick Riewoldt… So he probably learnt to play that secondary role and whilst he wasn’t achieving what Nick was achieving in terms of stats, his presence on the ground was very valuable.”

“As a kid he had a good lid about him. He was probably about 75 kilos ringing wet and he’s probably not that much heavier now. He just had terrific hands.”

Coming from the man who was nicknamed ‘buckets’ due to his giant hands and strong marking ability, this is significant praise.

Loewe recalled how Lenny Hayes would constantly marvel at Koschitzke’s clean grabs.  

“I heard Lenny Hayes say how he would just mark it at the highest point and he just had a tremendous work ethic and appetite to improve on the training track,” he said in an interview on Melbourne radio station SEN.

Koschitzke, who will play his 200^th and final AFL game this Saturday against Fremantle, has booted 247 goals and 136 behinds in his career so far – a testament to his accuracy and skill level.

“From early days he didn’t miss too many,” Loewe said. “He was a great shot on goal but that wasn’t something I taught him! He had all the tricks. It’s been a tremendous journey for him.”

“Certainly over the duration of his career there has been a lot more ups than downs.”

Loewe was equally appraising of Stephen Milne, specifically his team-first attitude and special talents around goal.

“I remember we were down watching the VFL Grand Final and Essendon were playing St Kilda,” he said.

“We happened to be sitting a couple of rows from Milney’s Mum and she was as loud as he is on the field off the field. Six months later he rocks up at the footy club and it’s just a great story.”

“The work his does around the place and off-field is amazing. Whether it’s helping mates out or kids birthday parties – he’s just a ripper.”

“It’s a hard gig to play forward pocket permanently and he’s just done it well… He will go down in history as one of a handful of small forward who has kicked over 500 goals.”

Since 2001, Milne has booted over 200 goals via snap shots. His presence and the feet of Riewoldt, Koschitzke, Gehrig and initially Loewe cannot be undervalued. No player has kicked more majors at Etihad Stadium, appropriately the venue for his last game this weekend.

Jason Blake’s story is well renowned as one of tireless perseverance and hard work. But according to Loewe, he wasn’t always the meticulous planner and relentless trainer he is now.

“Blakey used to sell my newspaper down at Beaumaris newsagency as a kid coming through,” Loewe said. “When he rocked up he was very unassuming and very quiet and he just didn’t really get what AFL footy was all about. He’d turn up to training late sometimes or even miss a session.”

Things came to a head at the conclusion of the 2000 season when Loewe, who was by then an important leader at the club, could sense Blake’s career slipping away and took it upon himself to change things.

“It got to the point towards the end of his first year and he decided not to turn up to the AGM,” Loewe said. “I distinctly remember taking him aside and having a quiet chat to him and then in the space of a pre-season he turned into a guy who got absolutely everything out of his body and was the hardest worker.”

And Blake has never looked back. At 189 centimetres tall he has played as an undersized but never intimidated ruckman, a key defender and even booted 37 goals when pushed forward.

Loewe said Blake’s career longevity is a testament to his can-do attitude and willingness to constantly improve.

“He has been Mr Fix-it… He’s just had a tremendous career. I suppose what you teach young guys coming through is to get everything out of your body and don’t leave anything in the tank. That’s certainly been his mantra.”

Loewe believes St Kilda isn’t too far away from climbing back up the AFL ladder and enjoys watching the raft of youngsters forge careers in the red, white and black.

“There is certainly a tremendous culture down there that has been created over a long time which means you are not going to lose it overnight,” he said.

“I don’t think we’ve been really blown out of the water apart from maybe that Geelong game, which has been really encouraging.”