CEO Matt Finnis said the recent signing of twin towers Paddy McCartin and Hugh Goddard, the re-signing of Nick Riewoldt for two years, the recruitment of former Swan Tim Membrey, rookie drafting of popular player Ahmed Saad, the return of favourite son Danny Frawley and the encouraging pre-season player time trials results and NZ training camp had resulted in a significant spike in membership.
“Our 25 by 25 campaign is aimed at driving us towards 25,000 members by December 25 – this would be an historic achievement and we are calling on all our fans to help us get there,” Finnis said.
“People are starting to see that St Kilda has a clear plan, is heading in the right direction and that there is a genuine sense of excitement surrounding the club.
— St Kilda FC (@stkildafc) December 10, 2014“You can see that excitement across the playing group, in the coaches and officials and, most importantly, you can see it in our fans who are signing up in force as members. To get to 25,000 by Christmas would only add to that excitement.”
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Finnis said St Kilda had 2000 more members than this time last year and, as of the morning of 11th December, had 22,295 members.“Our all-time club membership record by Christmas is 24,288 which was achieved in a Grand Final season and with the support of our fans over the next two weeks we can break this number which would be an extraordinary result,” he said.
“We are calling on all our supporters – especially those who might have dropped off as members – to get back on board and support this exciting and talented list as we build towards something special. We are also taking the opportunity to thank those who have already signed up and ask them to reach out to other supporters who might want to become a Saint.
“There is plenty of hard work to do but we are putting in place the building blocks to take this club back to where we all want it to be both on field and off. If you want to really support this great club the best way is to sign up by December 25 and encourage your family and friends to do that same.”