Still riding the exhilaration of their Premiership triumph, St Kilda craved for more Premiership glory throughout the Sensational Seventies.

But despite another Grand Final berth in 1971, the Saints weren’t able to build upon their prosperous era.

A series of successive finals defeats throughout the early part of the decade saw the red, white and black steadily fade away, never able to recapture the form which wrote themselves into the history books less than a decade prior.

Still under Allan Jeans’ inspiring leadership as coach, the Saints progressed through to the finals from 1970-1973, but were defeated by the eventual premiers every year.

The greatest anguish would come during the club’s tilt at the 1971 Premiership against Hawthorn.

St Kilda led at three-quarter time by a comfortable 20 points, before a seven-goal final term from the Hawks – four of which were kicked by Bob Keddie – cruelly pried the ultimate success out of its hands.

The 1971 Grand Final would also be remembered for the great Barry Lawrence, whose inadvertent smother prevented Hawthorn’s Peter Hudson from surpassing the record for the most goals kicked in a season (150).

Despite two more attempts at September action in 1972 and 1973, the Saints never fully recovered, with the latter season marking the club’s last finals appearance until 1991. 

Although coming tantalisingly close to sneaking into the final-five during the rest of the decade, the sun had set on St Kilda’s golden era.

As the great Premiership heroes gradually reached the dawns of their careers or found homes elsewhere, the Saints began to decline.

It wasn’t until Allan Jeans’ retirement in 1976 that the chapter was virtually closed, save for the evergreen Barry Breen, whose 300-game career continued into the 1980s.

Wooden spoons in 1977 and 1979 all but confirmed the end, with a record 178-point drubbing against Collingwood in the latter season the final nail in the coffin.

The Saints’ slip down the ladder would nevertheless see the birth of new legends, who would entrench themselves into club folklore.

Gary Colling and Barry Lawrence were among the names to champion the Crest – along with the longstanding Breen and Neale – but one would stand above all else after making his debut in 1975: St Kilda’s favourite son, Trevor Barker. 

Unfortunately, his time in the sun came during the Saints’ darkest and most victory-starved era.