ST KILDA is currently the No.1 Victorian AFL club in both the all-important ‘2014 member retention’ and ‘lapsed-member renewal’ categories.

Speaking on the day the Saints passed 30,000 members, CEO Matt Finnis thanked fans for their support and said the results reinforced the club’s commitment to be more open and engaging.

“We are an AFL foundation club with a significant latent supporter base – in many respects we are the competition’s sleeping giant,” Finnis said.

“As the ‘people’s club’ we are determined to reconnect with our supporters by being open and inclusive and taking the club to them in fresh and exciting ways.”

Currently, 86% of the Saints’ 2014 members have renewed for 2015 (No.1 in Victoria).

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Significantly, 2.7% of 2015 members had been a member but lapsed and did not sign up in 2014 (No.1 nationally).

As the 2015 season approaches, the Saints have already signed 30,000 members and expect to pass last year’s membership tally of 30,739 by the weekend.

The boost in membership has been aided by a series of recent positive announcements including: the re-signing 19 of our best young players during Future Fest, reaching 25,000 members before Christmas for the first time in history, securing Dare Iced Coffee and SEEK as sponsors, re-signing captain Nick Riewoldt until the end of 2016 and welcoming back popular clubmen Danny Frawley and Ahmed Saad.

The Saints have also drafted or recruited seven new players to the club, including No. 1 pick Paddy McCartin and former Swan Tim Membrey.

“St Kilda has good people and clear plans in place and we are heading in the right direction,” Finnis said.

“It’s incredibly pleasing to see our supporters becoming members and especially those past members who have come back to the club – it’s a good time to be a Saint and I encourage all those yet to sign-up to get on board and join us on this journey.