Stephen Milne.

Just the name alone stirs something in nearly every football fan.

In St Kilda terms, he took the number 44 from near total obscurity onto thousands of kids’ footy jumpers.

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For the best part of 13 years, he was the player opposition fans loved to hate, while the red, white and black faithful simply adored him.

Milne’s unique knack for getting under opposition skin – both players and fans alike – only served to further delight the St Kilda faithful for who he annoyed each and every game.

From humble beginnings as a mature-age rookie draftee, ‘Milney’ became an icon for a generation of Saints fans, his incredible finesse and freakish talent endearing him to the masses.

The day he kicked 11 under the roof, any number of seemingly impossible boundary-line dribble goals … the list of magical Milney memories goes on.

546 goals throughout his decorated career cement his status as one of the greatest pure small forwards of all time.

That tally has him ranked fourth in the club’s all-time goalkicking list, behind bona fide key forward powerhouses Tony Lockett (898), Nick Riewoldt (718) and Stewart Loewe (594).

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Milne took out St Kilda’s goalkicking award four times (2002, 2010-2012), registering over 50 goals in each season and earning back-to-back All Australian selection in 2011 and 2012.

During an era in which big, powerful spearheads like Nick Riewoldt, Fraser Gehrig and Barry Hall dominated the forward line, the diminutive 176cm Milne made the forward pocket his own.

By his retirement, Milne had left an enormous impression on the entire football world, and will long be remembered as one of the best to ever pull on the famous red, white and black.