Put simply, Allan Jeans is football royalty.

After a relatively unspectacular playing career comprising 77 games in the red, white and black, the boy from the Riverina with the booming voice returned to St Kilda in 1961. Assuming the role of senior coach just two years after his retirement as a player, it was here that 'Yabby' left an indelible mark on our game.

Jeans is widely regarded as one the most gifted orators ever to grace our great game. His speeches still ring in the ears of noted football greats; his “pay the price” speech at half-time in the 1989 Grand Final, which many attribute to Hawthorn’s victory that day, sticks out in the memory.

Jeans’ 16-year coaching tenure at St Kilda saw the Saints move from the Junction Oval to their now spiritual home at Moorabbin in 1965, where he led them to their first grand final appearance since 1913. One year later, the boy from the Riverina would etch his name into St Kilda folklore.

At three-quarter time in the 1966 Grand Final, Jeans’ Saints held a slender four-point lead, and were just one quarter away from winning their first ever VFL Premiership, almost 100 years after being founded. Sensing the magnitude of the moment, Jeans looked his chargers squarely in the eyes in the middle of the MCG.

“You’ve got 25 minutes to make a name for yourself like you’ve never made before!” he yelled.

Inspired by their chance at immortality, the Saints went on to claim an historic one-point victory over Collingwood. An emotional Jeans jumped up on the table in the change rooms after the match to address the ecstatic players and supporters.

“I knew it would happen,” he said.

“If we stuck together … I knew it would happen.”

He paused as the crowd listened closer, before clearing his throat and cutting through every person in the room.

“I’m not skilled enough or learned enough to tell you how I feel, but no matter where you go, or what you do in life, I’ll always remember what you did for me this day.”

Jeans’ 16 seasons at the helm of St Kilda included another visit to the big dance in 1971 before he stepped away from coaching temporarily in 1976 with a winning record of 59 per cent next to his name.

Three premierships from six Grand Finals in nine seasons at Hawthorn cemented his status as one of the best coaches the game has ever seen. A bona fide AFL legend.