The fact he was one of St Kilda’s greatest players in his 11 years at the Saints almost gets forgotten when people remember one of the VFL’s original glamour players.
Roberts played 169 games and kicked 40 goals after debuting against South Melbourne in 1952.
After starring for Melbourne High School Old Boys, Roberts joined the Saints, having only just lived within the boundaries of the club’s recruiting zone. Had he lived on the other side of his Brighton street, Roberts would have been destined for a career in the powerful Melbourne team of the 1950s.
His first couple of seasons with the Saints saw him used up forward but in mid-1954 St Kilda selector Alec Peak shifted him to centre half back where he ended up making his name.
In his first full season in defence, Roberts was selected in the Victorian team, won the St Kilda best and fairest and finished third in the Brownlow medal.
Roberts’ strong marking across half-back was a strong feature of his game and he quickly became one of the best players in the league.
The crowning jewel in his career came in 1958 when he won the Brownlow medal with 24 votes while serving as acting captain in the absence of injured teammate Brian Gleeson who had won the award the previous season.
Three years later Roberts captained St Kilda to its first finals appearance in 22 years, the nine-point first semi-final loss to Footscray.
1962 was Roberts’ final season and history shows it served as somewhat of a handover year as Darrel Baldock assumed the captaincy from him, after spending just the one year under Roberts’ wing.
The Saints went on to embark on the most successful period of their history, with three Grand Finals and the club’s only premiership coming in a six-year period.
While Roberts watched on in his role as a media entity, there is no doubting that he had a major part to play in the formation of the team that won the 1966 premiership.
A teacher by trade, Roberts was never the type to be lost in his post-football career.
He embarked on a successful career in the media, to the point that he was inducted to the Australian football media hall of fame and spent a year as part of a scientific team in Antarctica.
Carrying on the Roberts legacy was Neil’s son Michael who played 77 games for the Saints before brief stints at Richmond and Fitzroy. Michael also embarked on a career in the media.
As a member of the Saints team of the century and an inaugural member of the club’s Hall of Fame, Neil Roberts sits comfortably as an official legend of the St Kilda football club.
