Missed the first instalment of our new documentary series, The March?  Here's what went down in Episode 1: Before.

Keep an eye on saints.com.au or subscribe to the St Kilda Football Club Official YouTube channel to view the latest episodes.

13:21

A pre-season for the ages

All smiles from Bradley Hill. Photo: Corey Scicluna.

Three months out from the season restart, and there’s a new energy in the air at RSEA Park.

Six stellar off-season recruits headlined by Bradley Hill and the appointment of Brett Ratten as senior coach has breathed new life into the club.

Jack Billings is rapt to have the highly-decorated additions thrust into the side, while star pick-up Dougal Howard recognises the importance he’ll have to the Saints’ changing culture.

I think the gel between all us so far has been really good – getting to learn people’s strengths, understanding what the other people we’re going to be playing with do as well, it’s really exciting for the future.

- Dougal Howard

Building a sense of belonging – both physically and spiritually – and acknowledging our tradition are key factors in revitalising the red, white and black.

Danny Frawley’s mural looks down on the next crop of Saints at his beloved Moorabbin, his smile serving as a reminder to what he meant to St Kilda.

Brett Ratten and David Rath watch on as the new St Kilda begins to blossom. Photo: Corey Scicluna.

That sense of belonging, along with our star recruits, the return of some key sidelined stars and a series of fresh perspectives is bound to have an “immediate impact”, according to new Head of Football Program, David Rath.

When people change, culture changes, and that’s a key focus for us.

- David Rath

For the Saints, Season 2020 seems “almost unrecognisable”.

How eerily correct that statement would turn out to be just a few short months down the track.

First impressions count

Brett Ratten. Photo: Corey Scicluna.

One month out from Round 1.

Senior coach Brett Ratten lays down the law in front of the playing group.

It doesn’t matter if you were here last year, this is a different year and it’s a different team.

- Brett Ratten

Making a great first impression is everything.  It will play a huge role in shaping the season and what the red, white and black will stand for in 2020.

New recruit, Dougal Howard.

And there would be no better way to stamp authority and cement a spirit of place with the opening Marsh Community Series game in front of a 10,000-strong crowd at RSEA Park.

Just to be a part of it after so many years, it was just a massive thrill.  It was great not only for us, but for all our supporters to come back here and see us play here.

- Jack Billings

Billings flies at RSEA Park.

Max Hudghton, Stephen Milne and Nicky Winmar all stopped by the club ahead of the landmark event, as Dougal Howard acknowledges how much RSEA Park means to the St Kilda faithful.

With one win on the board and the new-look Saints – complete with Max King up forward – notching up another win against the Magpies in Morwell, the newfound optimism hasn't been misplaced.

The Saints celebrate a win on the hallowed turf. Photo: Corey Scicluna.

When you string a couple of wins together, even if it’s in pre-season, then you are building belief, and that’s probably the most important thing at the moment.

- David Rath

“You’re on journey together and you want to see some reward for the work that you’ve put in.”

All the signs are pointing in a positive direction down at RSEA Park.

But on the other side of the world, a far different picture is being painted. 

And it wouldn’t be long until that changed everything. 

Change on the horizon, a season suspended 

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan at the league's media conference regarding the coronavirus outbreak.

Three days out from the eve of the season.

Talk of no fans in the stands grips headlines, Victoria declares a state of emergency.

No one knows if Season 2020 will even go ahead.

It only seems a few weeks ago that we were thinking whether we go to China or not.  And then I suppose we get to where we are today and it’s like ‘gee, this has really built, hasn’t it’.

- Brett Ratten

“There’s this hope but uncertainty, I suppose is the balance, because we’re building, but we want to be able to see the fruits of that labour.”

A season in doubt. Photo: Corey Scicluna.

COVID-19 has exploded from being a virus on the other side of the world to a global pandemic. 

The ramifications on the club, the industry and the planet are close to unfathomable.  Financial collapse looms. St Kilda's existence is threatened.

The day before Round 1, the AFL makes the decision to shorten the season to 17 rounds.  But the season will go on.

It’s been very unusual, the talk of not playing, playing, going back and forth.

- Brett Ratten

Nick Riewoldt hands the No. 12 over to Max King. Photo: Corey Scicluna.

The legacy of a legend is handed onto young Max King, as the moment the red, white and black have all been building towards creeps closer. 

But not in the way anyone anticipated. 

'We're better than that'

A day no-one saw coming. Photo: Corey Scicluna.

A Round 1 like no other for so many reasons.

Crowds have been barred as Max King makes his debut in front of an empty stadium.  The new-look Saints ready to begin the club's new chapter do so to the sound of an echoing arena.

A flying start to the game marks the dawn of a new era.

The sound of silence at the final siren was deafening as the result slips through their fingers. 

Post-match, reality sinks in.

“There were some good things in the game.  It’s not like we’re sitting here saying ‘this has been a horrific performance’.

I think the bad taste is what we stuffed up.  What we had.  That’s the part that’s the disappointing part.

- Brett Ratten

Amid the dejection and uncertainty, Jarryn Geary stands tall.

Jarryn Geary stands tall.

“We don’t know what our year looks like, but we’re not gonna let one game dictate the rest of our year, so we’ve got to pick ourselves up and learn from that.

We have to realise that we can’t let opportunities like that slip again. We’re better than that.

- Jarryn Geary

One hour later, the news everyone has been dreading.

The 2020 Season has been suspended until at least May 31. The gravity of the situation begins to set in.

All the hopes, dreams and ambitions, crushed first by a disappointing defeat, and then by the postponement of the season.

The news we've all been dreading.

I know that everyone involved in our game, and our millions of supporters will be impacted by this decision, and that many people will suffer significant hardship.

- Gillon McLachlan

The next day, the once buzzing halls of RSEA Park are deathly quiet.

Gym gear is packed and distributed to players.  The spiritual home left abandoned as COVID-19 grips the nation.  What was built in the off-season months left to wilt away.

This is a once-in-a-100-years situation.  But today, it's a whole new world.

- Matt Finnis

Now, in the face of adversity, a new era has begun.

Keep an eye on saints.com.au or subscribe to the St Kilda Football Club Official YouTube channel to view the latest episodes.