Dean Greig’s entry into AFL football was unusual in many different ways.

He had tried out at Hawthorn without making the grade before starring at VFA club Camberwell and was a so-called “mature age” debutant at the age of 22 after playing in the Saints’ reserves. He spent 16 games in the reserves before getting a call-up.

And he created a record for the most disposals by any player in his first game.

Whether he amassed 39 or 41 possessions on that fateful day against Carlton at Waverley Park on August 3, 1991 is a matter of conjecture. Newspapers at the time credited him with 39, yet Greig points out: “It was actually 41 according to the Saints stats, but they put down 39. It doesn’t matter.”

Either way it was a stunning arrival on the AFL scene.

Greig describes the lead-up.

“I had a few personal issues going on behind the scenes so they wouldn’t let me play at the time. That game was like a little mini-premiership, because we had to win to make the finals so we’d had a bit of a bad run (three losses in a row). Kenny Sheldon rang up Thursday night and said he was going to pick me.”

It was a day of records for the Saints. Tony Lockett’s 13 goals was the highest score kicked in a game by a St Kilda player while St Kilda’s score of 155 points and a 54-point winning margin were its highest recorded against Carlton.

“I started in the centre”, says Greig.

Amazingly, the Greig disposal figures could have bene even higher/

"Halfway through the second quarter Kenny took me off for about 15 minutes which I was shitty about!" he joked.

“I didn’t know about the stats until Monday. I always racked up possessions so it wasn’t a big deal at the time. I didn’t realise it was a record.”

Ken Sheldon said after the game of Greig: “It was as good as any debut I think you’ll see.”

Among the opposition midfielders was current Saints coach Brett Ratten.

“I spoke to him at Spud’s funeral he denied he played on me, but I’m pretty sure he did. It was (Michael) James and him. (Note: The Herald-Sun reported that James was his opponent).I haven’t seen Ratts much over the years. He’s a ripper bloke.”

Ratten remembers the day well:

“I think he was on Jamesy for a lot of it. I did play that day and I would have been around Dean for a bit.

"I might have had a shot at the end. It was a pretty awesome debut and with his size he wasn’t just a thin player, he was a big thickset player who imposed himself around the centre. He was a bull. A really outstanding performance first-up.

“Post-game the coaches spoke about a first gamer getting hold of the team and imposing himself on the game like that. It was around that time when St Kilda had some unsung heroes -  quiet achievers like Frank Coghlan and Darren Bourke who just went about their business.”  

Lockett’s 13 goals surpassed his own club record of 12, and he subsequently notched 15 in a match against Sydney. His best in any game was a 16-goal avalanche against Fitzroy for Sydney.

Greig joked about Lockett’s performance being hard to outshine.

“Plugger kicked 13 and got three Brownlow votes. Selfish bugger! I thought I might have got the three votes.

"The funny thing was it was easier at the higher level than the lower level, because the skills are so much better if you lead for the ball you would get it (delivered).”

Greig’s AFL career was surprisingly short.

“I played 33 games. Kept tearing hamstrings and then I got kicked in the kneecap and broke the kneecap and had it taken out so I finally gave it away.”

In an ironic twist, Greig’s favorite team as a kid had been Carlton, the team he inflicted such pain upon in 1991. Two of the heroes of his youth were in the Blues line-up of 1991.

“I was a Carlton supporter as a kid, so it was great. Kernahan and Harry Madden were two (I had followed). My aunty was mad Carlton – and I used to go to Carlton every week. She was a member for 70 years.”

ST KILDA  5.8  11.11  18.16  23.17 (155)
CARLTON  1.0  8.4  10.7  15.11 (101)

GOALS
Lockett 13, Loewe 3, Rice 3, Allen 3, Coghlan

BEST
Lockett, Greig, Loewe, Winmar, Harvey, Grant, Coghlan