Back when Nick Riewoldt went so close to captaining a St Kilda AFL premiership, coach Ross Lyon rated only one teammate higher.
"It's a silver medal I'm happy to collect," Riewoldt said of Lenny Hayes, the 2010 drawn grand final Norm Smith Medallist.
The switch of Hayes from an assistant coach under Lyon to their new football department boss might be one of the most important changes in a massive off-season at Moorabbin.
It means Hayes will be Lyon's right-hand man and an important counterpoint to a man renowned as one of the AFL coaching mavericks.
"There's a bit of yin and yang about Ross and Lenny. I'm reluctant to say 'good cop, bad cop' ... because it's 'cuddly Ross'," a grinning Riewoldt said of Lyon's second stint at St Kilda.
St Kilda made a statement last year in the trade period, recruiting Tom De Koning, Jack Silvagni, Liam Ryan and Sam Flanders.
They'd already re-signed young gun Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera on a bumper two-year deal.
Clearly, St Kilda feel they are going places. They are also determined to stand their ground, as shown by the reaction - including from Riewoldt - when Brisbane's premiership coach Chris Fagan questioned the money they'd outlaid on De Koning and Wanganeen-Milera.
In the midst of this, Hayes' change of roles is particularly important, given his lofty reputation.
"In terms of people you meet and you've formed relationship with them in football, Lenny sits at the very, very top of the tree," Riewoldt told AAP.
"He did it the right way as a player, there was no-one who was more ferocious, who lived the values that you'd want in a teammate.
"Off the field as well, he's a very empathetic person and he has no ego.
"He's going to be a great person for all the stakeholders involved in a football club, to be able to lean on.
"He's going to be incredibly important and you want a really good person in that position. What it does, it's a complementary piece of the puzzle."
