Ross Lyon has been appointed as St Kilda coach 11 years after his ugly departure from the club he led to three grand finals.
Lyon joins St Kilda on an initial four-year deal and will officially start in the role at the beginning of November.
He last coached in 2019 with Fremantle, the club he controversially joined at the end of the 2011 season after five successful seasons with the Saints.
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The 55-year-old had flirted with a number of coaching returns since being sacked by Fremantle, most notably with Carlton last year and Essendon earlier this year, but said last week that meetings with Saints powerbrokers had opened his heart up to coaching once again.
“I have always had a strong affinity to the Saints, and it feels incredible to be back here as senior coach,” Lyon said in a club statement.
“I have unfinished business with St Kilda and want to play a role in delivering success to the industry’s most loyal fans.
“I have been impressed with the vision of (Saints president) Andrew Bassat and (Saints CEO) Simon Lethlean, and along with Geoff Walsh, I am keen to get to work.”
Bassat said Lyon’s “unwavering pursuit of on and off-field excellence” was what St Kilda needed to go to the next level.
“While his senior coaching record and reputation as a leader speaks for itself, Ross has a clear passion for St Kilda and is determined to bring the club and its people long-awaited success,” he said in a statement.
“Ross is aligned in our vision, and his experiences within the industry – particularly as someone with such in-depth knowledge of St Kilda – should give our members a high level of confidence moving forward.
“As we embark on our 150th year, we will not shy away from our ambitious goals for this club both on and off the field.”
Lyon has coached in 305 games total, winning 172 of them for a 57.21 per cent winning percentage. His teams have reached the finals in six out of his 13 seasons as coach.
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