It is 31 years ago minus one day today that Brisbane and St. Kilda played the famous ‘hail storm game’ at ‘Arctic Park’ in Melbourne when a 25m set shot goal from Paul Peos straight in front of the big sticks was like an 85m torpedo from the middle of the ground.

It was Round 11 1993 at Waverley Park when an official crowd of 11,748 was reduced to all but nothing outside when a huge hail storm hit the ground late in the second quarter.

The pre-match ground report on Channel Seven forecast “continued showers, local hail and thunder, and possible snowfall”, with a forecast maximum temperature of 11 degrees.

It was wildly inflated – the temperature never got above eight degrees - but otherwise the meteorologists were on the money.

Peos, a former West Coast Eagles forward in his fifth game for the then Brisbane Bears, became the “face” of a day football will never forget when he took a chest mark pretty much with his eyes closed looking straight into the hail, and somehow kicked truly.

The Bears were kicking to the Jacksons Road end at Waverley, the left hand end of the TV coverage, so as Bears defender Nathan Chapman kicked long from the defensive side of centre Peos and his St. Kilda opponent Jamie Shanahan were looking straight into the hail.

He cleverly positioned himself behind Shanahan to give himself a little protection, and when Shanahan unsurprisingly lost track of the ball in flight Peos marked it on his chest.

“That’s as good a mark as you’ll see in these conditions,” said Sandy Roberts in commentary. “And this is going to be one hell of a tough kick.”

It was, but after wiping the hail from his face, pointing himself in the right direction, Peos flat punted it through for full points.

Peos later described the day as “so bloody cold” and told how Bears coach Robert Walls had ordered his players to wear sleeveless jumpers, and instructed his players, more at home in the Queensland sunshine, to make sure they didn’t let anyone see they were uncomfortable in the cold and wet conditions.

And then the hail came. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Roberts. “We’re not that far away from snow … and I’m not exaggerating.”

Danny Frawley, the St. Kilda captain in his 197^th game, admitted it was the first time in his career he’d worn long sleeves. “It was incredible … they weren’t little hailstones either .. they were the size of golf balls and they hurt. It kept getting stronger and stronger,” he said.

Halftime brought a welcome escape for the players, and by the time the second half started the hail had passed. But even in better conditions the Saints were too good, winning 20-10 (130) to 11-9 (75).

Tony Lockett kicked 11-1 for the home side, rarely venturing more than 25m from goal, and picked up three Brownlow Medal votes from Saints first-gamer Brodie Atkinson (25 possessions, two goals) and Nathan Burke (26 possessions). Nicky Winmar kicked four goals for the home side, while Brisbane’s best were Marcus Ashcroft (25 possessions), Nathan Buckley (25), Troy Clarke (23) and Danny Craven (22).

Bears captain Roger Merrett wasn’t suited to the conditions – he had one handball – while Darryl White has a miserly five possessions on a 20^th birthday he’ll never forget.

The hail storm game is one of many memorable incidents that make up a Brisbane-St. Kilda history that spans 53 games since 1987 and favours Brisbane 28-25 overall. It’s 19-7 at ‘home’ – Carrara in the early days and more recently the Gabba.

In an early trend that current coach Chris Fagan will be pleased is long gone as he prepares for Friday night’s clash at the Gabba, Tony Lockett kicked 3-8-5-9-10-12-11 goals for St. Kilda in seven games against the League newcomers from 1987-93 and polled 13 Brownlow Medal votes.

Other famous Brisbane v St. Kilda moments include:-

1989 – A New Coach

Paul Feltham, North Melbourne premiership player turned Bears psychologist, coached the Bears for the first time in Round 16 1989 after inaugural coach Peter Knights was sacked. Feltham coached the last seven games of the season and was originally extended by then chairman into 1990 but after the change of ownership he was moved on and replaced by Norm Dare before the key appointment of Robert Walls in 1991.

1994 – Eight Goals on Debut

Alastair Lynch made a belated Bears debut against St. Kilda at the Gabba in Round 4 1994, having missed the start of the season due to a collarbone injury. The boom recruit from Fitzroy kicked eight wearing the #11 Bears jumper for the first time.  The Brownlow Medal votes went to Troy Clarke (3), Craig Starcevich (2) and an unlucky Lynch (1).

1994 – Five Goals in Seven Minutes

Fifteen weeks later Brisbane and St. Kilda met again at Waverley. The Bears were held to one goal for 115 minutes of the match, but in a scintillating five-minute burst in the third quarter they kicked seven goals to win 8-7 (55) to 5-15 (45). Craig Lambert (34 possessions) was best afield.

1998 – When Football Was Secondary …

Under caretaker coach Roger Merrett, Brisbane closed out the nightmare season of 1998 at the Gabba on 29 August with a one-point win over St. Kilda. But, with Andrew Bews playing his last game, it came at a price.

The Bears already had the wooden-spoon and pick #1 in the draft locked away, but a loss would have given them pick #2 as a priority pick as well. So they had to be content with Des Headland at #1 before Fremantle took Justin Longmuir, now the Dockers coach, at #2.

But it was all secondary. Earlier that day a high-powered Brisbane delegation of chairman Noel Gordon, deputy-chairman Alan Piper and CEO Andrew Ireland had met the legendary Leigh Matthews at Kangaroo Point and confirmed his appointment for the following season. So, working for Channel 7 at the time, ‘Lethal’ called the game knowing he’d soon be in charge.

2005 – No Warm Welcome Home

Nick Riewoldt, drafted from QAFL club Southport with pick #1 in the 2000 AFL National Draft after playing several games with the Lions Reserves pre-draft, captained St. Kilda for the first time in Round 1 2005. But it wasn’t a memorable day for the blonde Gold Coaster, who could have been a priority signing to Brisbane had the AFL not changed the recruiting zone to exclude the Gold Coast.

Riewoldt crashed heavily diving for a mark and, after medical treatment, returned to the game only to be immediately confronted by Brisbane defenders Mal Michael and Chris Scott. With the ball at the opposite end of the ground, they bumped him forcefully several times.

The hard-nosed triple premiership pair reasoned that if Riewoldt was on the ground he was fair game, but after the Lions won by 23 points it was later confirmed Riewoldt had a broken collarbone. It became a big story in Melbourne, with a loud public outcry, before Michael and Scott were cleared of any wrongdoing.

2006 – Farewell to a Champion

Michael Voss played his 289^th and last game in Round 22 2006 against St. Kilda at the Gabba, and in a 51-point loss had 34 possessions and polled two Brownlow Medal votes. It was a four-part farewell, with Clark Keating, Brad Scott and Mal Michael having also announced their retirement, although not long after Michael announced he would play in 2007 for Essendon.

2007 – Massive Matthews Milestone

Leigh Matthews became the 10^th coach in AFL history – and still the most recent - to pilot 250 wins when the Lions accounted for the Saints by 52 points at the Gabba in Round 2 2007. It was his 195^th game at the Lions helm, and gave him a 125-1-69 record at his second club.

2014 – Leppa’s 1^st Win

Justin Leppitsch took over as Brisbane coach in 2014, and celebrated his first win in Round 6 when the Lions beat the Saints in Wellington, New Zealand. It was the second of three St. Kilda premiership matches played in NZ on Anzac Day, with Jack Redden picking up three Brownlow votes after kicking a late goal to give his side a three-point win.

2016 – And Leppa’s Last Game

In Round 22 2016 the Lions sent Daniel Merrett into retirement on his 200^th game, and played for the 66^th and last time under Justin Leppitsch. But there was no happy send-off, as the Saints won by 58 points. 

2021 – Zorko’s 200

Dayne Zorko played his 200^th in Round 17 2021 against St. Kilda – at Carrara. Due to Covid disruptions the match was moved to a venue not far from where the then Lions skipper had grown up. He had 17 possessions and kicked three goals in a 32-point loss.

BY THE NUMBERS

Simon Black has polled most Brownlow Medal votes for Brisbane against St.Kilda at 14, from Michael Voss (11), Jason Akermanis (6), Hugh McCluggage (6) and Shaun Hart (6). Stewart Loewe (18) heads the StKilda vote from Leigh Montagna (13), Lenny Hayes (12), Nick Riewoldt (11) and Tony Lockett (11). Tom Rockliff’s 39 possessions at the Gabba in 2013 is Brisbane’s best against the Saints, while Hayes has the StKilda equivalent at 38, set at Marvel Stadium in 2006. The aforementioned goal-kicking hauls of Lockett (12) and Alastair Lynch (8) are the respective bests.

COMMON PLAYERS

Nineteen players have worn the colors of Brisbane and St.Kilda in the AFL.  Matthew Clarke, Brett Voss, Jason Gram, Trent Knobel, Billy Longer, Steven Lawrence, Colm Begley, Bernie Harris and Jayden Attard started at Brisbane, while Adrian Fletcher,  Mark Buckley, Robert Mace, Rod Owen, Xavier Clarke, Danny Craven, Russell Jeffery, Gilbert McAdam, Matt Maguire and Darragh Joyce went the other way.