WHEN Brendon Goddard returned to St Kilda in a coaching capacity at the end of 2022 he told Saints media “red, white and black, it’s in my veins”.

Under the club’s then alignment with Sandringham, the man affectionately known as ‘BJ’ took the coaching reins in the VFL.

Once the Saints decided to compete standalone in the VFL in the candy stripes once more, it was Goddard who remained in the head coach role.

It was a fortnight ago that the Saints claimed victory in the VFL for the first time since 2000 and on the weekend against the Suns, Max King made a successful return to the footy field after nearly two years on the sidelines.

Now, the club heads to IKON Park to face off against Carlton, the side Goddard grew up supporting.

“I enjoyed last year's experience with Sandringham. This year building a new program from scratch has had its challenges, and we are continually learning and evolving as we go.” Goddard told VFL.com.au.

When Goddard announced his retirement as a player at the end of 2018 after 334 games with St Kilda and Essendon, former Bombers teammate Marty Gleeson remarked that Goddard had instilled a strong club culture and leadership that remained after his departure from the club.

“He was a guiding light for the other young boys and I. When I was part of the first-to-third-year academy, I noticed that ‘BJ’ would go out of his way to spend time with us. He would always stick around and share his insights.” Gleeson told the AFL Players website at the time of Goddard’s retirement.

Goddard has always been a self-motivator. Stepping into the coaching shoes, he is now charged with motivating his players each weekend and uses his pre-game addresses to harness that spark of inspiration.

“I'm still finding my own way,” Goddard said.

“We all share stories and learnings we have had over our playing and coaching careers.

“I've dabbled with a theme. I think you can find a balance and do different things depending on the week, opposition, how the group is feeling, etc. But as a rule of thumb, it mirrors what Ross and the assistant coaches are feeding the AFL list from a week to week.

“We all want to be connected and on same page at both levels.”

Coaching a side in your own right is challenging.

But coaching an aligned AFL side presents a different combination of obstacles, one that Goddard has been fast-tracked to face working alongside St Kilda AFL coach Ross Lyon, as well his former teammates Robert Harvey and Lenny Hayes.

“I am lucky enough to have some very experienced coaches, and former players involved. I have great people around me to lean into and learn from.”

St Kilda VFL backline coach Simon Williams lured Goddard to Caulfield Grammarians in the VAFA in 2019 after his AFL career came to an end, helping Goddard to his first premiership success.

When Goddard returned to the Saints, he returned the favour and brought Williams, better known as ‘Punchy’, on board.

“It has been amazing seeing Brendon impart his vast football knowledge on a new and relatively young squad, which we have at St Kilda,” Williams told VFL.com.au.

“His game sense and how things unfold during the game and his understanding of this is undeniable, even from his playing days. It has been great seeing the way ‘BJ’ can articulate that and help the players understand the how and why.

“Even though it’s in its infancy, he has been able to integrate the AFL system and standards into the VFL program.”

On-field, at Goddard’s current disposal are AFL-listed players like Jack Macrae, Dougal Howard, Liam Henry and Paddy Dow, as well as promising youngsters Tobie Travaglia and Alix Tauru.

And while the program is very much about developing the bottom-end of the AFL list, there is a broader goal for Goddard and his Saints.

“There is continual development in this group, and a real focus on growth.

“Winning is obviously a key part, we all want to win, but making players better, not only as footballers, but as people, young men, is important to us.”

For the second-straight week, Max King will be part of the team’s forward line when they take on Carlton at IKON Park on Saturday.

“It was a big step for him to get back last week and his efforts to get back to senior footy,” Goddard said.

“He has had so many challenges over the past 18 months. Everyone, internally and externally, were so happy just to see him out on the field again.

“It's small steps from here. There is no expectation whatsoever on him and his performance.”

Goddard still has the red, black and white pumping through his veins and the ruthless competitive edge that drives him on game day.

This weekend he’ll be aiming to make it a second win for the club inside the first six matches and have the Saints remain in touch with the top 10.

You can watch Carlton vs St Kilda LIVE on the ABC from 12:00pm this Saturday with State of Play co-host Gemma Bastiani part of the coverage, alongside Matt Clinch, Jason Bennett and Daniel Harford.