Nick Sautner

Nick Sautner

Personal information
Birth	19 July 1977(1977-07-19)
Recruited from	Springvale reserves
Height and weight	186 cm
Playing career¹
Team(s)	Sandringham (1997–2000, 2004–) 202 games, 621 goals Frankston (2001–2002) 40 games, 170 goals Northern Bullants (2003) 18 games, 82 goals Total 260 games, 873 goals
¹ Statistics to end of 2010 season
Career highlights
Played 3 matches for VFL Jim 'Frosty' Miller Medal winner record 9 times 5 time premiership player (1997, 2000, 2004–06) VFL Team of the Year 9 times Sandringham captain 2010 Sixth most games in VFA/VFL history

Nicholas 'Nick' Sautner (born 19 June 1977) is an Australian rules footballer, best known for his Victorian Football League (VFL) football career with the Sandringham Zebras. He has also spent time at Preston in 2003, and Frankston in 2001 and 2002.

Throughout his career, Sautner cemented a reputation as one of the VFL's most prolific goal-kickers. Through his career, he won the Jim 'Frosty' Miller Medal for leading goalkicker in the VFL a record nine times, breaking the record held by the eponymous Jim Miller of six. He was league leading goal-kicker a record six years in a row from 1999–2004, breaking the record of four in a row held by G. Taylor (1920–1923) and Miller (1968–1971), and won the award nine times in eleven years from 1999–2009.

Career overview

Sautner began his VFL career in 1996 with the Springvale Football Club, playing as a defender in the reserves, but he never managed a senior game for Springvale. He moved to Sandringham in 1997 and arrived at the Trevor Barker Oval to take his place at centre half back as the youngest player in its premiership side of that year, playing every game for the season (one of only three players to do so). Two years later Sautner switched to the forward line, and was immediately successful, kicking 89 goals and winning the Jim "Frosty" Miller Medal as the competition's leading goal kicker.

The 2000 season saw the VFL become affiliated with the professional Australian Football League, and saw Sandringham affiliated with the Melbourne Football Club. Sautner kicked 70 goals and won the Frosty Miller Medal again, as part of the Zebras' premiership team.

Sautner switched teams in 2001 when he moved to bayside rival Frankston and again in 2003 when he was lured to the Northern Bullants. He played a total of 58 games with those clubs, and was the league's leading goal kicker again in all three seasons, including his career-best 93 goals in the 2002 season with Frankston.

He returned to Sandringham in 2004 and won the Frosty Miller medal for the sixth consecutive time, a VFL record, as well as winning a third premiership with the Zebras. In the following two seasons, Sautner won two more premierships, bringing his total to five (a Sandringham record), but his streak of Frosty Miller medals was broken, by James Podsiadly in 2005 and Aaron Edwards in 2006.

Between 2007 and 2009, Sautner won another three Frosty Miller Medals, bringing his total to nine, a VFA/VFL record.

Despite his success at VFL level, Sautner has never been recruited by an AFL team; he trialled with St Kilda and Melbourne, but was unsuccessful with each.

Sautner announced his retirement from VFL football in January 2011 when he was unable to meet the training schedule set down by Brett Lovett as stated in the VFL record on June 12th 2011. Sautner has signed to play with Collegians in the VAFA for season 2011.^[1]

References

1. ^ Nick Sautner to suit up for Wesley Collegians

External links

• Sautner announces VFL Retirement

Persondata
Name	Sautner, Nick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	19 July 1977
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death