The year was 1980.
Russell Greene was midway through his seventh season as a Saint.
In the years before drafts and free agency, it wasn’t unheard of for players to change clubs midway through the season.
The St Kilda midfielder trained at Moorabbin as usual on the Thursday night ahead of the Round 9 clash against Footscray two days later, and was told by then-St Kilda Coach Alex Jesaulenko he’d be lining up against in-form wingman Doug Hawkins.
When Greene returned home, there was a phone message waiting for him from Hawthorn captain Don Scott.
36 hours later, he was running out to play for Hawthorn against North Melbourne at Waverley. So left in the dark were his new teammates that a few of them saw him in the car park before the game and assumed he had driven to the wrong ground.
Greene would go on to become a star at the Hawks, with his career reinvigorated the following year when Allan Jeans joined the club as coach. The midfielder finished his football career eight seasons later, with three premiership medallions, a Hawthorn best and fairest and an All Australian selection to his name.
Mark Scott and Tony King were swapped to the Saints for Greene, but managed just 38 games between them and were gone within a few years.
