THEY started their careers a year apart, both destined for the greatness they ultimately were to achieve.It looks likely they¹ll finish their careers a year apart, too. This week, one of them called time. The other was forced to defend his decision to play out his remaining time with a beleaguered club.It wasn't meant to be this way for Jonathan Brown and Nick Riewoldt. Not in ideal world scenarios anyway.Brown this year wanted to lead a shell-shocked group of young men if not back up the AFL ladder but back to a self-respecting state, after several young, promising players chose to leave and the board had decided to knife its club legend coach.Riewoldt wanted to do the same with the young men at his club, after the justified departure of a mate and club great (Nick Dal Santo) as well as the board deciding to also lop its coach.Instead, Brown has retired a broken man at a broken club, after one too many brutal knocks to his head.Riewoldt is in the throes of retiring, all too aware that whatever lies ahead for him as a player is not going to be nice.Brisbane Lions and St Kilda, the teams of Brown and Riewoldt, are the AFL's problem children.They sit last and second-last on the ladder, both with just three wins from 13 matches, and most damningly, both with percentages less than 60.The near future for the Lions and Saints is distressingly bleak.With the AFL's new toy, Gold Coast, just 80 kilometres south down the road, the Lions have been neglected to the point of disaster. Brown was its one real link to the gloried and glorious early 2000s. There's massive debt at the Lions, too.In VFL/AFL history, few clubs have been as unfortunate or unlucky as St Kilda in premiership pursuit as the Saints in 2009 and 2010.When the final siren rang in the 2009 Grand Final, the Saints were short by just six points (before Geelong's Max Rooke kicked an after-siren goal). In the 2010 Grand Final, they drew with Collingwood, then got blown away the week after.Now, it is not only on-field where they don't know what is going on. Off it, they don't know either.There's a base in Seaford. There's a sort-of base in Moorabbin which they have stated they want to reinvigorate. They play "home" matches at Etihad Stadium and Wellington. And they have plans to return to the Junction Oval. Talk about identity crisis.And there's also massive debt at the Saints.Brown and Riewoldt both had multiple, enticing offers to leave their clubs during their careers. The most exciting of those offers for both men came from Collingwood president Eddie McGuire.When it became known Carlton would secure Chris Judd, McGuire made an almighty pitch for Brown.The pitch was this: 'You've done all you can at the Lions. Now picture this: you, leading Collingwood out on to the MCG, to go and toss the coin against Juddy and the Blues.'Of course, there were millions of other reasons to ponder that scenario, too.Only last September, McGuire made another Hail Mary approach, this time to Riewoldt.The two men met for what Riewoldt thought was going to be a discussion about business possibilities post-St Kilda playing career. He should have known better. It was that, but it was also an offer to play for a club in the premiership window.As difficult as it is to stomach for Lions and Saints supporters, McGuire had every right to target these two superstars. And he nearly pulled off both approaches.Brown mulled it for some time. He had to. Riewoldt did too. Both would have been entitled to accept the overtures and no one, not even their most die-hard supporters, would have begrudged them deep down.But that they said 'no' says everything that needs to be said about these two grand football club warriors.For Brown, who started in 2000, team success at the Lions came quickly and in great quantity and the individual awards came later.For Riewoldt, who began in 2001, the personal prizes were instant and while team glory in its ultimate form never came, there were three Grand Finals as well as three other seasons which ended in preliminary finals.In this ever increasing free world where free agency are just two words and nothing more, remember that these two warriors chose to say no to greener pastures.Sure, they've been well paid to stay, but they would have been paid a whole lot more to go.Brown's now gone.Riewoldt will soon be too. Let's all doubly appreciate what this champion, one-club player has got left.