On Thursday evening, as a Dassault Falcon 7X jet carrying Warne's body flew in from Thailand, there was still a sense of disbelief in the St Kilda clubrooms that the larger-than-life cricket star was gone.
One of the leg spinner's old coaches, former international all-rounder and St Kilda life member Shaun Graf, held back a tear as he remembered Warne as a quintessential club bloke.
"He was a very confident rooster, loved the contest, very competitive, enjoyed life on and off the field," said Graf, who captained Warne in the late '80s and early '90s.
Even Graf, who became Cricket Victoria's general manager, never dreamed of the heights Warne would reach - taking 708 test wickets and being named one of the top five cricket players of all time.
There were doping and sex scandals along the way as Warne's fame extended well beyond the cricket pitch he dominated.
But Graf and others gathered in the St Kilda clubroom on Thursday night for club photos - and a quiet beer - said Warne never forgot where he came from.
Warne got his start at the club as a teenager in the '80s, and made his first-class debut for Victoria at Junction Oval in 1991.
One week ago, at age 52, Shane Keith Warne died on the Thai resort island of Koh Samui. Thai Police said autopsy results showed he died from natural causes.
Following his death, Warne's body was taken by ferry to the mainland city of Surat Thani, and then on to Bangkok.
His body was brought home to Melbourne on Thursday night on a jet that flew into Essendon Fields Airport. His father Keith and mother Brigitte, holding a single flower, were among his family members there to meet the flight.
Across town at the St Kilda club, members recall a young Warne who fancied himself as a batsman. But when Graf saw him in the nets, he realised the boy from Black Rock had potential with the ball.
"You could tell he had an enormous ability to spin the ball. I basically said, 'we're going to work on both, not just your batting but your bowling'," Graf told AAP.
"It looked to me like it could be something - but I was not expecting it to get to quite the level that it got to."
Former club coach Steve Maddocks said Warne had cheek, generosity and a sense of humour, and always believed he was still in the game - even if he was getting hit for six.
"He wasn't always a superstar, he was a kid down the road who came to have a crack at cricket," he told AAP.
When St Kilda celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2006, Warne - by then an international great - penned a foreword to the club's history, describing his time in grade cricket as an apprenticeship of sorts.
"I was luckier than most to serve mine at the junction, with so many I still number among my closest friends," he wrote.
Maddocks recalled that fitness was never high on Warne's agenda, although he did run laps of Albert Park Lake during team training.
"I'm not sure he was ever overly enthusiastic about circumnavigating the lake," he laughed.
St Kilda is planning to dedicate a stand at the oval to the leg spinner. In the meantime, the club has what it calls the Warne corner - an entire section of the clubroom covered almost floor-to-ceiling in memorabilia.
There are several large-scale photos of Warne's famous "ball of the century", when he bowled out England batsman Mike Gatting during the Ashes series of 1993 - sparking a leg spin revival.
"He was the greatest leg spinner of all time, there's no doubt about that, he was a great Australian," said Stephen Wain, the club's general manager for almost 40 years.
In the commemorative corner, there's also Warne's original Australian team jumper, a couple of baggy greens, and even the white floppy hat from his 500th test wicket at Galle in Sri Lanka in 2004.
"We've pilfered everything he's ever worn!" said one club veteran.
Some flowers have also been left on a stand. A photo of Warne kneeling on a pitch, arms out, celebrating another wicket is just above.
It's not labelled with a specific time or place, but Warne has written a dedication.
"To St Kilda," it reads. "Thanks for the opportunity."
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