One of the greatest goalkickers in AFL history will officially become the sport’s 32nd legend at tonight’s Australian Football Hall of Fame ceremony.
Hawthorn champion and Fox Footy favourite Jason Dunstall will be elevated to legend status as the headline act on Tuesday night, along with at least six new inductees spanning not just the V/AFL but other state leagues as well.
The first inductee of the night was inaugural Adelaide Crows AFL captain Chris McDermott, with New South Wales
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The first inductee of the night was inaugural Adelaide Crows AFL captain Chris McDermott.
Following a decade of success in South Australia with Glenelg, McDermott was considered the perfect fit as a natural leader to spearhead the Crows in the national competition.
McDermott was known as one of the competition’s toughest and most courageous midfielders and was among Glenelg’s best in their 1985 and 1986 premiership triumphs.
McDermott captained the Crows for four seasons and was the first player to reach 100 games for the club. In 1992 he won the Club Champion trophy and received an All-Australian blazer.
McDermott opened up about pushing back on interstate interest from the likes of Fitzroy, the Brisbane Bears and Carlton to stay loyal to his South Australian roots.
“Ultimately I’m a South Australian, I’m a Glenelg boy and I loved the club and I couldn’t at that stage contemplate playing anywhere else,” he said on Tuesday night.
He says the opportunity to become the inaugural captain of the Adelaide Crows’ AFL side “was impossible to pass up”.
Appearing on AFL360 immediately after receiving the accolade, McDermott spoke about his relationship with Carlton icon Stephen Kernahan.
“We’ve stayed really good mates for a really long time,” he said.
“It’s a really strong friendship, that’s the beauty of this game, this crowd and this event, it’s about the people.”
Ralph Robertson, the second inductee of the evening, was one of New South Wales’ finest products, having played 40 times for the State during 1903-1914.
Robertson captained NSW in three national carnivals over his career and made his VFL debut with St Kilda at just 17 years of age.
Standing at just 171 centimetres, the diminutive rover/half-forward was vice-captain of East Sydney in their 1903 premiership team. Robertson was tragically killed during the First World War.
Western Bulldogs goalkicking extraordinaire and 1980 Brownlow Medallist Kelvin Templeton was the third inductee of the night.
A dual Coleman Medal winner, Templeton played 143 games for the red, white and blue and booted 494 goals, winning Footscray’s leading goalkicker award on five occasions.
The two-time club best and fairest winner was inducted into the Bulldogs’ Hall of Fame in 2010 and was named at centre half forward in their Team of the Century.
Templeton spent three seasons at Melbourne for 34 games before retiring, later becoming CEO of the Sydney Swans.
Templeton spoke about how he lived out his childhood dream of playing footy at the highest level.
“The game of AFL gave a chance to a small-town country kid to live out his dreams of playing at the highest level,” Templeton said.
“It taught me a lot about life, the benefit of effort and sacrifice in relation to reward.
“This is a wonderful honour and I am so proud and privileged to have been awarded it.”
The inductees will be confirmed during tonight’s ceremony but the 59-year-old Dunstall, who became a Hall of Famer in 2002 as soon as he became eligible, was confirmed as the next Legend earlier this year.
Dunstall kicked 1254 goals, third only to Tony Lockett (1360) and Gordon Coventry (1299) on the all-time V/AFL list, in 269 games while winning four premierships in Hawthorn’s golden era.
The Queenslander played at just 188cm, making him shorter than current midfield stars Patrick Cripps and Nat Fyfe, and was self-deprecating of his chances of starring in the modern era when he spoke earlier this year.
“I wouldn’t get through pre-season, to be brutally frank,” Dunstall said.
“I don’t know if I’d be a good enough athlete, honestly. But you kind of think if you were brought up in a different time, you’d be physiologically a little different and better prepared to come into the game.
“Because they have such a great pathway now, which wasn’t really in existence back in the eighties.”
Dunstall will join the likes of Ron Barassi, John Coleman, Jack Dyer, Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer and former teammate Leigh Matthews as a Legend.
This article will be updated throughout Tuesday’s ceremony with news of the new Hall of Fame inductees.
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