These are some of the attributes that sum up South Australian football legend and Australian Football Hall of Fame member Neil Kerley, according to those who went into battle with him on the football field and his adversaries.

Glenelg great Peter Carey played his first league game under Kerley in 1971 and credits him with turning the Tigers from “a social club to a serious footy club’’.

He said there had been no greater influence on his football career.

“Kerls was the person who turned the Glenelg footy club around,’’ said Carey, the Tigers’ games record holder and himself an Australian Football Hall of Famer.

“He brought new, professional, hard standards to the club and was the man chiefly responsible for the club winning its first premiership in 39 years (in 1973).

“He was inspiring and had an aura about him that you just wanted to follow. You knew with Kerls that anything he asked you to do he could do better.

“There was no-one bigger in State footy than Kerls and one of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t get to play with him because I would have loved to have walked out on the footy field with him. I’m sure I would have felt six inches taller.’’

Carey recalled how in just his third game of a record 448-game SANFL career, he was floored by North Adelaide captain-coach Mike Patterson and Kerley ran to his aid.

“Patterson ran straight through me, he didn’t even look at the ball, and I remember lying on the ground and (field umpire) Max O’Connell saying to ‘Patto’ that the next time you try that I’ll pay a free kick against you,’’ he said.

“But Kerls wanted to take matters into his own hands and he had to be restrained when the players were walking off at half-time because he was remonstrating with ‘Patto’ about what he had done to me. That summed Kerls up for me.’’

Carey said he felt privileged to have spent time with Kerley and his wife Barb at “his haven’’ at Walker Flat.

“He absolutely loved Walker Flat, loved the Swan Reach Golf Club and loved setting yabby nets and to be able to share some of that with Kerls was something very special,’’ he said.

“I feel very blessed to have had a close relationship with Kerls over a long period of time.’’

INSPIRATIONAL LEADER

Ten-time Port Adelaide premiership coach and former State teammate John Cahill said Kerley helped inspire his journey.

“I found him such an inspiration and looked up to him a lot,’’ Cahill said.

“As a player he was a really tough opponent, courageous, a born leader who was inspirational.

“When I started coaching (in 1974) I took some of Kerls' qualities because he just led teams so well. He never asked any of his players to do something that he couldn’t do.

“The only thing that bugged me about Neil was that he could get over a loss quicker than I could.

GALLERY: Neil Kerley, player and coach

Neil Kerley in pictures: The player and the coach

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“It took me two or three days to get over it but he seemed to move on very quickly and bounce back the next day.’’

Cahill said Kerley and legendary Port coach Fos Williams epitomised SA State footy, saying they lived for the occasion of taking on the Vics.

Explaining what a tough adversary Kerley was on the field, he recalled being cleaned up by him one day.

“He ran past me when I was playing for Port Adelaide and I woke up in hospital,’’ Cahill said.

“He kicked me in the head on the Saturday and at State training on the Tuesday – we didn't have long to get over concussions in those days – he said, ‘sorry Jack, I went to jump over the top of you’’.

“I said, ‘bullsh.t’’, but that was Kerls for you. We were good friends all the way through.’’

ONE OF A KIND

South Adelaide 1964 premiership player and former highly-respected football commentator Ian Day described Kerley as one of the strongest people he had ever met – mentally and physically – and hailed his performance in famously steering the Panthers from bottom to top in his first year as coach in ‘64.

South hasn't won a premiership since.

“He was just such a strong, physical player and knew how to lead and get the best out of his players,’’ Day said.

“Kerls led by example and what he did for South, his ability to turn that team around so quickly, will never be forgotten.

“He wasn’t frightened to police the players, he’d roar at them, and they responded.

“He was one of a kind, a great sportsman and leader and I respected him greatly.’’

Former State teammate and Sturt opponent John Halbert, the 1961 Magarey Medallist, said he has great memories of lining up alongside Kerley in the red State colours and playing and coaching against him for rival SANFL clubs.

“The 1963 (State game win against Victoria) was a real highlight of my time playing with Neil but as an opponent he was a rough diamond in many ways,’’ Halbert said.

“He played the game the way he believes it should be played and if you didn’t like it it was your problem, not his.

“But I had a great deal of respect for him. As a player in the opposition team, whether Neil was playing or coaching, you always knew you would be in for a great challenge because he always prepared a team that was going to be very competitive and make you work hard.

“Coaching against him for a number of years, particularly at Sturt, the great tragedy for me was in 1983 when West Adelaide beat Sturt in the grand final.

“The great consolation I got from that was that when I talked to Neil many times since, he always said that the 1983 West team was the best side he ever coached – and he coached some good ones.

“So obviously we just weren’t good enough.’’

UNBELIEVABLE STRENGTH

One of the members of that Bloods side, rover Bernie Conlen, said Kerley led from the front on game day and at training.

“He didn’t expect us to do anything we knew he couldn’t do,’’ Conlen said, adding Kerley and former general manager Doug Thomas, through his recruiting. were the architects of the ‘83 success.

“He was 49 years old that year and the strength of the man was still unbelievable. If you left yourself open at training he would run through you.

“Neil hardened us up and had a simple game plan, which was, ‘see ball, get ball’.

“When Andy Collins coached at West (from 2008-13) he produced a motivational video for the players which Kerls narrated and his message was ‘never give up and just keep going until your opponent gives up’.

“He worked on the theory that each team has 18 players on the field and that if you have more players beating their opponents then you win the game.

“It was a pretty simple philosophy but it worked. Neil hated the way the game is played today because he thought teams were too intent on being defensive.’’

SA Football Commission chairman Rob Kerin described Kerley as a “tough, but fun, larger-than-life character who became one of the best-known personalities of football and the SANFL’’.

SANFL chief executive Darren Chandler said Kerley would be “remembered for the enormous impact he had on all those who played alongside him and the fans who grew up watching him’’.

“He had a tough-as-nails approach to the game but was a loveable personality in football who became ‘Mr Football’ through all his humour and antics in the media,’’ he said.