Key sites at Alberton Oval have been named in honour of football greats such as Russell Ebert and Geof Motley
FOOTBALL greats such as Ebert, Motley and Cahill will long loom large at Alberton Oval with key sites at the ground named after the sporting heroes.
THE names Ebert, Motley, Cahill and McLean have long been synonymous with Alberton Oval.
Now they will be formally recognised there after Port Adelaide yesterday named landmarks of the ground after six club greats.
Two of the oval’s three gates honour champion Port players — Russell Ebert and Geof Motley — while the other recognises arguably its greatest administrator, Bob McLean.
John Cahill, a 10-time premiership coach and former captain, has fittingly had a wing named for him after being selected as a wingman in the club’s greatest team.
TELL US BELOW: Who would you like to see recognised at the ground?
After winning a toss, captains will now decide between kicking to the Tim Evans or Scott Hodges end — recognising the Magpies’ two most prolific goalkickers.
The naming honours come ahead of Port’s first home SANFL game this season against Glenelg at Alberton tomorrow, which will also serves as a past players’ day.
Nine-time premiership player Motley, whose name now stands on the south-eastern gate, said the recognition meant a lot.
“I was born only one-and-a-half kilometres from here ... and my lifetime as a football person was right here,” Motley said.
“I was quite excited about it but there are plenty of people who could have qualified for the same thing.”
Four-time Magarey Medallist Ebert, who has had the Queen St gate named for him, said Alberton has always been “a home away from home”.
“The whole Port Adelaide Football Club is your life — I came down here as an 18 year old,” Ebert said
“My name is up there (on the gate) but it just represents all those Port Adelaide Football Club people who have helped along the way to make this club the great place it is.”
The honours come weeks after Port named the Adelaide Oval race after Motley.
Ebert and Cahill have also been recognised at the city ground — Ebert with a yet-to-be-unveiled statue and Cahill through the naming of a bar.
Footy memories from Alberton have never left Ebert and Motley but both say they come flowing back whenever they walk through the gates.
“When you go out on the oval you realise quite a few got the privilege to play on the oval but thousands and thousands didn’t, so it gives you a buzz every time,” Ebert said.
The six additions join Port legends Fos Williams and Bob Quinn — who have grandstands named in their honour — in being recognised at the ground.
TELL US BELOW: Who would you like to see recognised at the ground?