These South Australian football greats should no longer be overlooked for Hall of Fame status, writes Graham Cornes
Thousands of goals, plenty of Magarey Medals and All-Australians. It’s time to induct these South Australian legends into the Australian football Hall of Fame, writes Graham Cornes.
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The Australian football Hall of Fame dinner will be held this year on Tuesday, June 23.
Some say it’s the biggest football night of the year.
For those fortunate enough to be invited, it is an exciting night.
Legends everywhere and the good-natured banter that is unique whenever old footballers get together.
However, there is always an undercurrent of disagreement.
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Then discussions and the debates invariably start. Who was more worthy?
The time to argue and lobby is not in June in the week before the dinner. The time to lobby is now.
It’s fair to say that those individuals who have already been inducted into footy’s Hall of Fame deserve the honour.
It’s just that some who are more deserving continue to be overlooked.
Despite a national balance to its selection committee, the Hall of Fame is Victoria-centric – of that there is no doubt.
It also favours the modern player.
The waiting period after retirement was once only three years, the folly of which was rectified in 2015 by extending it to five years.
Still, some of the younger members of the Hall of Fame are inducted far too early.
A 10-year waiting period would be more appropriate and allow some of the earlier champions of the game to be recognised.
It might also allow for several more non-Victorian champions to receive one of football’s great honours.
So let’s start the lobbying process for at least eight South Australians whose records demand they be considered.
Consider for a start this record: Magarey Medallist and three times runner-up; four times club best and fairest; premiership captain and three times premiership player; state captain and 31 state games; dual premiership coach; long-serving football administrator.
It’s an impressive record no doubt, but it’s a name long forgotten by most footy fans, except for those whose passion is the history of South Australian football.
Who is it? Scroll to the end to find out.
The more recent contenders are very difficult to rank but their records demand they be considered.
Andrew Jarman’s football record is truly astounding.
He played 326 games with North Adelaide, Norwood and the Adelaide Crows.
He is a two time Magarey Medallist, twice All-Australian, three time club Best and Fairest. He played 15 games for South Australia and won the Fos Williams Medal an incredible five times.
His football record is complicated by the entry into the AFL of the Adelaide Football Club which he served brilliantly until a controversial ending.
However, that should not sully his reputation as one of SA’s greats.
For years Norwood fans have been clamouring for national recognition of three of their champions and demanding their elevation into the Hall of Fame.
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It’s hard to argue with them but try splitting these three: Gary McIntosh, Michael Aish and Michael Taylor.
McIntosh is a sentimental favourite, if only for his blind loyalty to the Redlegs.
The dual Magarey Medallist played a record 336 games for his beloved Norwood, captained the team for nine years and was a dual premiership player.
He won the Fos Williams Medal three times and also represented Australia five times in international rules matches.
Surprisingly, he only won Norwood Best and Fairest award twice but that is simply an endorsement of the talent that Norwood developed through its glory years.
Knowing Macca, he would say he didn’t care two hoots for any Hall of Fame ego-tripping but the football world knows he deserves it
Michael Aish has an irresistible record: Magarey Medal; four times Norwood Best and Fairest, dual premiership player, state captain and 15 state games for SA.
He won the Fos Williams Medal and was twice selected in the All-Australian team.
He resisted offers to move to Victoria and was at the end of his career when the Adelaide Football Club was formed, so his talent has not been appreciated by a younger generation of footy fans.
Nevertheless, he is a true champion of the game.
Michael Taylor is another Norwood legend whose contribution to the game must not be buried in football’s history files.
He was a premiership captain, played in two premierships in his 267 games with the Redlegs. He also played 92 games in four seasons with Collingwood.
He won Norwood’s Best and Fairest award six times. (Only Walter Scott, an Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee, has equalled that record.)
In an era of excellence for the club, in the company of other great players, it’s a remarkable achievement.
His football persona is enhanced by his modesty and his popularity among his peers.
Port Adelaide champion full-forward, Tim Evans is another quiet, retiring, modest champion whose contribution to Australian football must be recognised.
In 232 games for Port Adelaide, he kicked 1,019 goals, the second highest total in SANFL history.
Only Ken Farmer has kicked more.
He is a four-time premiership player and was Port Adelaide leading goal-kicker 10 times.
Chris McDermott and Tony McGuinness are both champion players whose records are complicated by the entry of the Crows into the AFL but both are worthy of Hall of Fame recognition.
McDermott was the inaugural Crows captain, having captained Glenelg for the three previous seasons.
He won Glenelg’s Best and Fairest three times and also the Malcolm Blight Medal in 1992.
He played 14 games for SA and was captain for eight of those games.
He was three times All-Australian, once as captain, won the Fos Williams Medal and the Simpson Medal.
He played a total of 354 games but it is his time a Crows captain in the club’s difficult formative years for which he deserves much credit and acknowledgment.
Tony McGuinness was a brilliant, explosive footballer who played 325 games for Glenelg, Footscray and the Crows.
At just 18 he won the Magarey Medal.
He also won the Best and Fairest awards at all three clubs and was three times selected in the All-Australian team.
All those players listed above are as worthy as any Hall of Fame member.
Now, with the footy season less than eight weeks away, is the time to have their names to the forefront of any Hall of Fame debate.
It will be also be interesting to see if, when he has served the five-year waiting period, Central District’s now legendary coach Roy Laird is rewarded for his era of dominance.
That will be a test of how relevant the SANFL is to Australian football.
Oh, and the one with that outstanding record written about at the start of this column?
Tom Leahy who played for North Adelaide and Norwood and captained South Australia to a historic win over Victoria in 1920 at the MCG.
He’s long gone but he should never be forgotten, nor should his record remain unacknowledged.
Originally published as These South Australian football greats should no longer be overlooked for Hall of Fame status, writes Graham Cornes