Born only 143 days apart, these two old mates are now in their mid-80s. Neither is well enough to attend the Sydney-Brisbane Lions grand final, having both had some health challenges in recent years.

But those closest to them, their families and close friends, say ‘Skilts’ and ‘Bulldog’ will be focused on watching the Swans and Lions do battle on Saturday.

“It would have been amazing if they had been able to be there, sitting together as they used to at the Brownlow Medal counts,” Skilton’s granddaughter Bec, who is Sydney’s No. 1 ticketholder, said this week.

“They have so much respect for one another, despite playing for different clubs.

“Sadly they can’t attend anymore. Pa (Skilton) is struggling a bit at the moment, but when we talk about the grand final, he is so proud that the boys are back in there again.”

Murray, too, has had his own battles in recent years, though one of his great mates, Alex Gardner, says he has no doubt he will be following the action on television this weekend.

He still wears the club polo shirts and hats that the Brisbane Lions send him each year.

THE HEARTBREAT OF TWO CLUBS

These two Australian Football Hall of Fame Legends are still the heartbeat of the Swans and Lions, with the current players from both sides well aware of their significance.

When the Swans players voted on whose image should adorn the walls of their new training facility, Skilton’s name was the first choice, even though he hasn’t played footy in more than half a century.

And the Brisbane teams of the early 21st century have a special affinity with Murray, with triple premiership hero Jonathan Brown saying: “It was the vision of him standing up there with his Lions scarf on after we won the first premiership (2001), that was a great healing moment for the whole club.”

Skilton and Murray’s lives have had incredible parallels, with their bonds coming from mutual respect as well as playing representative football for Victoria.

They were born in the same year and were intrinsically linked to the suburbs in which they played.

They did not have team success and would have traded their countless individual awards and laurels for a premiership that never came as a player.

They won the Brownlow Medal (Skilton won three) and both hold the VFL-AFL record for the most best and fairest awards, with nine each.

Each has the club’s best and fairest award named after him, with Sydney having the Bob Skilton Medal and Brisbane Lions players winning the Roger Merrett-Kevin Murray Medal.

They were captains of the South Melbourne/Sydney and Fitzroy teams of the century.

And importantly, both embraced their clubs’ respective moves north, when South Melbourne moved to Sydney in 1982 and when Fitzroy merged with Brisbane in late 1996.

In doing so, they have been rewarded with seeing their clubs have premiership success, decades after their own careers ended.

‘HE HATED SOUTH MELBOURNE’

In the football tribalism of the last century, the dividing line between South Melbourne and Port Melbourne was akin to a suburban battleground.

One club was in the VFL; the other was in the VFA, but there was no love lost.

So when a teenage Skilton was invited to play for South Melbourne, he bristled at the prospect, as his father, Bob Sr., had been a leading player/coach of Port Melbourne.

But as Bob’s granddaughter recalled this week, a quick chat with his dad changed that.

“He (initially) hated South Melbourne,” Bec Skilton said. “But his dad said to him: ‘If you want to be good, you have to go to South Melbourne in the VFL; if you are not good enough, you can always drop back to Port.’

“As soon as Pa got there (South Melbourne), he loved it. That had to do with blokes like (1949 Brownlow Medallist) Ron Clegg, who took him under his wing straight away.”

Skilton would go on to become South Melbourne’s greatest player, winning three Brownlow Medals in a team that perennially struggled.

He played only one final in 237 VFL games, and would have gladly traded his Brownlows for a premiership medal.

As he told us last year: “We didn’t have much success when I was playing, especially early in the piece.”

“We battled, and in our own way, we had to form friendships in different ways because we didn’t have the success that other teams had to bond over. But I think it strengthened our relationships and made us appreciate each other.

One of those friendships was with Murray, a fierce competitor on the field, but a close friend off the ground.

“Every time I pulled on that guernsey for Victoria, I was just in awe of how good the players were. I was playing with the best and I couldn’t believe that.”

‘LASTING MEMORIES OF MY LIFE’

Murray always maintained he owes everything in his life to Fitzroy Football Club, for their stability and support.

When he became an official Lions Legend just over a decade ago, he told us: “It (football) got me off the streets … We were doing some wild things in the past. I might have finished in jail, there is no doubt about that.

“Many years later, when I had to go and do a few sportsman’s nights at Pentridge, some of my old mates were there in jail. I thought ‘I could have ended up in that area too’.

“But the people of Fitzroy – the players, the administrators and the supporters – gave me some of the most lasting memories of my life.”

He had grown up in neighbouring Collingwood, but was always destined to play for Fitzroy.

His dad, Dan, played in Fitzroy’s 1944 flag side, but sadly his own 333 games with the Lions failed to produce team success.

He played in only two finals (in the one season), but famously won the 1969 Brownlow Medal after three earlier placings.

Murray used to wear the Brownlow on a chain and always offered those who met him with the chance to put it around their necks.

He didn’t do it to “skite” – he and Skilton are exceptionally modest men – but to share it with the fans.

He told us in 2013: “I owe my success to all of my teammates, but, most of all, I am grateful for the supporters. They inspired us, they encouraged us, they never deserted us.”

A year after winning the Brownlow, Murray met Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip and Prince Charles (now the King) when the royals attended a Fitzroy-Richmond match in 1970.

Four years later, he was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire).

As he recalled with a smile in a previous interview: “It won’t buy me a drink, but I (was) the only scaffold-hand in the world with an MBE.”

STANDING BY THE SWANS

While there were some early headaches in South Melbourne’s 1982 move to Sydney, the relationship between the club and its Victorian-based fans has become a great strength.

As Skilton told us a few years ago: “The relationship looked like falling over at one stage, but it’s a credit to so many people that they not only saved the club, but also kept the link with the past.”

“I’d like to think that I had a reasonable say in (the relationship) not falling over. There are a lot of people in Melbourne who love the Swans. It took some time to get it right, but we are so grateful to have this connection.”

Bec Skilton said the only time she has seen her grandfather cry was when she told him the Swans had offered her the No. 1 ticketholder position.

“He always said to me that he would rather be in a position to say ‘that’s my club’ rather than ‘my club doesn’t exist anymore’,” she said.

Skilton was there at the MCG in 2005 when the Swans broke a 72-year premiership drought and seven years later was the man who handed over the cup on the podium after another stunning flag success.

“2005 was like a fairytale,” Bec said. “He always said 2012 was when the AFL world decided to accept us (as a successful club) … it showed it wasn’t a fluke. We meant business.”

Skilton attended a Sydney captain’s run in Melbourne in May this year.

As Bec Skilton said this week: “He loves being around the boys. He turns into a different person when he is around them. He just walks that little bit taller when he does it.”

“The players were so welcoming. Players like James Rowbottom and Isaac Heeney are great players, but they are even better people in giving them so much of their time to Pa.”

Looking a little frail and aided by a walking stick, Skilton’s familiar face beamed with pride.

Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham said Skilton would always be revered within the club.

“Bobby’s granddaughter Bec is our number one ticket holder this year, and Bobby has been an incredible supporter, even apart from his career,” Pridham said.

“This is our 150th year … we have worked so hard to preserve our fan base here. It hasn’t been a token effort. It’s been genuine. We have about 10,000 members in Melbourne, and we are moving our offices opposite to the South Melbourne Market so we have a retail shop there.”

STANDING BY THE LIONS

Murray was in a similar position when Fitzroy merged with Brisbane Bears to create the Brisbane Lions in late 1996.

Plenty of shattered Fitzroy fans refused to support the merged club, but their favourite son took a contrary view.

Long-time Lions support member Alex Gardner, who used to attend club functions and matches with Murray when he was well enough and who still visits him weekly, said it should never be underestimated how important he was for the success of the merger.

“When the merger took place some blokes I worked with at Fitzroy went to North Melbourne … they never stayed,” Gardner said.

“People said to me ‘Why did you stay with them?’ I said ‘Frankly, if it is good enough for the greatest player to ever play for Fitzroy, my mate Kevin Murray, then it is good enough for me’.”

Jonathan Brown said of Murray this week: “He is our greatest player, along with Vossy (Michael Voss). There is no doubt he is Fitzroy’s greatest player (and it was) more so symbolic of the merger and the success of the merger.

“If your greatest player and your symbolic figure doesn’t embrace the merger, the club splits and you could argue that Fitzroy doesn’t exist.”

Murray had been a fixture at Lions functions for years but sadly hasn’t been well enough to attend in recent years

His last appearance came two years ago, when he accepted an invitation from the Brisbane triple premiership heroes (2001-03) to attend a private function at a Fitzroy hotel, not all that far from where he grew up.

To the great delight of the likes of Brown, Voss, Craig McRae and co, Murray turned up with his family. He had a pint of Guinness and shared a couple of his stories.

As Brown recounted: “He (used) to turn up when we had a few beers the Sunday after the grand final. He would have his stout or a heavy beer or whatever it was. The boys would get a photo of him out of the front of the pub with the mural. He is a legend.”

Those two legends won’t be there on Saturday, but their legacies will live on forever.