Port Adelaide Football Club legend Russell Ebert dies at 72
Russell Ebert is being remembered as one of South Australia’s greatest sons both on and off the footy field. He died on Friday, aged 72.
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No one has done more for Port Adelaide and South Australian football than Russell Ebert, Power chairman David Koch says.
And Koch says Ebert is as equally revered in the community as he is in the playing arena, calling him the “most selfless person you could meet”.
Ebert, the only four-time Magarey Medallist and Port Adelaide’s games record holder with 392, died on Friday, aged 72, after an 11-month battle with leukaemia.
Sending his heartfelt condolences to Ebert’s family, Koch said the football great – considered one of the best SA players of all time – “represented everything about Port Adelaide, yet had the power to transcend rivalries and connect with the entire football community and beyond”.
“No person has done more for the Port Adelaide and South Australian football community than Russell Ebert,” Koch said in a club statement that led off with the words “revered, heroic and immortal”.
“But Russell’s remarkable contribution surpassed just the football field. From countless voluntary visits to hospitals and nursing homes, to raising money and profile of local charities, to the establishment of his pride and joy, the Power Community Youth Program, Russell’s first thought was always ‘How can I help others?’.
“Even in the last few weeks, despite his ongoing battles, Russell would ask how everyone else was going. It was the mark of who he was.
“This is a man who made his family, his club and his community incredibly proud.”
Koch said the Port Adelaide community was hurting like never before but would celebrate what Ebert had contributed.
“My thoughts, and all of those at the Port Adelaide Football Club, are with the Ebert family and everyone who has had the pleasure of being touched in some way by Russell,” he said.
“We’ve lost one of the greatest of all time.
“The Port Adelaide community is hurting like never before.
“But it also provides an opportunity to celebrate what Russell has contributed to Port Adelaide, football and the wider community.”
Port Adelaide chief executive Matthew Richardson said Ebert was an incredible man who had time for everyone.
“One of my great memories is when we walked through airports in China, in Shanghai in 2017, and Russell was stopped in the streets with so many Port Adelaide people stopping him,” Richardson said on FIVEaa.
“He was ahead of his time as a footballer and he was the same off the field. He loved making a difference.”
Premier Steven Marshall, a Port Adelaide supporter, said he had Ebert’s No.7 on his duffel coat when he grew up, having attended Ethelton Primary School.
“He was larger than life at the club when I was a little kid, but I got to know him later in life and what I saw there was a champion off the field,” Marshall told FIVEaa.
“He was really a pathfinder integrating more broadly into the community.
“He cared about his fellow man and would do anything for anybody and didn’t need any praise for it, in fact he was a humble man and a gentleman.
“We’ve lost one of our greatest sons here in South Australia.”
The club and Mr Marshall plan to speak with Ebert’s family about how to honour the champion.
A LEGEND PASSES
Port Adelaide Football Club legend Russell Ebert has died, aged 72.
The SANFL’s only four-time Magarey Medal winner passed away on Friday – 11 months after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
The condition was revealed following during a routine health check with his doctor and he immediately started intensive treatment.
Port Adelaide confirmed the news in a short statement on Friday evening.
“The club asks that the Ebert family’s privacy is respected at this time and thanks everyone on the family’s behalf for the love and support it has received in recent months,” it said.
The Advertiser understands that Premier Steven Marshall will reach out to the Ebert family to offer them a state funeral or memorial if they so choose.
The Port Adelaide Football Club is mourning the loss of club legend Russell Ebert, who passed away peacefully this afternoon surrounded by his family â¤ï¸
— Port Adelaide FC (@PAFC) November 5, 2021
📰 https://t.co/vCEiKLMYGZ#weareportadelaidepic.twitter.com/1R7jLD2Xus
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said Ebert was an extraordinary footballer.
“As a young fan of the game in Adelaide, even when watching him as an opposition player, you couldn’t help but admire his high marking, his one-touch ball-gathering, his brilliant attacking handball and his exceptional kicking skills on both sides of his body, as he was taking your side apart,” McLachlan said.
“All while being an incredibly fair player who relied on his skills while being strong and brave.
“As his time in football concluded, Russell then truly blossomed as a humble but strong leader in wider society, not just football, and across more than 30 years he diligently worked every day in seeking to improve his community, using his profile and leadership to show people better ways to treat each other, and assist those who were struggling.
“The child in me will always admire the great footballer but the adult that I am is in awe of what Russell Ebert was as a man, and his loss after bravely confronting his illness is devastating for his family, for his club, his many fans and for the state of South Australia, where he has given so much,” Mr McLachlan said.
“He was everything you would hope to be in a man, and perhaps the best of all of us.”
Ebert suspended his role with Port’s community programs to undergo medical treatment to tackle the disease that affects the blood and bone marrow.
He discovered his condition on the day he delivered a moving eulogy at Alberton Oval for sporting legend and former Magpies teammate Eric Freeman on December 22.
In a statement at the time, Port Adelaide said Ebert would be given as much time off as he needed and asked that he be given privacy while fighting the disease.
“Russell and his family thank those who have already made contact to pass on their support and well wishes,’’ the statement read.
“He would like to, in particular, thank the members and supporters of the Port Adelaide Football Club for their wonderful support over so many years.
“The club asks everyone to respect the privacy of Russell and his extended family at this time so they can focus on his treatment.’’
Berri-born Ebert was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and was regarded as one of South Australia’s greatest players.
Last month he became the seventh person to be elevated to legend status in the SA Sport Hall of Fame.
Ebert lined up in a club record 392 SANFL games for the Magpies from 1965-85 and 25 VFL matches with North Melbourne in 1979.
Ebert also represented SA 29 times.
Apart from winning the Magarey Medal in 1971, 1974, 1976 and 1980, he won Port’s best and fairest award six times (in 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1981).
He also captained the Magpies to the 1977 premiership.
Ebert played in Port’s 1980 and 1981 flag sides, winning the Jack Oatey Medal as best afield in the latter grand final win against Glenelg.
Named in the centre in Port’s greatest-ever team from 1870-2000, Ebert captained the club from 1974-78 and was captain-coach from 1983-1985, guiding it to the ’84 losing grand final against Norwood.
He retired as a player in 1986 and coached the club the same year and 1987.
Ebert also coached Woodville from 1988-90 and SA’s State of Origin team in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
His son, Brett, won the 2003 Magarey Medal as a Port Adelaide player, while nephew Brad played 260 AFL games, including 184 with the Power and 76 for West Coast.
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