Erin Phillips paid an emotional tribute to her father Greg as she joined him in the Australian Football Hall Of Fame. Phillips and Daisy Pearce are the firstAFLWplayers to be inducted, joining trailblazer Debbie Lee as female inductees.
South Australian goalkicking machine Ken Farmer was elevated to legend status at Tuesday night’s annual dinner in Melbourne.
St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt, whose induction was delayed because of his family move to the United States, joined the Hall of Fame, along with four-time Hawthorn premiership hard nut Luke Hodge and former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon.
South Adelaide ruckman Peter Darley, a key member of the club’s most recent SANFL premiership in 1964, Tasmanian team of the century vice-captain John Leedham and seven-time East Perth premiership player George Owens are this year’s historical inductees.
Darley’s larrikin speech was one of the highlights of the evening, but Phillips’ words to her father were particularly special.
“To Dad, I can’t imagine how hard it would have been to tell your 13-year-old daughter that she couldn’t play the game she loves any more,” she said. “And 27 years later, she’s standing next to you in the Hall of Fame.”
Greg Phillips, a Port Adelaide great, was inducted in 2020, and he and Erin are the first father-daughter selections. Fos and Mark Williams, Hayden Bunton Sr and Jr and umpires Jack McMurray Sr and Jr are the father-son inductees.
Pearce and Phillips ended their stellar playing careers at the end of 2022. The five-year player eligibility rule for the hall of fame was changed for women last year. AFLW players can now be inducted within a year of retirement.
They were the two obvious players who would benefit first from the rule change.
In her speech, Phillips also thanked the “incredible women” who made the AFLW possible and singled out Lee.
“You kicked down this door so others could walk through,” she said. “I’m so proud to be by your side and I can’t wait to kick down more doors with you Deb.”
Pearce’s last AFLW game was the Melbourne 2022 grand final victory and she called it the best day of her life, even though her twin children Sylvie and Roy were in the room, hamming it up for the TV cameras.
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“It’s controversial to say this, as a mother ... don’t get me wrong, they’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but on a technicality, the day itself is not that good,” she said. “Give me grand final day every day of the week.”
Phillips was Adelaide’s inaugural captain and the first women’s best and fairest winner, playing in three Crows flags despite needing a knee reconstruction. She then switched to Port Adelaide when they joined the league in 2022.
When the women’s league started in 2017, marquee players such as Pearce and Phillips were crucial for its profile and credibility. Pearce returned from having the twins in 2019 to captain Melbourne to the flag.
Farmer, who died in 1982, is the SANFL’s most prolific goalkicker, with 1417 for North Adelaide from 1929-41 in 224 games at an extraordinary average of 6.33 per game. He was never goalless in a game and coached the Roosters to two premierships.
Riewolt went agonisingly close to a premiership, playing in St Kilda’s draw and two losses across 2009-10. He said he had made his peace with not being able to help the Saints win their elusive second flag
“Rather than feeling like I walked away with the game still owing me something, I walk away feeling like the game gave me absolutely everything,” he said.