AFL great Shaun Burgoyne has spoken of the impact the late Russell Ebert had on his career as the Port Adelaide Football Club prepares to pay tribute to its greatest ever player on Saturday night.
The Round 2 game at Adelaide Oval will pay tribute to Ebert, who died aged 72 in November.
As one of the first guests on Port Adelaide’s new podcast hosted by Tom Rockliff and Orazio Fantasia, Burgoyne recalled fondly being coached by Ebert as a teenager and then the long road trips on school visits when the four-time Magarey Medallist would share some tales from his legendary career.
“I met Russell when I was a very young kid,” Burgoyne said “I used to come over when my brother (Peter) played for Port so I met him then and then through the state under 18s when he was my state under 18s coach.
“We went up to Brisbane and I got to be coached by him, which was a big honour being a Magpies fan.
“Then I got drafted by Port and he was working in the Community Youth Program and was a part-time development coach so every Wednesday we’d come out for two hours of development and Russ and Geoff Morris would take us for kicking, marking, whatever we needed to do.
“He had the socks up, the black boots on – you know trademark Russell Ebert.”
Burgoyne said those sessions would go ahead rain, hail or shine, and Ebert was always patient with then developing players like Kane Cornes and Dom Cassisi.
He said after training, the group would head out to schools to run the Community Youth Program, started by Ebert in 1999 and still going to this day.
“We’d jump in the car, go anywhere within a two-hour radius, spend time in a school and then drive back with him and I’d hear all the stories about the Magpies and what he’d done throughout his career, who he played against, toughest opponents,” Burgoyne recalled.
“His favourite thing was rating bakeries. I’m not too sure what his favourite pie was or sausage roll but he’d always have an iced coffee. He loved an iced coffee.
“I’ve got some very special memories of Russell and everything you hear about him is true. He’s an absolute legend.”
Since finishing his 407-game AFL career, which landed him four premierships (in 2004 at Port Adelaide and in 2013-2015 at Hawthorn), Burgoyne has returned to Alberton, where he was drafted by Port Adelaide with pick 12 in 2000.
Currently working in multiple roles at the club including on-field as a skills coach and off-field in corporate and government relations, he is also continuing Ebert’s legacy in the community team, primarily assisting in Aboriginal programs.
He is also keeping busy covering football in the broadcast media and said he would keep a close eye on what Fantasia had dubbed the “Shaun Burgoyne Cup”, when Port Adelaide hosts Hawthorn on Saturday night.
He said so far, he had been impressed with the desire for success he had seen on and off the field at Alberton.
“It’s a pretty positive environment to come into. Everyone’s got really high expectations, whether that’s on the footy field or in admin,” Burgoyne explained.
“Everyone’s working together, working towards a common goal so it’s all building.
“The players - once you get into the inner sanctum – you see how they work. They all work really hard. They all want to get better. They all want to leave at the end of the day better than what they rocked up at the start of the day.
“So, I’ve been pretty impressed by everyone to be honest.”
Burgoyne also revealed the player who had impressed him most since he had come to the club.
You can hear the full interview with Shaun Burgoyne on the podcast – currently named Rocky and Raz.
The boys want to know if you like the name of the podcast. If you have a better suggestion, get in touch with the club on Twitter or Facebook.
