RUSSELL EBERT has won every honour on offer in our great game and some outside of it, and his family says his latest recognition - being elevated to legend status in the Australian Football Hall of Fame – is an achievement for everyone involved in his journey.
Ebert’s incredible contribution to football was recognised posthumously on Tuesday night at a ceremony in Melbourne.
About 20 family members made the trip across to be there as former Port Adelaide chief executive Brian Cunningham introduced the elevation and spoke so beautifully about Ebert’s skills, his drive, determination, hardness and fairness.
Among those in the room were Ebert’s wife Dian, and children Tammie, Ben and Brett, and Brett Ebert said he was not sure how his father would have felt about the attention.
“He wasn’t one for all the (accolades) even though he won so many trophies and premierships and there wasn’t anything that he didn’t win,” he explained in a radio interview on Wednesday with Gerard Whateley.
“It was more the message he could pass across. There was always a message in the work he did and he was always bringing people into it – never mentioning himself.
“Probably the people who helped him along the way from his family to all the sporting clubs, to the Port Adelaide football Club. It’s everyone’s celebration, it’s everyone’s achievement.
“It’s an individual honour but there are so many people involved in it.”
Brett Ebert was just three when his father’s on-field career finished with a club record 392 games, three premierships, six best-and-fairests and of course a record four Magarey Medals as fairest and best in the SANFL competition.
The football icon was part of Port Adelaide community for more than 50 years as a player, coach, administrator and as part of the club’s community programs before his death to cancer late last year.
For the youngest of his children, it was “devastating” that he didn’t get to see more of his father playing, but he said knowing his father’s impact left him with a sense of overwhelming pride.
“We had a fair crew there with about 20 of us over in Melbourne for the event (last night) and obviously Dad’s career was decorated and it was great for him to have the chance to be elevated amongst the greats of the AFL and VFL,” Brett Ebert said.
“It was amazing to be there on the night and to see what he did for the game and for everyone else.
“For what he did on the field, but also the amount of work he did off the field. The amount he did for the community and for charities and organisations and the underprivileged.
“His footy career was amazing but what he did post footy was even better.”
Despite all the accolades, Ebert said his father “never spoke about it”, instead offering simple advice to him and his elder siblings when they played sport like ‘go for your marks and have fun’.
“He was such a humble individual that he didn’t speak about his career at all,” Ebert explained.
“I didn’t hear much (about it) at all. In the last year I’ve focussed more on it and watched some videos and spoken to people about his on-field efforts.
“(People have told me) just how amazing of a player he was, how he brought other people into the game, his leadership and the way he prepared.
“I spoke to someone the other day and he mentioned Travis Boak. To me, having played with Boaky for ten or so years, that’s how I would have seen dad – obviously not having seen dad play.
“But I see a lot of Travis Boak in how he prepares and the leadership and what he does off the field, I just think that to me is my dad. Just a great all-round human.”
