ASK Port Adelaide people who the club's most talented player is and you're sure to get a myriad of responses.
One that springs instantly to mind is the decorated and undeniable excitement machine that is Gavin Wanganeen.
He has won the highest honours in modern football - club best and fairests, All-Australian selection, premierships and Brownlow Medals.
Wanganeen gives other indigenous greats a run for their money.
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His Aboriginal heritage shone through his work at two proud AFL clubs - Essendon and Port Adelaide - through an AFL career spanning almost two decades. It is a heritage he represented with pride and passion on the field, and dedication and commitment away from it.
On the field though was where he carved his reputation and success came early for the talented boy from Salisbury North.
He debuted for Port Adelaide's League side in the SANFL at the tender age of 16 and went on to play in the club's emphatic grand final victory over Glenelg in 1990.
Drafted to Essendon and playing alongside a raft of famous Bombers under the tutelage of supercoach Kevin Sheedy, Wanganeen's star would rise. Quickly.
The man for whom the northernmost pavilion of the new Eastern Stand at the Adelaide Oval is named became a household name in 1992 - just his second season in the AFL - when he was selected in the All-Australian team.
He reproduced form worthy of that prestigious team again in 1993, but it was also form worthy of so much more.
Wanganeen not only made the All-Australian team in 1993, he also won the Brownlow Medal as the AFL's fairest and most brilliant - the first Aboriginal player to do so.
He played in two premierships that year; one pre-season and then the real deal in September.
What a year 1993 was.
With his silky skills and ability to win the ball as if it was on a string tied to his hand, 'Wangas' epitomised everything the modern AFL player would be - fast, exciting, simply unbelievable.
A humble and respected figure, he would win fans across the nation.
Then came an opportunity too good to refuse.
With his original club Port Adelaide elevated into the national competition for the 1997 season, Wanganeen returned to Alberton to don the famous No. 1 captain's guernsey - this one with a splash of teal.
As the inaugural captain of Port Adelaide in the AFL, Wanganeen continued to shine and lead from the front. Under master coach John Cahill and later Mark Williams, he set the example on the field for the Power and continued his brilliant ways.
Here it is: Wanganeen thanks the supporters he loved to play for after the 2004 AFL Grand Final.
Handing that jumper over to Matthew Primus for the 2001 season and donning the No. 4 he would wear for the rest of his career, Wanganeen excelled.
Freed from the burden of leadership, Wanganeen tipped all his energy into playing the game and started to tear games apart more than ever.
He was a hot favourite for the 2003 Brownlow, and at the least won both his fifth All-Australian nod and a club best and fairest that season.
Then he experienced the ultimate again - a premiership - this time with his home club, in 2004.
Retiring in 2006, with a total of 300 AFL games at both the Bombers and Port Adelaide, Wanganeen hung up his boots as an undisputed great of the game.
His final game was against the Kangaroos in the first round of the year and his subsequent retirement was brought on by an injury sustained in that match, but it ensured he would reach the coveted triple century.
Nowadays, Wanganeen operates two gyms and acts as the ambassador for the Aboriginal AFL Academy as well as participating in other work for the Aboriginal community in South Australia and nationwide.
It is remarkable work from a man who has given so much to his club, his community and the game and the honour of having the Gavin Wanganeen Stand at the new Adelaide Oval is as much an honour for those whom he thrilled with his exploits as it is for himself.
Visit portadelaidefc.com.au on Wednesday when we profile the next of our greats at the Adelaide Oval.
Gavin Wanganeen record
DOB: 18 June 1973
AFL Games: 300 (1991-2006 - 127 Essendon, 173 Port Adelaide)
AFL Goals: 202 (64 Essendon, 138 Port Adelaide)
SANFL Games: 27 (1990-2006)
SANFL Goals: 48
Port Adelaide Captain (AFL): 1997-2000
Port Adelaide Best and Fairest (AFL): 2003
AFL Premierships: 1993 (Essendon), 2004 (Port Adelaide)
AFL Pre-season premierships: 1993, 1994 (Essendon), 2001, 2002 (Port Adelaide)
SANFL Premierships: 1990
Brownlow Medal: 1993
Michael Tuck Medal: 1993
South Australian Representative Matches: 8 games (State of Origin)
All-Australian: 1992-1993, 1995, 2001, 2003
Member of Essendon’s Team of the Century (Left back pocket)
Member of AFL's Indigenous Team of the Century (Left half-back)
Port Adelaide Life Member: 2006
Essendon Life Member
AFL Life Member: 2004
Port Adelaide Football Club Hall of Fame (2008)
South Australian Football Hall of Fame (2012)
Australian Football Hall of Fame (2010)
As the inaugural captain of Port Adelaide in the AFL, Wanganeen continued to shine and lead from the front. Under master coach John Cahill and later Mark Williams, he set the example on the field for the Power and continued his brilliant ways.
Here it is: Wanganeen thanks the supporters he loved to play for after the 2004 AFL Grand Final.
Handing that jumper over to Matthew Primus for the 2001 season and donning the No. 4 he would wear for the rest of his career, Wanganeen excelled.
Freed from the burden of leadership, Wanganeen tipped all his energy into playing the game and started to tear games apart more than ever.
He was a hot favourite for the 2003 Brownlow, and at the least won both his fifth All-Australian nod and a club best and fairest that season.
Then he experienced the ultimate again - a premiership - this time with his home club, in 2004.
Retiring in 2006, with a total of 300 AFL games at both the Bombers and Port Adelaide, Wanganeen hung up his boots as an undisputed great of the game.
His final game was against the Kangaroos in the first round of the year and his subsequent retirement was brought on by an injury sustained in that match, but it ensured he would reach the coveted triple century.
Nowadays, Wanganeen operates two gyms and acts as the ambassador for the Aboriginal AFL Academy as well as participating in other work for the Aboriginal community in South Australia and nationwide.
It is remarkable work from a man who has given so much to his club, his community and the game and the honour of having the Gavin Wanganeen Stand at the new Adelaide Oval is as much an honour for those whom he thrilled with his exploits as it is for himself.
Visit portadelaidefc.com.au on Wednesday when we profile the next of our greats at the Adelaide Oval.
Gavin Wanganeen record
DOB: 18 June 1973
AFL Games: 300 (1991-2006 - 127 Essendon, 173 Port Adelaide)
AFL Goals: 202 (64 Essendon, 138 Port Adelaide)
SANFL Games: 27 (1990-2006)
SANFL Goals: 48
Port Adelaide Captain (AFL): 1997-2000
Port Adelaide Best and Fairest (AFL): 2003
AFL Premierships: 1993 (Essendon), 2004 (Port Adelaide)
AFL Pre-season premierships: 1993, 1994 (Essendon), 2001, 2002 (Port Adelaide)
SANFL Premierships: 1990
Brownlow Medal: 1993
Michael Tuck Medal: 1993
South Australian Representative Matches: 8 games (State of Origin)
All-Australian: 1992-1993, 1995, 2001, 2003
Member of Essendon’s Team of the Century (Left back pocket)
Member of AFL's Indigenous Team of the Century (Left half-back)
Port Adelaide Life Member: 2006
Essendon Life Member
AFL Life Member: 2004
Port Adelaide Football Club Hall of Fame (2008)
South Australian Football Hall of Fame (2012)
Australian Football Hall of Fame (2010)
