RETIRING champion Brad Ebert has been described as a disciplined, skilful, driven and tough Port Adelaide person in a tribute at the club’s annual Best and Fairest Awards night.
The tribute came from long-time friend and teammate Hamish Hartlett, who first played with Ebert in under 12s in front of around 500 people at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Thursday night.
The club vice-captain spoke fondly of his memories of growing up together and then meeting again at Port Adelaide after Ebert’s four-year stint with West Coast.
“As we made our way through the grades together Ebo started to set himself apart from the rest through his undeniable all-round skill, his gut running ability and his incredibly defined pecs,” Hartlett joked, adding that Ebert’s return to Alberton at the end of 2011 to play for the club he grew up supporting was monumental.
“At the time, we were struggling as a club both on-field and off-field.
“We’d won just three games in 2011 so from a footy point of view, the incentive to return was minimal but such is the loyalty and commitment of the man, Ebo made the decision to come home.
“From the first training session Ebo was involved in at the football club, a news standard was set.
“His work ethic and gut running capacity was above anything I had ever seen and set the benchmark for modern-day expectations.
“It’s no surprise that our improved on-field performance has coincided with Ebo’s presence at the club.”
Ebert comes from a long-line of footballers – grandfathers, uncles, his father and cousin all featured for Port Adelaide.
While Ebert himself said he always hoped to forge his own path, Hartlett said the surname could have been a burden for a lesser man.
“Carrying the Ebert surname when representing the Port Adelaide Football club would not have been an easy job. It takes a special person to uphold that type of responsibility and play the type of footy that’s expected of him,” he said.
“I think I can speak on behalf of everyone here when I say you should be unbelievably proud of the disciplined, skilful, tough Port Adelaide footballer and football that you played throughout your 184 games with the club.”
Initially drafted by West Coast with pick 13 in the 2007 AFL National Draft, the Port Adelaide junior was named club vice-captain soon after his return to Alberton.
He finishes with 260 AFL games and 140 goals and has won multiple awards during his time at the club, including finishing as runner-up best and fairest and best team man in 2012.
Ebert was typically humble, thanking teammates, coaches, support staff and most importantly the volunteers who “make this place tick.”
“I’ve lived my childhood dream playing for two amazing clubs, West Coast and Port Adelaide.
“Port Adelaide has held a special place in my heart for most of my life.
“This club is certainly something special and it’s the people who make it great.”
He thanked outgoing CEO Keith Thomas for his hard work in steering the club to a position of strength, recounting a moment from their early days together.
“I remember in 2012 at the after party after the Best and Fairest I saw KT and he was like ‘Brad, don’t worry, we’re going to be ok, we’ve got this’,” Ebert said.
“And here we are nine years later we’re here with a club that’s in a pretty good position.”
