Phillips and McAvaney inducted into SA Football Hall of Fame
Erin Phillips and Bruce McAvaney have been inducted into South Australia's Football Hall of Fame, alongside premiership players Neil Button and Tony Burgan. The Magarey Medal for the SANFL's best and fairest player was awarded to Nik Rokahr of Norwood Football Club.
South Australian football has recognised several of its most accomplished figures, with Erin Phillips and Bruce McAvaney inducted into the state's Football Hall of Fame. The pair were honoured at the SANFL's Magarey Medal count on Monday, alongside premiership players Neil Button of Norwood and Tony Burgan of Sturt.
Phillips, a former Port Adelaide and Adelaide Crows player, has become the first woman to be inducted into South Australia's Football Hall of Fame. Raised in Adelaide, her father Greg was a multiple premiership player for Port Adelaide in the SANFL. She played junior football until her teenage years but switched to basketball due to limited female football opportunities.
Phillips went on to have a successful career in the WNBA and WNBL before joining the Adelaide Crows as captain for the first AFL Women's season in 2017. She played in three AFLW premierships, twice won the AFLW's best and fairest award, and was named best-on-ground in the 2017 and 2019 AFLW Grand Finals. She later joined Port Adelaide for the 2022 AFLW season as its inaugural captain.
"All I wanted to do was to play footy and be like Dad," Phillips said. "I could've missed that opportunity, and I get so many women that come up to me that played or just wish they had the opportunity [and] that missed the boat. So, every game I felt that I was never going to take it for granted."
Bruce McAvaney, a long-serving AFL commentator, was also recognised for his contributions to the sport. He began calling SANFL matches in 1978 and went on to call more than 1,000 VFL/AFL games and 20 grand finals during his career.
"I felt like I'd reached Mount Everest by calling a South Australian league grand final in 1983," McAvaney said. "I had no idea what would happen afterwards."
The Norwood Football Club's Nik Rokahr won the Magarey Medal for the SANFL's best and fairest player on Monday night, after recording one of the highest vote tallies in the medal's history. He was named best afield in 10 of Norwood's 18 games.
"[It's] a little bit harder to compare my year in the WAFL, but I feel it was my strongest season," Rokahr said.
Nik Rokahr's success makes him the first player to have won both a Magarey Medal and a WAFL Sandover Medal. Norwood recently won through to the SANFL Grand Final, where it will compete for its 32nd title against the winner of Sunday's preliminary final between Sturt and Woodville-West Torrens.