A quarter of a century on from the birth of the Adelaide Crows, the club has honoured eight of its most influential figures.
Those inducted into the Hall of Fame were recognised for making a “profound” contribution to the club. Five players, two administrators and one coach were inducted.
Tony Modra
A high-flying, dual All-Australian with a highlight reel to rival the best of them, the blonde spearhead kicked 440 goals from just 118 games for Adelaide.
His record of 129 goals in a season – a feat he achieved in 1993, his second year at the club – may never be broken.
In Andrew McLeod’s acceptance speech, he labelled Modra “the greatest superstar I’ve ever seen.”
Andrew McLeod
McLeod will long be remembered for his performances in big games – most notably the ’97 and ’98 Grand Finals, in which he famously won back-to-back Norm Smith medals as best afield – but there was far more to his 340-game, 275-goal career.
McLeod won five All-Australian selections and three club best and fairests during his 16 years at the Crows, and was awarded the Leigh Matthews Trophy as the competition’s Most Valuable Player, as voted by his peers, in 2001.
A proud Indigenous Australian, McLeod paid tribute to Essendon champion Michael Long during his acceptance speech.
“Michael Long inspired me to see how far I could take my footy.”
Simon Goodwin
Like McLeod, Goodwin won three club best and fairests and five All-Australian guernseys during his time at the Crows. He also captained the club from 2008 to 2010, a decade after playing in the side’s ’97 and ’98 premierships in his first two seasons.
Goodwin has a long list of accolades, but believes being inducted into the Hall of Fame might be the best of the lot.
“To have this honour – it’s probably the biggest you could possibly get: to become a Hall of Fame inductee in your tribe,” he said in his acceptance speech.
Mark Ricciuto
One of the fiercest competitors of the modern era, Ricciuto won a Brownlow Medal, eight All-Australian selections and three club best and fairest awards during his 312 games for the Crows.
Not much that this man didn't achieve http://t.co/TTC597d2JS in footy #rooooo #weflyasone pic.twitter.com/qMZ80wTWPH
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) April 29, 2015
BEN HART
The first Crow to reach 300 games – and youngest player to ever pull on an Adelaide jumper, debuting at just 17 years of age – Hart was named an All-Australian defender on four occasions and finished his career a dual best and fairest winner.
Malcolm Blight
After stints coaching North Melbourne and Geelong, Blight was appointed Adelaide’s senior coach for the 1997 season. When he left the club less than three years later, he did so as a dual-premiership coach.
Bill Sanders
The Crows’ first General Manager and CEO, Sanders played an integral role in building the club during its infancy.
Bob Hammond
A famous figure in South Australian football, Hammond was the Adelaide Crows’ inaugural chairman, leading the club from 1991-2000.