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Through no fault of his own, the AFL’s next official legend will receive the honour after 12 months of controversy. Under the Hall Of Fame selection criteria, the selectors will make a 23rd elevation this year to legend status, joining all-time greats such as Ted Whitten, Ron Barassi and Bob Skilton.
Whoever receives the honour will undoubtedly deserve it.
A year ago, Collingwood and sections of the media lobbied hard for Lou Richards to become that 23rd legend as a special case.
The push failed, but it led to some fierce debate and an overhaul of the Hall of Fame criteria.
Under the revised rules, Richards will not become a legend.
Richards was a Collingwood premiership captain and a massive figure in the game through his extensive media work, but legend status is now purely decided on playing and coaching achievements.
While the “Lou for legend” failed, it showed how successful the Hall Of Fame concept has become.
What’s the saying? If people are shooting at you, you must be doing something right.
After a disastrous night in 2004, the league gave the induction ceremony an overhaul and it is now one of the highlights of the AFL’s year.
In one respect, Richards would have fitted into AFL legend status – his playing career was not in the modern generation.
Of the 22 legends, Leigh Matthews was the most recent player retirement and that was in 1985.
True, none of the last 25 years could match Matthews as a player for his eight Hawthorn best and fairest awards, four premierships, 915 goals and a reputation as arguably the toughest man to have played the game.
Then again, few people in the game’s history could hold a candle to “Lethal”, period.
Of the game’s modern players, the two most obvious candidates for legend status also put the Richards issue to shame when it comes to selection controversy – Gary Ablett Snr and Wayne Carey.
Ablett had to wait for induction into the Hall Of Fame until 2005 for his involvement in a young girl’s fatal drug overdose.
Carey’s induction is also on hold because of off-field trouble, although there is a stronger chance it will happen this year.
Character is one of the criteria that the Hall Of Fame committee must consider.
While it is not written into the selection rules, it is also clear that there is an unofficial waiting period before inductees become legends.
The most recent legends are Darrel Baldock (2006), Norm Smith (2007) and Alex Jesaulenko (2008).
There is no chance that Carey would become an inductee and a legend in the same year, while Ablett only became an inductee five years ago.
Hawthorn’s Michael Tuck, the all-time games record holder, and coaching greats David Parkin, John Kennedy Snr and Allan Jeans are more likely to have featured in the selectors’ thinking.
There will be at least five inductees into the Hall Of Fame and besides the speculation about Carey, surely Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss is one of those rare cases where he is selected immediately.
The Brownlow medallist and three-time Lions premiership captain retired in 2006 and players must wait three years before they become eligible for induction.
Surely no-one could argue that Voss, like James Hird and Nathan Buckley, is a legend-in-waiting.
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