A NUMBER of Riverina footballers, administrators and umpires have been included as inaugural inductees into the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame.
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The AFL announced on Wednesday that it will host a gala dinner in May to celebrate the establishment of the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame.
Of the 100 inductees, 21 hail from the Riverina, eight from Hume League and 10 from Northern Riverina.
Ten legends will be named at the gala dinner on May 3.
AFL-VFL champions Wayne Carey, Paul Kelly, the Daniher brothers, Dennis Carroll and Tom Carroll have all been included.
Legendary AFL Riverina figures Shane Lenon, Brad Aiken and Doug Priest are also among the inductees.
Umpires Tim Beard and Pat O'Donoghue gained selection, while John Yates, Greg Verdon, Merv Wegener, and Garry O'Connell were some of the administrators included.
Well-known Riverina football faces Jim and Edna Daniher, Laurie Pendrick, Melinda Hyland, Rick Quade, Sid Robins and Keith and Paula Rees will also be inducted.
The late Jack Luhrs and Bert Schmidt were also included from the media.
Ten-time AFL Riverina premiership coach Shane Lenon didn't believe it when he first learnt of his inclusion.
"I deleted the first email because I thought it was a scam. Then he emailed again and I thought 'righto I better have a look at this'," Lenon said.
"These things are just a bonus. I owe footy, not the other way around. That's the way I approach it. That's why I love it because I know what footy's been able to do for me.
"I owe footy a lot. Footy's given me an awful lot. It's an honour and a privilege. It's something to be proud of, recognition, it's hard to explain really."
Five-time league medal winner Brad Aiken was lost for words about his inclusion amongst football's elite.
"I'm not usually lost for words but I don't know what to say. It's not a small amount of people that have been included but when you look at how long it's over, it is a small amount," Aiken said.
"To be recognised for what you've done, whether it be on the field, off the field, it's a great honour and a testament to the footy clubs and the blokes that I played footy with.
"These individual awards, they're like medals and that stuff, you don't get them without great people around you and great footy clubs around you and I certainly had that at Collingullie.
"To be put in the same 100 as blokes like Wayne Carey and Paul Kelly, guys who have played at the top level, is quite humbling and for me to be included with two of my mentors (Shane Lenon and Laurie Pendrick) and taught me a lot about footy is quite special."
Of the 100 NSW Hall of Famers, there are 76 players and coaches, 11 administrators, nine umpires, and four media personalities.
Thirty-one inductees were involved in the elite game, with the remaining 69 part of community football clubs and leagues across NSW. There are 10 women among the inductees. Thirty-eight of the 100 inductees have passed away.
The Hall of Fame was established by a committee of seven people and took more than four years to complete.
Head of AFL NSW-ACT Tiffany Robertson was honoured to announce such a significant moment in the game's history in the state.
"In this historic week, where the AFL hosts its first Opening Round, at this historic event, where we mark Sydney's first ever football match on this hallowed SCG, the time is now to put our flag in the ground and formally celebrate the 140-plus years of football in this state and all the people who have contributed so much to make this game great," Robertson said.
"I am humbled to be the person who gets to announce the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame will be celebrated in May 2024, and we will induct 100 members and 10 legends in the inaugural intake."
The gala dinner will be held at the SCG on May 3, with all inducted Hall of Famers invited to attend along with other football luminaries.
NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Riverina: Wilbur (Bill) Mohr, Bill Hart, Jack Luhrs, Bert Schmidt, John Yates, Tom Carroll, Sid Robins, Ross Elwin, Doug Priest, Rick Quade, Bert Haynes, Laurie Pendrick, Greg Verdon, Dennis Carroll, Shane Lenon, Tim Beard, Wayne Carey, Paul Kelly, Patrick O'Donoghue, Brad Aiken, Melinda Hyland
Sydney: George Crisp, Phillip Sheridan, Jim Phelan, Harvey J Hedger, Ralph Robertson, Chris Lethbridge, Stan Milton, W R 'Billy' McKoy, Frank Dixon, Jimmy Stiff, Stan Powditch, Jack Williamson, Ken Ferguson, Syd Felstead, Jack Armstrong, Jack Dean, Ossie Grose, Ellis Noack, Ted Ray, Greg Harris, Mark Rendell, Mark Maclure, Rod Carter, Kevin Taylor, Neil Cordy, Rod Podbury, Tony Lockett, Craig Davis, Frank Kalayzich, Richard Colless, Yvette Andrews, Lenny Hayes, Michaela Freckman, Tracey Kick, Jemma Still, Kieren Jack, Amanda Farrugia
Hume: Garry O'Connell, Harry Gardiner, Bill Barton, Mervyn Wegener, Peter Carroll, Lindsay Norman, Ross Henshaw, John Longmire
Hunter Central Coast: Bill Elliott, Ian Granland, John Sullivan, Maurice Goolagong, Christine Burrows, Mark McVeigh, Jarrad McVeigh
Murray: Sir Doug Nicholls, Gordan Strang, Haydn Bunton, Allan Jeans, David Murphy, Leo Barry, Brett Kirk
Northern Riverina: Jim and Edna Daniher, Stan Hague, Keith and Paula Rees, Neale Daniher, Terry Daniher, Anthony Daniher, Chris Daniher, Leanne Imrie
North Coast-North West-Central West: Brian Lenton, Rod Gillett, Geoff Day, Jim and Jill Woodlock, Gerry Griffiths
Broken Hill: Lionel Johnston, Wayne Walker, Peter Johns
South Coast-Sapphire Coast: Ray Tunbridge, Alan Simpson, Greg Wollaston, David Boulton
Selection committee: Tiffany Robertson, Simon Wilson, Ian Granland, Rod Gillett, Christine Burrows, Greg Verdon, Yvette Andrews
