Australian Football Hall of Fame Welcomes New Inductees

Erin Phillips, Nick Riewoldt, Garry Lyon, Luke Hodge and Daisy Pearce were among the new inductees to the Australian Rules Hall of Fame. Picture: Michael Wilson.

South Australian goal kicking great Ken Farmer was last night elevated to legend status in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, as trailblazing AFLW stars Daisy Pearce and Erin Phillips were also inducted to the hall of fame alongside AFL Champions Luke Hodge, Nick Riewoldt and Garry Lyon.

The other new inductees were champion East Perth ruckman turned umpire George Owens, Tasmanian great John Leedham, and South Adelaide ruckman Peter Darley, with Hodge, Pearce and Phillips all 'first-ballot' entries after serving the required time in retirement.

Farmer, whose statue stands outside Adelaide Oval, became the 33rd Legend in the history of the game and was celebrated as a goalkicking marvel who booted 100 goals or more for 11 consecutive seasons between 1930-1940, retiring with a still-SANFL record 1417 goals.

The North Adelaide great, who passed away in 1982, was acknowledged with the long-awaited honour on a night that celebrated players for their careers across generations and competitions on the 30th anniversary of the Hall of Fame.

Riewoldt, meanwhile, agreed to the honour in 2023 when first eligible but was part of this year's ceremony after living abroad with his family in the United States during the previous two seasons.

A change to criteria last year allowed AFLW players to be inducted one year after their retirement, paving the way for Pearce and Phillips to jointly become the first AFLW players included in the Hall of Fame after their recent retirements in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Women's football pioneer Debbie Lee was previously the only female inducted.