The AFL wishes to advise Ash Barty and Ian Nankervis have been invited by Richmond and the Geelong respectively, to present the 2020 AFL Premiership Cup to the winning club.
Since 2004, the AFL has asked each club to nominate a representative to be on hand to present the Premiership Cup to the winning team, and is delighted that Ash Barty, the current No.1 ranked women's singles tennis player, and Geelong champion Ian Nankervis have accepted their respective club's offer for this week's Toyota AFL Grand Final.
Richmond – Ash Barty. The current world number one women's singles tennis player ranked by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), Ash has been a lifelong supporter of the Richmond Football Club and was the Club's inaugural Richmond Women's Membership Holder. Ash is only the second Australian WTA singles no. 1 after fellow Indigenous Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley. Ash has won eight singles titles and ten doubles titles on the WTA tour, including one Grand Slam singles title at the 2019 French Open and one Grand Slam doubles title at the 2018 US Open.
Geelong Cats – Ian Nankervis. Ian played 325 games and kicked 203 goals for Geelong across 17 seasons from 1967 – 1983. A Captain of the Geelong Football Club for 110 games from 1978 – 1981, and again in 1983, Nankervis held the record for the most senior level games before being surpassed by Corey Enright in 2016. Ian represented Victoria on 12 occasions, captaining the state side in 1979, and was awarded the Carji Greeves Medal for the best and fairest player for Geelong on three occasions (1972, 1976, 1977). In 2001, Nankervis was named in the Geelong Football Club Team of the Century and in 2005 was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.