SOUTH Australian champion Russell Ebert has been elevated to Legend status in the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
Ebert, who passed away late last year, joins an illustrious group for his incredible contribution to the game.
His elevation capped a night that saw a further eight players inducted into the Hall of Fame, including former St Kilda great Nicky Winmar, VFL/AFL games record holder Brent Harvey, Fremantle champion Matthew Pavlich and Indigenous Team of the Century member Bill Dempsey.
>> READ MORE ABOUT THE 2022 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES BELOW
Ebert's impact on football in South Australia is unrivalled, having won four Magarey Medals as a Port Adelaide midfielder to sit alongside his three premierships and six best and fairests.
He was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a SANFL and Port Adelaide life member.
His elevation capped a wonderful night that was preceded by Winmar's honour, that included a special video introduction from Legend and former teammate Tony Lockett.
Winmar, who played 90 games for South Fremantle before crossing to the VFL, was a majestic half-forward or wingman, capable of winning games with his pace and exquisite ball use.
He was a two-time All-Australian and finished with a glittering resume that included 230 games for the Saints and another 21 for the Western Bulldogs.
Like Dempsey, Winmar was also chosen in the Indigenous Team of the Century.
Dempsey played almost 500 combined games for West Perth in the WAFL and his beloved Buffaloes in the NT, and formed a dominant big-man combination with Graham 'Polly' Farmer in the late 1960s and '70s.
Dempsey was also celebrated as the Sir Doug Nicholls Round honouree earlier this season.
Diminutive midfielder-forward Harvey was recognised for his 432-game career that edged Hawthorn's Michael Tuck (426 games) for the record before he retired.
The North Melbourne great affectionately known as 'Boomer' often battled question marks of his height (168cm) but swatted them away with a glittering career.
Former Subiaco and Carlton ruckman Mike Fitzpatrick, a two-time premiership captain with the Blues and later a club director who also served as the chairman of the AFL Commission for a decade, was inducted.
Fitzpatrick oversaw the introduction of Gold Coast and GWS, the AFL's 17th and 18th teams in 2011 and 2012, and also the fast-tracked arrival of the AFL Women's competition in 2017.
Norwood great Michael Taylor, a six-time club best and fairest in the SANFL and a two-time premiership player with the Redlegs who also played 94 games for Collingwood in the VFL, was also honoured as a new member of the Hall of Fame.
West Perth full-forward Ted Tyson, who kicked 1197 goals in the 1930s and 40s for the Falcons joined Fremantle champion Pavlich in entering the Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.
Pavlich, a South Australian taken at No.4 in the 1999 AFL Draft, played a then club-record 353 games for the Dockers before retiring in 2016.
A tremendously versatile player, Pavlich was a six-time All-Australian and earned jackets as both a full-back and full-forward, eventually kicking 700 goals in his glittering career.
Tasmanian rover Terry Cashion, a brilliant and scrupulously fair rover who starred among the game's best at the national carnival in 1950, was also celebrated with induction to the Hall of Fame.
2022 Hall of Fame inductees
MATTHEW PAVLICH Read more about the Dockers legend
TERRY CASHION Read more about one of Tasmania's greatest ever
BILL DEMPSEY Read more about Dempsey's remarkable life
MIKE FITZPATRICK Read more about Fitzpatrick's enormous career in footy
TED TYSON Read more about the WA goal machine
BRENT HARVEY Read more about the VFL/AFL games record-holder
MICHAEL TAYLOR Read more about Norwood's six-time club champ
NICKY WINMAR Read more about the Saints great and Indigenous icon
RUSSELL EBERT Read more about football's 32nd Legend
