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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-07-06 Daily Xml
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Kerley, Mr D.N.

Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (15:38): As we know, Neil Kerley made a colossal contribution to South Australia. He was born on 20 February 1934 in Barmera. He started playing in the wonderful Riverland and grew up a Redlegs fan, but he was, you could say, more appreciated by West Adelaide. For the Redlegs, he is certainly the one that got away.

As a player, he went on to play over 260 SANFL games and kicked 123 goals. It has been said that he never actually left the field due to injury. I was reflecting on an early interview I saw with Neil Kerley only a short time back, when it was said that on one occasion he actually broke his jaw. Fancy breaking your jaw, keeping it together with things like chewing gum and still running and partaking in the game for a half of football. Such was the courage and consistency of the man. It goes to his work ethic and to the hard work and consistency he applied throughout his professional sporting career.

In what he called the ultimate contest, he served South Australia in 32 State of Origin games. He famously brought South Australia to victory against Victoria in 1963. It was the first time they had won since 1926. As a coach, he coached a whole range of SANFL clubs, including Glenelg, Central Districts, West Adelaide, South Adelaide and of course West Torrens, winning four premierships.

It is fair to say that Neil Kerley was an inspiration for South Australians young and old. I remember meeting Neil Kerley on the set of The Crows Show in the early 1990s. This was a time when the Crows were very good. Of course, I am old enough to remember the Crows winning two premierships, in 1997 and 1998. When you talk to some of these young people, they have not experienced a Crows premiership, but hopefully there is another one coming. We know that people like Neil Kerley worked so hard for the Adelaide Football Club, and we should acknowledge that.

Growing up, people wanted to be like him. I share a little bit in common with Neil—not a lot but a little, as he attended Rostrevor College for a short while, which is a proud football school. At the time, they gave out footy fixtures during the year. Obviously, on one side of the fixture was a list of games for the year and on the other side you could see the famous old scholars who had represented their state in the SANFL and also the AFL. They included players like Peter Marker, Luke Darcy, Ben Hart—absolute legends of the game—and, as a kid, I remember seeing Neil Kerley there. He was certainly someone young football players certainly aspired to be like in terms of his consistency, his courage and his impact on the game.

Neil was a magnetic character, and people were drawn to him. He was larger than life and, as many members in this place have reflected on, he made the Australian AFL Hall of Fame in 1997, the South Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2002, but he also gave a lot back. He was an absolute legend, an inspirational leader—if you like, a Braveheart of football across the state. He had the opportunity to go to Victoria, and a number of clubs were looking at him. However, because of what was more important to him, he decided to stay in South Australia. He had the opportunities, but he did not want to leave the beautiful Riverland, his friends and family and his connections there.

Mr Whetstone: Why would you?

Mr TARZIA: Exactly—why would you? He has certainly enriched South Australia, and we are devastated at his loss. He was an absolutely wonderful man. May he rest in peace and may all our thoughts and prayers be with Barb and the rest of Neil's family. Vale.

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