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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 PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:28): I rise to speak in parliament today about the sad passing of a South Australian football legend, Neil Kerley AM.

Neil was born in Barmera in the Riverland in 1934 to Laurie and Lillian Kerley. Sadly, his father died when Neil was only young, leaving him and his siblings to look after themselves with their mother, Lillian. He really grew up quickly, and by the age of 16 he had learnt to look after himself, moved out of home and became a leader at a young age.

This really found its way through on to the football field. As a young football player in 1953, Neil, while working close to Woomera, captained the local Koolymilka side as captain-coach where he went on to win not only the Mail Medal in the competition but also led his team to premiership. Keeping on with the captain-coach role, he then went to Whyalla, a very strong league, and played for North Whyalla, where he coached them to premierships both in 1954 and 1955.

These exploits certainly got the attention of the local SANFL competition, and soon Neil started his distinguished football career in the SANFL for a local club, West Adelaide. This would lead him on his journey to become a member of not only the South Australian Football Hall of Fame but also the Australian Football Hall of Fame. At this time, he was playing at a time when football was really a very tribal, suburban game. There was no big TV adulation; in fact, there were certainly no TVs to be able to give reports to the tribunal and there was only one umpire, so this was a time when many scores were settled on the field.

Players at the time could not make a living from football. They played for the love of the club, and certainly Neil exemplified that. We talk about where the game of football is now, where it is nearly a 52-week a year sport. The game could not have got to where it is without legends of the game such as Neil, so when players today talk about standing on the shoulders of giants, Neil was one of those. In the time we have here in parliament to speak of this, he played 275 games for West Adelaide, South Adelaide and, importantly, Glenelg, which is an important club in the electorate of Morphett.

I will talk a bit about his time at Glenelg because it really was transformational for the team. When he came to Glenelg in 1967, in the previous season they had finished bottom and won the wooden spoon. They had not been in the premiership for many years; in fact, the Glenelg Football Club said just recently that in the Tigers' 101-year history no single person has had a bigger impact than Kerley.

He is affectionately known as Kerls, and he transformed the Tigers from being regarded as a more or less social club into one of the strongest, most respected football clubs in Australia. That is certainly true of the time I have known the Glenelg Football Club. Neil also spoke fondly of Glenelg. He coached there for 10 years, and at the club's centenary dinner just last year, celebrating 100 years of the Glenelg Football Club, Neil spoke glowingly of the club.

The highlight of Neil's tenure at the club was 1973, when Neil had gone from being a captain-coach to just a coach. He had to learn to inspire his players not by his physical deeds but by inspiration—and that he did. He inspired the team, where they lost only one game for the season and then won in the famous grand final at Adelaide Oval in 1973 against North Adelaide. That is long remembered, with fantastic players Graham Cornes and Peter Carey amongst them and still stalwarts of the club today.

He was known as a tough and hard man, but I will quote from the Tigers' skipper Ken Eustace, who took over from him. He mentions:

He was a great encourager. He could also give you a blast but he wouldn't knock you. He was a unique inspiration and he was strong, fearless… his aura and his energy, you could feel it.

I think South Australians certainly felt that through all his time playing, and that is why we will miss him so much. Vale, Neil Kerley.

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