Hall of Fame inductee Erin Phillips brings famous father Greg to tears in emotional speech

7NEWS

a day ago

Australian football Hall of Fame inductee Erin Phillips brought her famous father to tears during an emotional acceptance speech on Tuesday night.
Phillips became just the second woman inducted into the Hall of Fame — followed closely on the night by Daisy Pearce who was third — and completed the first father-daughter combination, joining dad and Port Adelaide great, Greg Phillips.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Erin Phillips delivers tear-jerking Hall of Fame speech.
The two-time AFLW best and fairest, who won three premierships with Adelaide before crossing to Port Adelaide when they entered the competition, thanked her dad in a tear-jerking tribute.
'To Dad, I can't imagine how hard it would have been to tell your 13-year-old daughter that she couldn't play the game that she loves anymore,' she said, with emotion in her voice.
'And 27 years later, she's standing next to you in the Hall of Fame.
'Thank you for teaching me a game that I loved, and even though you knew it was never going to take me anywhere at the time, you still taught me anyway.'
When she was turned away from footy, as all girls were at the time, Phillips turned to basketball, where she became one of Australia's greatest ever.
She won two WNBA championships, a World Championship gold medal, and a WNBL championship, among a host of other accolades which already made her one of the country's most celebrated athletes, before her footy career even started.
As it turned out, she was eventually able to chase her original footy dream when it became possible in 2017, for which she credited trailblazing women like Debbie Lee — the inaugural female inductee, four years ago — with making possible.
'You kicked down this door so others could walk through,' Phillips said.
'I'm so proud to be by your side and I can't wait to kick down more doors with you, Deb.'
Phillips ended her stellar playing career at the end of 2022. The five-year player eligibility rule for the Hall of Fame was changed for women last year; AFLW players can now be inducted within a year of retirement and she was an obvious candidate.
Her father, Port Adelaide great Greg, was inducted in 2020. Fos and Mark Williams, Hayden Bunton Sr and Jr, and umpires Jack McMurray Sr and Jr are the father-son inductees.
Phillips was Adelaide's inaugural captain and the first women's best and fairest winner, playing in three Crows flags despite needing a knee reconstruction.
She then switched to Port Adelaide when they joined the league in 2022.
When the women's league started in 2017, marquee players such as Phillips were crucial for its profile and credibility.
South Australian goalkicking machine Ken Farmer was elevated to legend status at Tuesday night's annual dinner in Melbourne.
St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt, whose induction was delayed because of his family move to the United States, joined the Hall of Fame, along with four-time Hawthorn premiership hard nut Luke Hodge and former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon.
South Adelaide ruckman Peter Darley, a key member of the club's most recent SANFL premiership in 1964, Tasmanian team of the century vice-captain John Leedham and seven-time East Perth premiership player George Owens are this year's historical inductees.
Pearce's last AFLW game was the Melbourne 2022 grand final victory and she called it the best day of her life, even though her twin children Sylvie and Roy were in the room, hamming it up for the TV cameras.
'It's controversial to say this, as a mother ... don't get me wrong, they're the best thing that's ever happened to me, but on a technicality, the day itself is not that good,' she said.
'Give me grand final day every day of the week.'
Pearce returned from having the twins in 2019 to captain Melbourne to the flag.
Farmer, who died in 1982, is the SANFL's most prolific goalkicker, with 1417 for North Adelaide from 1929-41 in 224 games at an extraordinary average of 6.33 per game.
He was never goalless in a game and coached the Roosters to two premierships.
Riewolt went agonisingly close to a premiership, playing in St Kilda's draw and two losses across 2009-10.
He said he had made his peace with not being able to help the Saints win their elusive second flag
'Rather than feeling like I walked away with the game still owing me something, I walk away feeling like the game gave me absolutely everything,' he said.