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Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tributes flow for South Australian footy legend Barrie Robran who died aged 77 - 'huge talent on the field, but a greater human off it'
The niece of Barrie Robran has thanked listeners for their well-wishes as tributes continue to flow for the footy legend, who died this week aged 77. Robran is widely regarded as the best player to emerge from South Australia and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He played 201 games for North Adelaide from 1967 to 1980, winning the state's highest honour for a footballer, the Magarey Medal, on three occasions. Robran also coached North from 1978 to 1980, won two SANFL premierships, and won admission to the South Australian Football Hall of Fame. Speaking on FIVEAA's winter breakfast program on Friday, Jade Robran told co-host Tom Rehn it has been a tough couple of days for the family. 'It's just hard. Reading the tributes, hearing the stories shared has been so heart-warming, and we are so grateful,' she began. 'Through the tears we are smiling, knowing that he is an incredible man, obviously an incredible footballer.' 'He was a huge talent on field, but a greater human off it.' Elsewhere, former North Adelaide halfback Bohdan Jaworskyj labelled Robran 'smooth and silky' and was always blown away by his pure athleticism. SA Football Commission chairman Rob Kerin said Robran 'changed the way the game was played' and veteran football commentator Bruce McAvaney felt the footy star was 'almost god like' at times on the field. On Wednesday, Robran was on air before abruptly leaving the studio just before 7am. Co-host Rehn then addressed her shock departure, informing listeners there had been a 'death in her family,' he said. 'Jade unfortunately has had to go home, there has been some unexpected and very tragic news. 'There's been a death in her family so we wish Jade all the very best.' North Adelaide paid a heartfelt to their icon after the sad news broke. 'Barrie was, without doubt, in our view the greatest ever to play the game of Australian Rules Football, and certainly the most revered son of our beloved Roosters,' the club's statement read. 'His unparalleled skill, quiet humility and unwavering dedication left an indelible mark on our club and the broader community.' South Australian Premier Peter Malinausakas also expressed the state's admiration. 'Saddened to hear about the passing of the legendary Barrie Robran MBE,' Malinauskas wrote on X. 'A Whyalla boy who was one of South Australia's greatest footballers, a state treasure. 'On behalf of all Government of South Australia, I extend our deepest condolences to his wife Taimi, sons Matthew and Jonathan, grandchildren, and his wider family.' Robran won North's best and fairest award seven times and he had a statue depicting him taking a mark installed at Adelaide Oval in 2014. His footy career began with the North Whyalla club before being recruited by North Adelaide. 'Barrie was more than just a footballer, he was the embodiment of everything North Adelaide stands for – excellence, humility, and unwavering loyalty,' club president Kris Mooney said. 'His legacy will forever inspire us, and his quiet grace touched everyone he met.
ABC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Why Australian rules football legend Barrie Robran was one of the greats
Former North Adelaide halfback Bohdan Jaworskyj knew Barrie Robran was something special the first time he watched him play. It was September 1966, and the teenage Robran had travelled from his hometown of Whyalla to line up for the Roosters' reserves side in a final at the Adelaide Oval. Playing in midfield, Robran was confronted with a pack of players waiting under a ball that had bounced high in the air. What happened next has not left Jaworskyj's mind. "He took the ball high in the air with one arm and swept it in one motion onto his right foot without putting another hand on it or without trying to control it in any other way," Jaworskyj told Adelaide radio station FiveAA. "It was just one motion, put it onto his right boot, and kicked it down into the forward line, and I'd never ever seen anyone do that. "That then struck me as something special." Jaworskyj is among a chorus of voices in South Australia's football community paying tribute to Robran, who died on Wednesday aged 77. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers South Australia has ever produced, with his list of honours including three Magarey Medals, two SANFL premierships and seven North Adelaide best-and-fairest awards. What made Robran so special according to those who played with and against him was his versatility, "silky" skills and evasiveness. "You could not contain him," Jaworskyj said, recalling Robran's ability to make players "look foolish without even looking". "He was mentally aware of his surroundings, he was so … able to see what was happening around him and then move to the best position to get the ball. "He was as hard a ball winner as you could find when he needed to be, and yet he was as smooth and silky as he wanted to be when he was out in the open." Robran played 201 games for North Adelaide from 1967 to 1980 and 17 matches for South Australia's state side, including as captain. SA Football Commission chair Rob Kerin said Robran "changed the way the game was played", with his capacity to excel at both centre-half forward and midfield an attribute that put him a cut above the rest. "Barrie was a guy who could have played any position on the field," he told ABC Radio Adelaide. Kerin also noted the long-standing comparisons between Robran and Port Adelaide football icon Russell Ebert, who died in 2021. The duo dominated the South Australian football landscape through the 1970s and enjoyed a long friendship after football. "Both of them, they could be flying for a mark and both of them would handball before they got to the ground," Kerin said. "They just brought another skill to the game." Sturt legend Rick Davies, an Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee who played through the 1970s and 80s, said Robran could do everything on the football field. "If somebody asks me now, 'what do you have to do to be a footballer?', one, you've got to be fit; two, you've got to be able to get the ball; and three, you've got to be able to make the right decision when you get the ball," he told Fiveaa. "He could do the lot: he was always very fit, he could get the ball just at will and he never ever made a mistake. "Him and Russell really were the two complete players. "I always say Wayne Carey was the best player I saw, but Barrie and Russell, I just couldn't part them because they were just such great players." One of the many anecdotes cited by those paying tribute to Robran this week was the time he played against Carlton great Alex "Jezza" Jesaulenko. It was 1972, and North Adelaide was matched up against Carlton in the now disbanded Championship of Australia competition, which pitted the winners of the VFL, SANFL and other state leagues against each other. Robran had a best-on-ground performance on a muddy day at the Adelaide Oval; it was a day that earned him plenty of plaudits from Victoria. But there was one particular moment that has gone down in folklore, when Robran gathered the ball on the wing with three Carlton players bearing down on him. "He avoided one player by showing him the ball and he moved casually past him," Bohdan Jaworskyj recalled. "Then showed another player the ball on the other side and then swept around him and delivered the ball down into the forward lines." The last of the trio Robran evaded was Blues great Jesaulenko, who stood and applauded his rival. Veteran football commentator Bruce McAvaney described the moment to the ABC in 2023.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Was he the greatest? Debate on as SA footy legend dies
In South Australian footy circles, it always came down to this: Robran or Ebert? There's no solution to who is SA's best Australian rules player, but arguments settled on two: Port Adelaide great Russell Ebert, or North Adelaide legend Barrie Robran. And despite Ebert's astonishing four Magarey Medals, many plump for Robran, who won the SANFL medal three times. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SANFL (@sanfl_official) "Robran was universally regarded across South Australia as the finest footballer the state has produced in its history across the past 150 years," an AFL statement said. The chief of his SANFL club North Adelaide, Craig Burton, had no doubt, extending the Robran-Ebert debate to a national one. "We think he's number one, the greatest ever footballer," Burton said. "You'll get an argument from people in Victoria … but he was definitely right up there." The SANFL didn't take sides in its tribute, referring to the Roosters great as "among" the state's players ever. "Barrie was a champion of our game and has left an indelible mark on football in South Australia through his on-field brilliance," SANFL president Rob Kerin said. Robran was an inaugural member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and the first South Australian honoured with "legend'' status, in 2001. He dominated the SANFL from his debut in 1967 until retirement in 1980, playing 201 games for North Adelaide. He also played 17 state games and captained SA. A seven-time consecutive club best-and-fairest and dual premiership player at North, Robran's career stalled in 1974 when, playing for SA, he injured a knee in a clash with Victoria's Leigh Matthews. "As the years have gone by I've often thought: 'Had that have not happened …'," Robran had said. "It probably cost me about 150 league games here in South Australia because I was 26 when that happened. "My ambition in football was always to play until I was 40 at some appropriate level where I could play and not embarrass myself."
The Australian
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
AFL legend Barrie Robran dies aged 77
Australian football Hall of Fame Legend and arguably South Australia's greatest footballer, Barrie Robran, has died. Robran, who won three Magarey Medals as the best player in the SANFL, as well as seven best and fairests for his club North Adelaide across 201 games, was 77. One of the inaugural inductees into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, Robran was elevated to a legend five years later despite never playing in the VFL, choosing instead to dominate in his home state. The Barry Robran statue at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Jason Hywood He was the first South Australian to be named a Hall of Fame legend. Robran kicked 194 goals for North Adelaide from 1967-80, won premierships in 1971-72 and is also in the club's team of the century. He was such a revered figure in South Australia that there's a statue of Robran at the Adelaide Oval that serves as a permanent reminder of his standing. Robran was an SA stalwart, played 17 state matches and served as an SA selector for 14 years. AFL CEO, Andrew Dillon said there was little debate around who was SA's best ever player 'This is a terribly sad day for South Australian football, as Barrie Robran was the outstanding player in a time when the game was built around state pride, and testing yourselves at a state level against the best from around the country,' Mr Dillon said. 'While fans in other states may argue over who were their best-ever players, that same debate has always been absent in Adelaide as any South Australian who saw Robran play simply defers to him as the greatest.' North Adelaide president Kris Mooney said Robran was 'more than just a footballer'. 'He was the embodiment of everything North Adelaide stands for – excellence, humility, and unwavering loyalty. His legacy will forever inspire us, and his quiet grace touched everyone he met,' he said in a statement. 'We are incredibly proud to call him one of our own.' Robran takes a mark in the SANFL in 1973. Picture: Ray Titus One of Robran's sons, Matthew, was a dual-premiership player in 130 games for the Adelaide Crows, further cementing the family's football legacy. His niece, Jade, an Adelaide media personality, had to leave her morning radio show after being told the news of her father's death on Wednesday. Read related topics: Adelaide
NZ Herald
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Australian radio host Jade Robran leaves show after learning of uncle Barrie Robran's death
North Adelaide Football Club legend Barrie Robran has died aged 77. Photo / The Advertiser 'Jade unfortunately has had to go home, there has been some unexpected and very tragic news, there's been a death in her family,' Tom said. 'Hope you're okay, Jade, if you're driving home listening right now. 'Jade, we love you, we hope you're okay with the rest of the family. 'Hopefully she'll be back tomorrow. That's very, very sad news.' He continued to host the show solo. It's not yet known how Barrie died, with his family yet to release a statement. Barrie, who won the Magarey Medal three times during his career, has a statue at Adelaide Oval in his honour. Jade Robran co-hosts FIVEAA's Winter Breakfast show with Tom Rehn. Photo / Jade is yet to comment. The radio host and journalist, who also occasionally presents segments on Channel 7's Sunrise, has been a roving reporter for FIVEAA since February last year. She has worked on TV for more than a decade, having presented the AFL Grand Final, Melbourne Cup Carnival and Australian Open over the years. She is married to 2001 Big Brother winner turned AFL sports agent Ben Williams, with whom she shares two sons. The pair, who wed in 2008, suffered a scare this time last year when Williams was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident. Taking to Instagram in June on the first anniversary of the incident, Jade said her husband 'shouldn't have survived' the crash in South Australia's Flinders Range. 'It's been 365 days since me and the boys got a call to say Ben had been in a motorcycle accident (that he shouldn't have survived but did),' Jade wrote. 'The following six months was a bit … 'But, we all got through it (you're a strong, determined bugger big guy) and in a crazy way, we are all better for it and stronger as a unit.'
