The surprise presentation, which marked Colless’ 20-year milestone at the club, saw the Chairman receive a special memento from two of New South Wales’ best known Swans, Paul Kelly and Kieren Jack.
Speaking ahead of the presentation, Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland described Colless as ‘one of the greatest people to ever be involved in the club’.
“This season marks the 20th year that Richard Colless has been Chairman of our football club, which is a truly remarkable achievement,” Ireland said.
“Richard has been a tremendous spokesperson, an astute football administrator, and probably most importantly, a fantastic support to many people who have been involved at the club during his tenure.”
Upon receiving the honour, a clearly surprised Colless said his greatest achievement at the club was not on-field glory, but the restoration of pride and self-belief at the club.
“It is just a great organisation to be part of and to have played some part in that building or re-building process gives me a sense of pride,” he said.
“I think Bobby Skilton recently said that for most of his life the club was looked down on and now it’s sort of a role model and that is very reassuring.
“I think the key thing is the self-respect that we’ve got, and this is not arrogant, (it) is just a belief in what we stand for.”
