Fred Goldsmith, Bob Skilton, Peter Bedford, Barry Round and Gerard Healy, who are all in the list of 90 players that the Hall of Fame inductees will be selected from, enjoyed reminiscing about the old times.
Let’s recap…
Goldsmith made his debut for South Melbourne in 1951, playing as a half forward flanker before being shifted to fullback the next season. In 1955 he became the first ever and arguably the only specialist fullback to win the Brownlow Medal. The next season he was moved to play up forward and remained at full-forward for the remainder of his career. In 1957, he was South Melbourne's leading goalkicker with 43 goals. Goldsmith is a member of the Swans Team of the Century.
Next is Skilton, who made his debut in 1956 at the age of 17 and went on to play 237 matches before retiring in 1971. He scored 412 goals in that time, leading the goalkicking on three occasions and was one of only five players to have won the Brownlow Medal three times; in 1959, 1963 and 1968. Skilton was named captain of the Swans Team of the Century and is a member of the AFL Hall of Fame.
Peter ‘Wheels’ Bedford played between 1968 and 1976, culminating in 178 games with a total of 325 goals. He won the Best & Fairest on five occasions, leading goalkicker three times and won a Brownlow Medal in 1970. He was captain from 1973 until his departure in 1976 and is a member of the Swans Team of the Century. Footy wasn’t his only talent; he was also a gifted batsman & leg spin bowler for the Victorian cricket side playing 39 matches for the State.
Round played 135 games for Footscray before making a move to South Melbourne/Sydney Swans where he played 193 games to play a total of 328 games. The big man won a Brownlow Medal in 1981and was the Swans' first captain when South Melbourne became the Sydney Swans. In 2001 Round was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame and was announced a member of Sydney's Team of the Century in 2003.
Healy also played at another Club before arriving at the Swans. He was at Melbourne until 1985 and after playing 121 games, he moved to the Swans at the beginning of the 1986 season. He won Best and Fairests in his first three years with the team - 1986, 1987, 1988 as well as winning the Brownlow Medal in 1988. In 2000 Healy was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame and was named in Sydney’s Team of the Century.
There is something special about the bond that remains amongst former Clubman and it will be no more evident when many former as well as current day players gather at Crown Palladium to celebrate the Club’s history.
Three of the above greats have put a list of six players of who they think are certain to be inducted at the inaugural Hall of Fame…
Fred Goldsmith
1. Bob Skilton - because he is the best
2. Ron Clegg - he was a champion and the second best player I have seen
3. Bill Gunn - another champion and the reason I came to South
4. Paul Kelly - great player, great captain
5. John Rantall - also a great player, a stand out player
6. Barry Round - because he is Barry Round
Peter Bedford
1. Skilton – I wore #14 as a kid, he is just a certainty isn’t he?
2. Ron Clegg - he was a sensational player
3. Tony Lockett - in a short time, his contribution was invaluable
4. Paul Kelly - he got the most out of his ability to become what he did in the end, what a great captain
5. Bob Pratt, equal record goal kicker in the competition, his all round record and AFL Hall of Fame
6. Laurie Nash, he played in the CHB/CHF role through the golden 30 eras, supremely confident and carried that through the game
Barry Round
1. Bob Skilton – I am sure no one mentioned him to get in!
2. Paul Kelly
3. Ron Clegg
4. Bob Pratt
5. Laurie Nash
6. Tony 'Plugger' Lockett
Click here to listen to part one of a two-part interview with Bobby Skilton, by ABC Newsradio's David Lord.
