Port Adelaide legend dies of cancer at 72

3 years ago 283

Port Adelaide fable Russell Ebert, considered the top subordinate and perchance fig successful the club's affluent 151-year history, has died astatine the property of 72 aft a conflict with cancer.

Ebert was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia successful December past twelvemonth and connected Friday passed distant astatine location surrounded by his family.

Ebert played a club-record 392 games with the Port Adelaide Magpies, winning 3 premierships, 4 Magarey medals and six best-and-fairest awards.

He was precocious elevated to 'legend' presumption successful the South Australian Sport Hall of Fame.

His elevation saw him go conscionable the seventh 'legend', aft Sir Donald Bradman and Bart Cummings (2010), Barrie Robran (2011), Victor Richardson and Gillian Rolton (2016) and Anna Meares (2020).

In summation to Ebert's 392 games with Port Adelaide, helium played 25 matches with North Melbourne and made 29 appearances for South Australia.

He is besides a centre successful Port Adelaide's top all-time squad and a subordinate of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Ebert progressed from playing to coaching, starring his beloved Port Adelaide successful 116 games betwixt 1983 and 1987, earlier having coaching stints astatine Woodville and South Australia.

AFL main enforcement Gillon McLachlan has paid a beauteous tribute to Ebert.

"Russell Ebert was an bonzer footballer and his grounds attests to that arsenic the lone idiosyncratic successful SANFL past with 4 Magarey medals, coupled with aggregate premierships and astir 400 elder games conscionable for his beloved Magpies, alongside his superb authorities vocation and a play with North Melbourne successful the VFL," McLachlan said.

"As a young instrumentality of the crippled successful Adelaide, adjacent erstwhile watching him arsenic an absorption player, you couldn't assistance but respect his precocious marking, his one-touch ball-gathering, his superb attacking handball and his exceptional kicking skills connected some sides of his body, arsenic helium was taking your broadside apart. All portion being an incredibly just subordinate who relied connected his skills portion being beardown and brave.

"As his clip successful shot concluded, Russell past genuinely blossomed arsenic a humble but beardown person successful wider society, not conscionable football, and crossed much than 30 years helium diligently worked each time successful seeking to amended his community, utilizing his illustration and enactment to amusement radical amended ways to dainty each other, and assistance those who were struggling.

"The kid successful maine volition ever respect the large footballer, but the big that I americium is successful awe of what Russell Ebert was arsenic a man, and his nonaccomplishment aft bravely confronting his unwellness is devastating for his family, for his club, his galore fans and for the authorities of South Australia, wherever helium has fixed truthful much.

"He was everything you would anticipation to beryllium successful a man, and possibly the champion of each of us."

Ebert's son, Brett, made 166 appearances for Port Adelaide and topped the club's goal-kicking successful 2007, portion nephew Brad ran retired for the nine connected 184 occasions.

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