Lionel Johnston, Peter Johns, and Wayne Walker will be among the first to be honoured in the new NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame.
The three Broken Hill locals were among a list of 100 inductees who will be celebrated for their involvement in the sport’s 140-plus years in NSW at a gala dinner in May.
“Australian football in NSW has a deeper history than many realise,” AFL CEO, Andrew Dillon, said on Wednesday.
The idea for a NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame was announced in May 2019, and AFL Broken Hill was asked to nominate several people.
AFL Broken Hill President Andrew Schmidt told the Barrier Truth the announcement also recognised the role Broken Hill plays across the sport in NSW, particularly the impact the late Lionel Johnston, who was an administrator from 1964 to 2013, had on football in town.
“Lionel Johnson, without doubt, is the best football administrator we’ve ever had, and the thing with both Peter and Wayne is that post their 300-game playing careers, state representatives, they gave so much back to football. I think it’s fantastic,” he said.
“It’s a real privilege and an honour for them and their families, but it’s also a real healthy promotion of football here. There are others we have nominated, there’s more we will nominate, and there’s so many people that have done so much great work, but these three have simply been outstanding.
“People like Tony Lockett and Paul Kelly, Brownlow Medallists, are all going to be inducted, so they’re in pretty good company. With the two boys that played, it’s also what they’ve given back to the game when they’ve stopped playing, and Lionel was just an amazing administrator, he really was. It’s a great day for them, and it’s a great day for football in Broken Hill.”
Player-turned-coach from 1975 to 2002, Wayne Walker told us he was humbled to be inducted.
“If it wasn’t for Lionel, there wouldn’t be a Broken Hill Football League.
“It’s probably longevity. Pete and I obviously did a fair bit together through football. I got more into coaching and Pete got more into the administration and social side of things. We always still continue to be involved with football at various aspects here in Broken Hill and myself in Adelaide.
“I think the key part about it is having that criteria where it was really about people that had outstanding contributions to local football, had played state football but never got the opportunity to play AFL/VFL. They’ve recognised a lot of people that have done that, but then also recognised those people that had come from grassroots to then play at the highest level.
“You look at Brent Staker, Dean Solomon, Taylor Walker, Isaac Cumming, as an example. You’ve got a couple of us still heavily involved. Then, you’ve got some aspiring ones that are down either at Norwood, Adelaide, or North Adelaide in the SANFL. A lot of them are tied up with the GWS development squads, or going down to play in Mildura. There’s a lot more opportunity for both men and women to be able to do things like that as well.”
Peter Johns – who was a player-turned-administrator from 1975 to 1992 – told us it was a bit of shock when the news came out, saying it took a week for it to really sink in.
“I’m honoured to be nominated, especially because there are so many people in Broken Hill footy that have volunteered and done stuff over the years so it was a big honour to be nominated for it.
“Just on the local level, to be recognised alongside Lionel Johnson and Wayne Walker is really good.
“It’s good to see Broken Hill football recognised. We’ve always stood by ourselves, been a bit isolated out here. We’ve still got a strong league and it’s good now that we’ll be recognised by AFL NSW.
“I played a lot of footy but also believed in putting back in. There are a lot of volunteers and my family volunteered a fair bit. It’s just the right thing to do, to be involved and stay involved.”
