REVERED AND REVERED AGAIN

There aren’t many players who have a resume as long as the great Ian Stewart.

Just four players in the history of the game have won three Brownlow Medals, but while the others – Bob Skilton, Dick Reynolds and Haydn Bunton – are Legends of Sydney, Essendon and Fitzroy respectively, Stewart is the only man to have won Brownlow Medals, premierships and club best and fairest awards at two different clubs.

The Tasmanian centreman was part of St Kilda’s only premiership in 1966, winning the second of his back-to-back Brownlows for the Saints that year, while he also claimed the club’s top honour in 1964 and 1966, was named All-Australian in the flag year and captained the club in 1969 across 127 games in eight seasons. u NAB AFL Auskick is the best way to introduce kids to the great game of Australia Football.

He crossed to Richmond in a high-profile trade with Tigers star Billy Barrot in 1971 and promptly won his third Brownlow and the Jack Dyer Medal in his first year before leading his new club to the 1973 flag.

He went on to play 78 matches in five seasons for a total of 205 at the highest level before injury curtailed his career at just 31 and is revered by both clubs and the game as a whole.

Stewart was an inaugural inductee in the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 before being elevated to Legend status the following year and was selected in both clubs’ Teams of the Century and inducted in both their Halls of Fame.

DISTINGUISHED: Ian Stewart was a champion player for two clubs –St Kilda and Richmond –winning a Brownlow Medal, a premiership and best and fairest at both.

He is also an official Legend at St Kilda.

St Kilda and Richmond have recognised his greatness by awarding the Ian Stewart Medal for the best player on the ground when they play each other for the first time each season, with GWS recruit Tim Taranto taking the most recent honour back in round 14. While a medal won’t be awarded on Sunday, some wonderful modern-day players are on the list, with Tiger superstars Jack Riewoldt (2010, 2012), Brett Deledio (2011, 2015) and Dustin Martin (2017, 2019) being the only multiple winners, while Saints greats Nick Dal Santo (2005), Lenny Hayes (2006), Leigh Montagna (2007), Stephen Milne (2008) and Brendon Goddard (2009) all feature.

Auskick is all about fun, getting hands on the ball and constantly being involved in exciting activities in an inclusive environment.

This week, at our half-time experiences we will be celebrating our all-girls groups by having all girls take the field to play Auskick.

This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate girls who want to be involved and participate with other girls.

There are optional all-girls Auskick groups across the country – find yours today and join the fun at play.afl/Auskick.