Russell Ebert

Russell Ebert
Personal information
Date of birth	(1949-06-22) 22 June 1949 (age 67)
Place of birth	Berri, South Australia
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	90 kg (198 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Playing career¹
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1968–1978, 1980–1985	Port Adelaide	391 (295)
1979	North Melbourne	25 (15)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1970–1983	South Australia	29
Coaching career³
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1983–1987	Port Adelaide	116 (64–52–0) 55.17%
1988–1990	Woodville	64 (24–40–0) 37.50%
¹ Playing statistics correct to the end of 1985. ³ Coaching statistics correct as of 1990.
Career highlights
Club 3x Port Adelaide premiership player (1977, 1980, 1981) 4x Magarey Medal (1971, 1974, 1976, 1980) Jack Oatey Medal (1981) 6x Port Adelaide best & fairest (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1981) Port Adelaide captain (1974-1978, 1983-1985) Port Adelaide leading goalkicker (1968) Representative 3x South Australian captain (1975, 1977, 1983) 29 games for South Australia South Australian coach 1996, 1997, 1998 Honours Port Adelaide's greatest team (centre) Australian Football Hall of Fame (1996) South Australian Football Hall of Fame (2002) SANFL life member Port Adelaide life member (1977)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Club

Representative

Honours

Russell Ebert OAM (born 22 June 1949) is acknowledged as one of the greatest players in the history of Australian rules football. Russell Ebert is the only player in SANFL history to have won four Magarey Medals.

Russell Ebert was born in the South Australian river town Berri, South Australia. His family later moved to Loxton where he played during his development years.

Ebert debuted for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) as an 18-year-old in 1968 and immediately made an impression, winning the club leading goalkicking in his debut season. He followed that with a Magarey Medal (awarded to the fairest and most brilliant player in the SANFL) and club Best and Fairest double in 1971. His first premiership as a player came in 1977 when Port Adelaide broke its drought defeating Glenelg at Football Park.

Victorian Football League clubs chased Ebert for a decade until North Melbourne finally won his signature and he spent a season with North Melbourne in 1979 Port Adelaide agreed to lease Ebert to North Melbourne for the 1979 season in exchange for Mark Dawson, as well as paying Ebert $35,000 and covering his travel costs between Adelaide and Melbourne (Ebert flew to Melbourne each Thursday during the season and returned to Adelaide on the Sunday). Ebert's tally of twenty five games for North Melbourne is the VFL/AFL record for the most games in a career which only lasted one season.

Following the end of the 1979 season, Ebert returned to Port Adelaide, where his 392 games remains a club record. Russell Ebert won two more premierships with Port Adelaide in 1980 and 1981.

Ebert captained Port Adelaide from 1974–1978 and 1983–1985, as well as captaining the South Australian side in 1975, 1977 and 1983. He coached Port Adelaide from 1983-1987: playing coach from 1983-1985, and then non-playing coach in 1986-1987.

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