Former players Scott West, Hassa Mann and Brian Peake have been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Canberra.
West won a club record seven best and fairests for the Western Bulldogs during his 324-game career from 1993-2008.
Mann played 178 games, including three premierships, for Melbourne from 1959-68 and captained the club for the last four of those seasons.
He then captain-coached South Fremantle in the WAFL for three years, winning another premiership and another best and fairest award, to go with his three at Melbourne.
Peake, already in the WA Football Hall of Fame, was a six-time best and fairest winner and Sandover Medallist with East Fremantle between 1972-90.
His 304-game, three-premiership career with East Fremantle was interspersed with four seasons and 66 games for Geelong, including a season as captain.
West, who spoke of his pride at being inducted in front of his family, said he had done everything he could to get the best out of himself, but left the game not completely satisfied given he never won a flag.
“Fulfillment eludes those who don’t achieve that ultimate success, a premiership … there’s a hole in my career,” West said.
But he said he got joy now watching his own children enjoy the game.
“I’m a dual under-10 division four premiership runner, so I do have a premiership to my name,” he said.
Mann spoke of how the Demons went to court early in his career to get him out of national service, and while he was worried the legal bid wouldn’t succeed, he needn’t have been.
“I can still recall the Melbourne legal person, the army legal person and the judge congratulating themselves, as they were all Melbourne supporters,” Mann said.
But he said while football had been great for him, there had also been tough times.
A later period as Demons chief executive, when he pushed for a merger between Melbourne and Hawthorn in 1996 that ultimately didn’t happen, Mann said was the worst time of his life.
“I lost a lot of friends over that,” Mann said.
He wasn’t hopeful that Melbourne would quickly emerge from their current bleak position.
“The embarrassing thing about it is I’m still a member of the last Melbourne premiership side, in 1964,” Mann said.
There were to be three more inductees on Tuesday night and the hall’s 25th legend announced.