The Tocumwal Football Netball Club honoured the contribution of six life members when they were inducted into the club’s inaugural hall of fame at a ceremony on Saturday in front of 130 family and friends.
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Hall of fame committee president Greg Watmore said the idea started about two years ago when it was pitched to then club president Dennis Sutton and the committee and it was with their blessing that the ball got rolling.
“The current committee also embraced this idea and the hall of fame committee is grateful for all the work they have done in supporting the concept,” Watmore said.
“To understand who you are as a club and where it is you are going, you have to understand, appreciate and honour the past.
“The inductees presented have gone above and beyond the criteria set by the committee and every one of them is a worthy recipient of all the accolades that come their way, though they would all say honestly that their contributions were for the love of the club and not for any awards.”
The inductees were Albert James (A.J.) Bligh, Ernest (Nugget) Fuller, Brian Kelly, Barbara Cullen, Jim Cullen and Rob Crow.
Below are summaries from the audio-visual presentations played on the night.
A.J. Bligh
A.J. Bligh joined the club in 1920 at a time when it had experienced fluctuating fortunes for the preceding 20 years. In 1922 he became president, a position he held for a record 16 years, until 1937. The club’s stability and progress were due, in no small part, to the administration and leadership of Bligh.
With stability comes success, and from 1922-27, Tocumwal participated in six Southern Riverina Football Association grand finals, finally securing a premiership in 1928.
In 1931, the Murray Football League was formed, with Tocumwal an inaugural founding member, and Bligh the vice-president. The club continued its rise and in 1935 it won its first Murray Football League premiership.
Bligh was one of Tocumwal’s earliest life members and, while not a player, his leadership was instrumental in the development and success of the club for years beyond his administration. His leadership and administrative skills make him a valuable hall of fame inductee.
Ernest Fuller
At 18 years of age, Nugget Fuller was nearly recruited by Geelong. However, war broke out and he enlisted, going on to fight at Kokoda. Upon his return he played in the 1945 war competition. In 1946, Nugget was again asked to play for Geelong, but his loyalty saw him stay at Tocumwal, where he went on to play an integral part in the 1946 premiership side. He was captain/coach in 1952 and vice-president in 1975.
It is as a junior coach that Nugget is admired and remembered. He played an influential role in the development of many young men who played in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, coaching the Billabong fourths in two successive grand finals, with a premiership in 1968.
His durability and toughness are renowned, playing senior football for four decades from the 1930s to 1960s. Of the many stories that flow around Nugget Fuller, one is that he is responsible for the rivalry and banter between Finley and Tocumwal which continues to extend on and off the playing fields.
It is his love and dedication to the club and inspiration to many that makes Nugget a perfect inductee to the hall of fame.
Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly has had a lifelong involvement at Tocumwal. He played for the club during the 1940s as a teenager, culminating in captaining the 1945 Murray Football League premiership-winning side, despite the return of experienced players after the war. Kelly then played in the reserves’ premiership side the following year before a long-term injury saw the end of his playing career.
Kelly felt there were other ways he could stay involved and contribute to the club. He was actively involved in recruiting names like Cullen, Whitten, Vise and Lane, to name a few. He was a lifelong administrator as vice-president for six years and president for a further nine years, then went on to be Tocumwal’s player advocate at the Murray league tribunal.
Kelly was passionate about what football clubs could provide to small towns and was seen by all as a highly respected leader who was willing to make the hard decisions for the betterment of the whole club. In addition, he was a long-term donor and benefactor as he was aware of the financial requirements placed on the club week in, week out.
Kelly is recognised as a leader and true club person and significant hall of fame inductee.
Barbara Cullen
The loyal and irreplaceable Barb Cullen has been involved in the Tocumwal Football Netball Club for more than 50 years. She has been a regular at the club since the 1950s after she met her husband, Jim. At the time there was no netball, so she volunteered her time making sandwiches, afternoon teas, helping in the canteen and organising functions. Her dedication to the club, while raising a family, is testament to her loyalty to and love of the club.
Cullen was the custodian of the national anthem on grand final day and held the positions of treasurer, vice-president and president of the club’s ladies’ social committee. She has seen more home games than most of her fellow inductees played combined and through it all has remained steadfast in her support.
Cullen has unmatched dedication to catering club functions and is a life member.
It is the time given up over the past 50 years that make Barb Cullen such a worthy recipient.
Jim Cullen
The legendary Jim Cullen came to Tocumwal in the 1950s and by the late 1960s, his athletic and high-flying brilliance was evident. Don Whitten built his side around Cullen and Tocumwal’s rise from cellar-dweller to the 1967 premiership was linked around the talented trio of Cullen, Vise and Whitten.
Cullen received an unequalled five successive club best-and-fairest awards, plus the 1965 Murray league O’Dwyer medal — ample evidence of his talent and value as a player. He is universally regarded as the best mark in the club’s history.
After injury curtailed his trademark leap, he reinvented himself as a full-forward, booting more than 50 goals in a season, and then as his career was ending, he became a tough, dogged full-back. In his last season in 1977, he became the Murray Football League’s games record holder with 311 games.
After his retirement, Cullen continued to contribute off-field as Tocumwal’s thirds and seniors coach, Murray league selector and coach, club president and Murray league 200 Club’s inaugural chairman.
Arguably the best local player ever, Jim Cullen is a standout inductee to the hall of fame.
Rob Crow
Rob Crow became one of the legends of the club over a playing and administrative career spanning 48 years. He made his first-grade debut in 1972 as a 17-year-old and went on to play a total of 501 matches for the Bloods.
His playing career extended more than 35 years, from 1968-2003, with a 29-year first-grade career from 1972-2001. Crow was a regular representative of the Murray Football League from 1976-88. He was Tocumwal’s first-grade record-holder for matches and won the club’s seniors best-and-fairest on three occasions. He added the reserves best-and-fairest in 1996 at the age of 41.
In addition, Crow coached the club in 1987 and 1988, taking over at the end of 1986 when the club was not a happy place. He helped to lay the foundations of success that was to come, took the Bloods to a preliminary final in 1988 and was a key defender in the 1991 premiership.
Crow coached the thirds, taking them to two grand finals, and the fourths for seven years. When the football and netball clubs merged, he coached the A-grade netball side from 2008-10, lifting the team to a position of prominence within the Murray league.
Crow continued to contribute to the administration of the club as a committee member on and off from 1978 to 1994 and president in 1994. He is a life member of both the club and the league.
Rob Crow is a true legend of Tocumwal and country footy and a deserved inductee of the hall of fame.
For more information, phone Greg Watmore on 0408 881 772.
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