The AFL has announced their annual life members and the winners of the Jack Titus Award for service to the game. The life membership awards will officially be presented at the league AGM in March. Nine players and coaches qualified automatically by reaching the total of 300 games as either player or coach, including preseason games and international rules. The nine are Richmond' star Jack Riewoldt, Eagle Shannon Hurn, Port Coach Ken Hinkley and star Travis Boak, Geelong forward Tom Hawkins, former Carlton skipper Marc Murphy, retired Cats defender Harry Taylor and ex-Power utility Justin Westhoff. Matthew Clarke, who played for Brisbane, Adelaide and St Kilda, and is currently coaching the AFLW Crows has also qualified. Another three club and AFL officials have been awarded life membership under the 'special services' banner, including Richmond club director Emmett Dunne, veteran Carlton administrator Shane O'Sullivan and current AFL boundary umpire Darren Wilson. Wilson is the first boundary umpire to receive the honor..
The 2021 Jack Titus Award winners are John Beveridge and Col Hutchinson. Beveridge began as a highly-rated coach in the South Metro Junior Football League in the 1960s before joining St Kilda to identify young talent in the club's zone. He currently works as a recruiter for the Saints.
In 1958, Hutchinson began a 61-year streak of attending all Geelong home games. The streak ended in 2020 when AFL matches proceeded without crowds due to the pandemic. He started as the Geelong Cats’ match-day statistician in 1974 and continued in that role until 2007. Hutchinson also served as a historian for the AFL 1992 5o 2019. He maintained all the VfL/AFL records. St Kilda and Geelong will present the Titus awards in a few weeks time.
LIFE MEMBERS
TRAVIS BOAK - Port Adelaide
283 games, 179 goals
20 preseason games
Three International Rules games 2914 and 2017
Club best and fairest 2014 and 20117
Played for Victoria in 2020
Port captain 2013 - 2018
MATTHEW CLARKE - current coach of AFLW Adelaide Crows
258 games for Brisbane, Adelaide and St Kilda, 38 goals
23 preseason games
Four State of Origin games 1995 - 1997 and 1999
Club best and fairest 1997 (Brisbane)
AFLW Adelaide premiership coach 2019
TOM HAWKINS - Geelong
277 games, 603 goals
24 preseason games
Premierships 2009 and 2011
All-Australian 2012, 2019 and 2020
Club leading goalkicker 2012 - 2020
John Coleman Medal 2020
Best and fairest 2012
2020 All Stars team
KEN HINKLEY - Port Adelaide Coach
132 games for Fitzroy and Geelong, 79 goals
Five preseason games
Three State of Origin games for Victoria 1991 and 1992
Geelong best and fairest 1992
All Australian 1991 and 1992
Geelong captain 1995
178 coached
SHANNON HURN - West Coast
286 games, 50 goals
22 preseason games
Premiership 2018
All-Australian 2018 and 2019 (vice-captain)
Captain 2015 – 2019
MARC MURPHY - Carlton
285 games, 189 goals
23 preseason games
Best and fairest 2011 and 2017
All- Australian 2011
2 International games 2008
Captain 2013 – 2018
JACK RIEWOLDT - Richmond
283 games for Richmond, 664 goals
19 preseason games
Premierships 2017, 2019 and 2020
All- Australian 2010, 2015 and 2018
John Coleman Medal 2010, 2013 and 2018
Best and fairest 201 and 2018
Two International games 2010
All Stars team 2020
HARRY TAYLOR - Geelong
280 games, 75 goals
27 preseason games
Premierships 2009 and 2011
All- Australian 2010 and 2013.
International games 2014 and 2015
Jim Stynes Medalist 2015 (best on ground in International game)
JUSTIN WESTHOFF - Port Adelaide
280 games, 313 goals
23 preseason games
Best and fairest 2018
EMMETT DUNNE - Richmond and Footscray
129 games, 63 goals 1976 - 1985
Footscray Reserves Captain/Coach 1986
Springvale (VFA) player 1987
Premiership with Richmond 1980
Premiership with Springvale 1987
Footscray Match Committee Chairman 1985-86
Richmond Reserves Coach 1988 - 92
Richmond Ruck Coach 1993 - 95
VFL/AFL Tribunal member 1997 - 2016
Richmond club Director 2016 – current (Risk, Compliance and Integrity Committee, Chairman History and Tradition Committee)
SHANE O'SULLIVAN
1979: Joined Carlton football department, primarily responsible for the Under-19 and reserves players
1981-82: Carlton assistant general manager and CEO
1983 -86: Footscray general manager and CEO
1987-92: Brisbane Bears general manager
1993: Oakleigh senior coach (VFA)
1994-2004: Carlton recruiting manager
2005-18: – Carlton administration manager
2019 - current: Carlton Spirit of Carlton manager (role services past players and life members)
2014 Jack Titus Award Winner
DARREN WILSON
404 AFL games umpired 1996-2016
48 finals (record)
1998-2009 Grand Finals (record 12)
1998-2003: SANFL Umpiring development officer
2010-16: AFL junior umpire mentor, U-16 and U-18 National Championships umpires’ coach
2017-19: AFLW boundary umpires coach
2019 - current: AFL boundary umpires' coach
JACK TITUS AWARD
John BEVERIDGE
1965-81: St Kilda club statistician for Footy Week
1967-81: Coach, St Peter’s Junior Football Club (South Metro JFL)
1982-91: St Kilda junior development program manager, with his focus on identifying and training talented U15-17 players in their zone. St Kilda was the first to appoint someone for this role. All clubs had such a person by the 1980's
1991-93: St Kilda recruiting officer
1994-2006: St Kilda recruiting manager
2007 - current: St Kilda recruiting team member
COL HUTCHINSON
1958 - Began his 61-year streak of attending all Geelong home games until the pandemic
1963 - Began his 56-year streak of attending all 1294 Geelong VFL/AFL games and home/away/finals until the pandemic
1974-2007: Geelong match day statistician
1992-2019: AFL historian, responsible for all AFL/VFL records maintenance - including 1996-2018 Australian Football Hall of Fame selection committee, statistics and records)
1986-2017: Chairman of Society of AFL Club Historians
Author, Cats’ Tales, A History Geelong FC 1897-1983 (published 1984)
Source: Nadine Rabah, AFL Media Release, afl.com.au
Article last changed on Monday, March 01, 2021 - 8:54 PM EST
