SA Footy

One of North Adelaide's all time greats (and I don't say that lightly) Ron Phillips passed away yesterday (Thursday 11th January) at the age of 85.
Ron played 139 Games and kicked 209 Goals for North between 1940-42,46,1948-1953). He also played 1 Game and kicked one goal fo the N-NA combination during World War Two.
Ron boasted quite a resume when it came to accolades....
He won the Magarey Medal two years in a row firstly at Centre Half Back in 1948 and again in 1949 at Centre Half Forward.
Won North's Best and Fairest in both 1948 and 1949
Premiership Player in 1949 and 1952 (vice Captain in 1952)
North's Leading Goalkicker 1949-1952
Played 10 State Games
He was also named at Centre Half Back in North Adelaide's Team of the Century in 2000.

Ron loved North Adelaide and despite ill heath in later life attended The Team of The Century dinner, The 1952 Premeirship Reunion Dinner, the opening of the Legends room and The Fabulous Forwards Exhibition held at the Library in 2004. Ron was one of the six players featured in that Exhibition.
His achievement of winning consecutive Magarey Medals at Centre Half Back and then Centre Half Forward is unique, and I dare say it will be a while before it is equalled.
I had the honour of first meeting the man at the 1952 Dinner and it was a pleasure.
He was indeed one of the Club's True Greats.

Vale Ron Phillips

Sad news.
He is now officially a legend of the NAFC.

And he was only about 5 ft 10 inch tall - a very remarkable feat to hold down CHB and CHF and win the MM - even allowing for the fact players tended to be shorter back in those days.

RIP Rooster Legend.

Punk Rooster wrote:Sad news.
He is now officially a legend of the NAFC.

I have a feeling that when the NAFC Hall of Fame is finally revealed this year Ron will be in the initial 20
Another thing worth mentioning is that he retired from League Football in 1946, after a season filled with injuries (including a broken collarbone). He played at Modbury in 1947 but was talked into coming back to North in 1948. The man who talked him into coming back was Jack Forrester (who was North's secretary at the time and last year inducted into the SANFL Hall of Fame of which Ron was also a member).

One of the truly great North Adelaide players and one of the all-time great SANFL players....

Did he play much footy with Ian McKay, would have been a reasonable backline with those 2 champs in it.