RICK Davies was a champion for Sturt in the 1970s, an era when South Australia produced some of the great players of the time.
Davies was a powerhouse ruckman for the Double Blues, a dual premiership player and seven-time best and fairest winner who watched with envy over the years as playing compatriots such as Graham Cornes, Peter Carey and Russell Ebert were inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
"I suppose you see the other guys get in and you hope it can happen to you in your lifetime," he said. "Now that it has, I'm humbled and honoured."
There is no question that Davies deserves to be inducted. He made his debut in 1970 (Woodville's Ray Buckley, father of Collingwood coach Nathan, was his direct opponent). In 1973 he started his streak of seven Sturt best and fairest awards in the next eight years.
Davies was the premier ruckman in the SANFL. At 188cm, he wasn't necessarily the tallest, but he was nimble and athletic and he used the rules of the time to his best advantage.
"There were no lines across the centre, so you could manoeuvre your body to beat the useless taller blokes," he said.
"The line has taken away the art and technique of rucking, in my opinion."
Davies joined Sturt at the tail-end of a glorious streak when the Double Blues won five straight flags. He missed out in 1970, but made amends in 1974 and 1976 - and both were significant.
In 1974, Sturt won the first Grand Final to be held at Football Park (now AAMI Stadium), while two years later came the especially sweet triumph over Port Adelaide by 41 points in front of a crowd of 66,897. So large was the turnout that spectators were sitting two deep inside the playing arena.
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Congrats to the Jumbo Prince, a worthy inductee
