2024 Hall of Champions Inductee and Legend elevation

SYDNEY SWANS ACE PAUL KELLY ELEVATED TO HALL OF CHAMPIONS LEGEND STATUS

 Sydney Swans AFL great, Paul Kelly, will be officially recognised as a Legend of NSW Sport at the prestigious NSW Champions of Sport Ceremony at The Star Event Centre, Pyrmont, on Monday, November 25.

Kelly, considered one of the best AFL players of the mid-1990s, becomes the 25^th NSW athlete and the first AFL player to be elevated to NSW Legend Status.

As a NSW Hall of Champions Legend, Kelly joins the company of Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Jack Brabham, Dawn Fraser, Marjorie Jackson-Nelson, Ken Rosewall and Louise Sauvage and others in the highest echelon of NSW sport.

From NSW’s Riverina district, Kelly played junior football with the Wagga Tigers, where he quickly graduated to senior ranks, winning the club's Best and Fairest Award in 1989.

Selected for the Sydney Swans in 1990, the midfielder played 234 games and kicked 200 goals until his retirement in 2002. He was named Sydney Swans Best and Fairest player four times and chosen in the All-Australian side for three successive years from 1995 to 1997. 

Appointed captain in 1993, Kelly led the Swans through four Finals series between 1996 and 1999 and remains the club’s longest serving captain. Nicknamed ‘Captain Courageous’, he was voted by his peers as the Most Courageous Player a record five times and was twice named All-Australian captain.

A fearless player with explosive speed, strong marking and fierce tackling, Kelly’s greatest individual honour came in 1995 winning the Brownlow Medal, awarded to the Best and Fairest player in the AFL national competition. 

His legacy continues with the Paul Kelly Cup, the largest AFL primary school competition in NSW and the ACT. The Player’s Tunnel at the Sydney Cricket Ground is named The Paul Kelly Race in his honour. 

Kelly was named on the Swans Team of the Century, inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2007, and made a Legend of the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

The Awards ceremony will also celebrate five NSW sports greats inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions. They are Suzy Batkovic (Basketball), Alex Blackwell (Cricket), Murray Braund (Surf Lifesaving), Pattie Dench (Sport Pistol) and Tim Gavin (Rugby Union).

NSW Hall of Champions Committee Chair, Alan Whelpton AO, said the elevation of Kelly to Legend status and the accomplishments of the five inductees during their distinguished careers earned them worthy selection.

“Paul enjoyed a remarkable career with the Sydney Swans and his legacy proudly lives on through the Paul Kelly Cup,” said Whelpton.

“The five new inductees Suzy Batkovic, Alex Blackwell, Murray Braund, Pattie Dench and Tim Gavin reached the pinnacle in their chosen sport and paved the way for the next generation of athletes to aspire to reach greatness,” he added.

Sport NSW Chief Executive, Stuart Hodge, paid tribute to Kelly and to the five new inductees.

“Paul’s contribution and influence on the Sydney Swans and AFL more broadly has been, and continues to be, immense. He joins an elite company of NSW sports stars who have deservedly been elevated to Legend status,” said Hodge.

“We also welcome Suzy, Alex, Murray, Pattie and Tim into the Hall of Champions. They join other NSW sports greats who have served NSW and Australian sport with honour and distinction,” added Hodge. 

The gala Ceremony dinner will also celebrate the achievements of NSW athletes, coaches, administrators, and organisations across 12 Award-winning categories including Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Year with a Disability. 

The five inductees to the Hall of Champions are:

Suzy Batkovic - Basketball

With three Olympic Games medals, a FIBA World Championship bronze, three International Player of the Year Awards and all-time leading scorer in the WNBL, Suzy Batkovic is one of Australia’s greatest women’s basketball players.

Playing for the Opals, Suzy won bronze in the 2002 World Championships and three Olympic medals, winning silver in 2004 and 2008, and bronze in 2012.

Suzy’s international career spanned seven years in Europe, between 2002 and 2009, with four Championships to her name, including a coveted Euroleague Championship. 

In her 16-season Australian WNBL career, Suzy secured five titles, six MVP awards, and a record 29 Finals appearances. She played for the Sydney Uni Flames, the Sydney Panthers, the Townsville Fire, the Canberra Capitals, and the Adelaide Lightning. Her legacy endures through the Suzy Batkovic Medal for the MVP in the WNB League. 

Suzy was elected as a Townsville City Councillor in 2020. She was inducted into the Basketball NSW and Basketball Australia Halls of Fame and appointed to the Basketball Australia Board in 2023. 

Alex Blackwell – Cricket

In an international career spanning 15 years, Alex Blackwell played 251 matches for Australia across Test, One-Day International and Twenty20 formats. 

Australia’s 17^th women’s Test captain, and the first Australian woman to play over 200 international matches, Alex scored more than 5,000 runs, won five World Cups and captained Australia to their first T20 World Cup victory in 2010.

Alex made three ODI centuries. Her first two were in 2008 and her third ODI century, and her highest international score of 114, came in 2016 against India.

The leading run-scorer for the NSW Breakers between 2001 and 2018, Alex won an incredible 13 Women’s National Cricket League titles, including seven as captain. 

Alex captained the Sydney Thunder to victory at the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League in 2015. The Thunder WBBL Player of the Year award is named the Alex Blackwell Medal in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the game.

Alex was the first woman elected to the Cricket NSW Board and she has been a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in sport. 

 Murray Braund – Surf Lifesaving

In a career spanning 1969 to the mid-1980s, Murray Braund is considered the best surf ski paddler of his generation, with victories in three World, seven Australian and 13 New South Wales Championships.

In 1972-73, Murray became the first competitor in Australian Championships to win both the Open Single and Double Surf Ski titles at the same championship. He claimed both these titles again the following year. He won the Single Ski Teams event in South Africa with Ken Vidler at the inaugural World Life Saving Championships in 1974. 

In 1972, Murray was awarded the Royal Humane Society of NSW Bronze Medal for rescuing and resuscitated a young girl at Collaroy Beach. 

He instigated and ran the Australian Surf Ski Challenge in 1982 – a 254 km, four-day event from Forster to Sydney.

Murray won three World Masters titles and has been inducted into the SLSA Hall of Fame.

Pattie Dench – Sports Pistol

Pattie Dench dominated Pistol Shooting in Australia from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. 

She won Australia’s first Olympic Games medal in Shooting when claiming the bronze in Sports Pistol at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. She has also won three silver World Championship medals, considered the peak competition for shooters.

Pattie’s achievements are remarkable considering she only started shooting at age 42 in 1974.

She won silver in both the 25m Sport Pistol and the 10m Air Pistol Teams in her first World Championship in 1978 and won World Championship silver again the following year in the 10m Air Pistol.

The 25m Shooting Range at the Sydney International Shooting Centre is named in her honour.

Tim Gavin – Rugby Union

Tim Gavin was considered one of the best number eights in world rugby during his eight years with the Wallabies. He played 76 times for the Wallabies - including 47 Tests, between 1988 and 1996.

Tim played in the historic 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, attended by Nelson Mandela. In the Australian off-seasons he played for Milan in Italy between 1992 and 1995 and was in the inaugural Tri-Nations Series in 1996.

Born in Gilgandra, Tim attended The Scots College, Sydney where he was a State and National Schoolboy Rugby player, later joining the Eastern Suburbs Club. 

As a Waratah, Tim played 83 games for NSW, serving time as captain and was its inaugural Super Rugby captain in 1996. He was a member of the great undefeated 1991 team, with wins against England, Wales, Argentina, New Zealand, and Queensland.

Tim was named a Classic Wallabies Statesman by Australian Rugby and was President of the NSW and Australian Rugby Union. 

The NSW Hall of Champions is located at Quaycentre at Sydney Olympic Park.

For tickets to the prestigious Ceremony, go to https://www.sportnsw.com.au/events/249722

Further information: Greg Campbell, PRISM Strategic Communications, Ph: 0418 239 139