Four new Life Members have been inducted at the 2015 Crows Club Champion presentation.
Players Jason Porplyzia, Nathan van Berlo and Richard Douglas, and long-serving trainer Matthew Norris have all been recognised with Life Membership for their outstanding contribution to the Club.
Porplyzia, who retired at the end of the 2014, played 130 games for the Crows in 10 seasons. The dead-eye forward kicked 181 career goals – ranked 10th all-time at the Adelaide.
Skilful and strong overhead, Porplyzia overcame injuries to establish himself as a premier small forward of the competition. He’s fondly remembered for helping to guide the Crows to finals in 2008 despite a recurring dislocated shoulder.
In 2009, the fan favourite topped the Club’s goalkicking, finished runner-up in the Crows Club Champion award, won the Coaches Award and was selected in the All Australian squad of 40.
Van Berlo, 29, became the 14th Crow to reach the 200-game milestone in Round 23 this season.
Recruited with pick No.24 in the 2004 National Draft, the highly-respected midfielder captained the Crows between 2011 and 2014.
He finished second in the best and fairest in 2011, claiming the Showdown Medal for a best-on-ground performance against Port Adelaide along the way. Hard working and dedicated, van Berlo received the Dr Brian Sando OAM Trophy last year for his professional approach to rehabilitation from a serious Achilles injury.
Douglas, 28, has played 171 games since being selected with pick No.16 in the 2005 National Draft.
The goalkicking midfielder won the Crows Club Champion award in 2010 and finished runner-up to Rory Sloane in 2013, when he was also included in the All Australian squad. He’s a two-time winner of the Crows Coaches Award (2008 and 2010) and won Adelaide’s Best Team Man award in 2013.
A past member of the senior leadership group, the hard-running onballer signed a new three-year deal in June, which will likely see him finish his career as a one-club player.
Norris is a 20-year servant of the Adelaide Football Club.
He joined the Crows as a sports trainer in late 1993 and has been a loyal, reliable and hard-working member of the Football Department since. The only time the popular Club man has spent away from West Lakes was in 2002 when he took leave for several months to travel the world with former world No.1 tennis player and Adelaide’s No.1 ticket holder, Lleyton Hewitt, as his personal masseur.
A Level Two sports trainer, Norris has worked at hundreds of games both home and away. In addition to his pre/post-game and training day duties, players often seek him out for massage out of hours such is his expertise and the level of respect for him.
Criteria for Adelaide Football Club Life Membership is 10 years of service at the discretion of the Board.
Adelaide Football Club Life Members
1995: McDermott, C.S
1996: Jarman, A.N
1996: McGuinness, A.B
1999: Bickley, M.A
1999: Smart, N.J
1999: Liptak, M.G
1999: Jameson, R.P
1999: Pittman, D.M
1999: Tregenza, S.L
2000: Hart, B.M
2000: Rehn, S.J
2000: Hammond AM, R.A
2000: Campbell OAM, R.E*
2000: Sanders, W.B
2001: Ricciuto, M.A
2003: Basheer AM, M.R
2003: McLeod, A.L
2004: Edwards, T.R
2005: Goodwin, S.M
2006: Bean, D.F
2006: Leahy, R
2007: Goudge, G*
2007: Sheppard, A
2008: Robran, M.C
2008: Jarman, D.R
2008: Bassett, N.W
2008: Perrie, I.M
2008: Sando OAM, Dr. B.G*
2008: Modra, A.D
2009: Burton, B.T
2009: Downs, B.J
2009: Jaques, T.D
2010: Reid, J.A
2010: Doughty, M.J
2010: Shirley, R.J
2010: McGregor, K.D
2011: Johncock, G.R
2011: Gerard, R AO
2011: Hurley, P.J
2011: Sutton, J.S
2011: Payze, A.J
2011: Ballestrin, M
2011: Pilkington, A.E
2011: Rutherford, G.P
2012: Rutten, B
2012: Reilly, B.C
2012: Trigg, S.G
2012: Whitford, K
2012: McAvaney, S
2012: Carter, D
2013: Cornes, G OAM
2013: Del Bono, V
2014: Thompson, S
2015: Douglas, R
2015: Norris, M
2015: Porplyzia, J
2015: van Berlo, N
*Deceased
