THE ELEVATION of Western Australian football great Bill Walker to Legend status kicked off an historic night on Tuesday as the game honoured modern-day great Gary Ablett jnr and West Coast icon John Worsfold among six new inductees in the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
Walker, whose elevation as the 34th Legend of Australian Football was first announced in February ahead of the AFL Origin clash in Perth, was celebrated as a champion rover and prolific goalkicker who remains the only four-time winner of the Sandover Medal.
>> READ MORE ABOUT THE 2026 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES BELOW
An inaugural inductee in the Hall of Fame in 1996, Walker joined fellow WA football greats Merv McIntosh, Graham Farmer and Haydn Bunton Snr with Legend status on a night that recognised immense contributions to the game across competitions and generations.
The other inductees were dual Essendon premiership defender Dustin Fletcher, Indigenous trailblazer and SANFL star David Kantilla, Port Adelaide goalkicking marvel Tim Evans, and five-time Grand Final umpire Hayden Kennedy, with Ablett joining his father, Gary Ablett senior, in the Hall of Fame immediately upon being eligible.
A member of Swan Districts' first ever premiership team in 1961, Walker won three consecutive flags with the WAFL club across 305 games between 1961-76, booting 456 goals and winning five club champion awards. He played 21 games for WA, winning a Simpson Medal in 1967 and All Australian selection in 1969.
The son of a Narembeen farmer in WA's wheatbelt, he dominated country football as a small and lightly built rover who had speed, endurance, and polished skills on both sides of his body.
Walker revolutionised WA football as a forward pocket in his early WAFL years, roaming widely through the forward line rather than staying in position next to the full forward. He became a full-time rover from 1965 and won his first Sandover Medal immediately as the WAFL's best and fairest player.
Now a grandfather of seven and great-grandfather of two, Walker is regarded as the greatest player to represent Swans and was president of the club from 1983-95.
Ablett jnr was the most recently retired of the 2026 Hall of Fame class, leaving the Gabba through a guard of honour after Geelong was defeated in the 2020 Grand Final and ending a sparkling 357-game career.
A dual Brownlow medallist and two-time premiership player, Ablett's extended dominance as a sublimely skilled and hard-working midfielder saw him recognised as an eight-time All Australian, six-time club best and fairest, five-time players' MVP and three-time coaches' best player.
One of the game's all-time greats, he arrived as a member of the 2001 'Super Draft' and the son of Geelong legend Gary Ablett senior, playing an initial 192 games for the Cats before joining Gold Coast at the peak of his powers for 110 games and then returning to the Cattery for 55 games at the end of his career.
His career turned at the end of 2006 when Geelong players challenged him to train with more intensity and become the club's Chris Judd, with Ablett elevating immediately to dominate the competition for more than a decade as a prolific midfielder who had a career-high 53 disposals in round 10, 2012, and 45 or more disposals on six occasions.
As arguably the most significant figure in West Coast history, Worsfold joins the Hall of Fame after a playing and coaching career that left an indelible mark on his club and the national competition.
Worsfold was a fierce and committed defender who captained the Eagles to their first two premierships in 1992 and 1994, playing 209 games, winning All-Australian selection twice, and laying the platform through his leadership for the club to become a powerhouse.
Appointed coach before the 2002 season, he took the team to finals in his first season and then the 2006 premiership, coaching for a club record 281 games until 2013 and returning to now serve as the Eagles' head of football.
He earns selection in the Hall of Fame given his stature and success at the club, which now names its cub champion award in honour of the WA football great.
Essendon champion Fletcher becomes the fourth member of the VFL/AFL 400-game club to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, joining Michael Tuck, Brent Harvey and official Legend Kevin Bartlett after a remarkable 23-season career that started with a premiership in his debut season of 1993.
A reliable and long-kicking backman, Fletcher's incredible reach and spoiling power tormented multiple generations of key forwards, including 1000-goal stars Tony Lockett and Lance Franklin, and he went on to win a second flag in 2000 under coach Kevin Sheedy.
An official Legend in the Bombers' Hall of Fame, Fletcher's career was ultimately ended by a groin injury in his 400th game, with the defensive general retiring in 2015 as a two-time All Australian who defied age to have a lasting impact as a player.
Two SANFL greats were inducted on Tuesday night, with Indigenous trailblazer Kantilla joined by Port Adelaide goalkicking marvel Evans.
Kantilla was a high-leaping and mobile ruckman from the Tiwi Islands who became a champion of South Australian football after heading south to play 113 games for south Adelaide between 1961-66.
A star member of the Panthers 1964 premiership team, he became the first Tiwi Islander player to have a substantive career in the SANFL, while also dominating football in the Northern Territory and becoming a legendary figure in the Top End across approximately 180 games with St Mary's.
Named in the Australian Football Indigenous Team of the Century in 2006, Kantilla paved the way for future greats to relocate from the Islands and is a Legend in the NTFL Hall of Fame.
Evans joins the Hall of Fame as one of only two players in SANFL history with more than 1000 goals to his name, with the powerful full forward revered as a four-time premiership player for Port Adelaide in 1977 and 1979-81.
Initially a defender with Geelong, Evans joined Port Adelaide in the mid-70s and was moved into attack by coach John Cahill in an inspired move that saw him lead the SANFL goalkicking in six seasons, booting 146 goals in 1980.
Named at full forward in Port Adelaide's Greatest Team, he led the club's goalkicking for nine consecutive seasons from 1977-85, also kicking 41 goals across 10 state games with South Australia.
The most recent umpire to be inducted in the Hall of Fame before Tuesday night was Brett Allen in 2017, with Kennedy becoming the 15th member of his cohort to earn the honour as part of the 2026 class.
Kennedy retired as an AFL umpire in 2011, holding the record at that stage of 495 games but falling five games short of a magical milestone due a persistent hamstring injury.
A five-time Grand Final umpire, Kennedy made his senior debut as a 22-year-old and was regarded as a hard trainer who had empathy for players and strong relationships with the game's combatants, umpiring in 39 finals and three state games.
He committed his career to umpiring, going on to coach the AFL umpires between 2013-21 and now holding the same position with the VFL whistleblowers.
2026 Hall of Fame inductees
BILL WALKER Read more about Australian football’s 34th Legend
GARY ABLETT JNR Read more about the football genius with an unrivalled CV
JOHN WORSFOLD Read more about the West Coast premiership player and coach
DUSTIN FLETCHER Read more about the 400-game Essendon champion
TIM EVANS Read more about the 1000-goal Port Adelaide SANFL hero
DAVID KANTILLA Read more about the Tiwi great who brought success to South Adelaide
HAYDEN KENNEDY Read more about the man with umpiring in his blood