At tonight’s 2026 induction ceremony for the Australian Football Hall of Fame in Melbourne, Bill Walker, the only man in West Australian football history to have won four Sandover Medals was elevated to be the 34th Legend in the history of the game.
A further six new members were welcomed into the Hall of Fame with their careers spanning both the current national competition at AFL level and the histories of the state leagues.
The six new inductees are Gary Ablett Junior, Tim Evans, Dustin Fletcher, David Kantilla (deceased), Hayden Kennedy and John Worsfold.
The AFL Commission Chair Craig Drummond thanked fellow selectors Graham Cornes, James Gallagher, Ross Glendinning, Debbie Lee, Karen Lyon, Andrew McLeod, Simon Madden, Alister Nicholson, Michael O’Loughlin, Patrick Keane (secretary) and said he was delighted to welcome the 2026 inductees into the Hall of Fame.
"The Australian Football Hall of Fame honours those who stand above all others, whose deeds provide the platform for our continued growth and success in the future of Australian Football," Mr Drummond said.
"Tonight, we elevate Bill Walker to Legend Status, after his honour was announced earlier this year as part of the lead-up to the State of Origin match in Perth between Western Australia and Victoria.
"Bill is a champion of the state league era, well before the days of our current national AFL competition, and his record is quite astonishing – a 300-gamer, four-time Sandover Medallist as the best player in the WAFL, five-time club best and fairest with Swan Districts and triple premiership player.
"Our six new members who tonight come into the Australian Football Hall of Fame have done nearly everything in our game – playing, umpiring, coaching and blazing new trails for others to follow behind them.
"Premiership players, century goalkickers, best and fairest winners. Forwards, midfielders, ruckmen and defenders – the very best of footy.
"Their collective careers encompass both our current national AFL competition, as well as looking back into the rich histories of our senior state leagues.
"For every community club around Australia, both in our cities and in our regions that support the dreams of our young players, both boys and girls, I want to say a heartfelt thank you.
"The Hall of Fame is the pinnacle for our greatest players, but nothing is possible in our game without our community clubs, their volunteers and the central role they play in the start of the footy journey for every Hall of Famer," said Mr Drummond.
Bill Walker was elevated to Legend status following a remarkable contribution to football as a player, coach and administrator at Swan Districts. A four-time Sandover Medallist, five-time club best and fairest and three-time premiership player, Walker played 305 games and kicked 456 goals for Swan Districts, captained the club across four seasons and later served as coach and long-time president. He was named in the Swan Districts Team of the Century and is a Life Member of both the club and the WAFL.
Gary Ablett Junior headlines the inductees after a decorated 357-game AFL career across Geelong and Gold Coast, which included two premierships, two Brownlow Medals, eight All Australians and five AFLPA MVP awards. Dustin Fletcher was recognised following his 400-game career with Essendon and two premierships, while John Worsfold’s induction acknowledges his success as both a premiership captain and premiership coach at West Coast.
SANFL great Tim Evans was inducted after kicking more than 1000 goals for Port Adelaide across a celebrated career that included four premierships and multiple leading goalkicker awards, while Hayden Kennedy was recognised as one of the game’s great umpires after officiating a then-record 495 VFL/AFL matches, including five Grand Finals.
David Kantilla was posthumously inducted in recognition of his pioneering contribution as the first Tiwi Islands player to establish a substantial SANFL career. A premiership player with South Adelaide and a champion of St Mary’s in the NTFL, Kantilla was later named in both the Indigenous Team of the Century and NT Team of the Century.
The records of each inductee are as follows:
Legend Elevation
Bill Walker
305 games for Swan Districts 1961-76, 456 goals
21 games for WA
5x Best and Fairest 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970
1x Leading Goalkicker 1961 (61 goals)
3x Premierships player 1961, 1962, 1963
4x Sandover Medal 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970
Simpson Medal 1967 v SA
All Australian 1969
WAFL Best First Year Player 1961
Captain 1972-75
Swan Districts Team of the Century
Coached Swan Districts 1969-71, 63 games for 14 wins, 48 losses, one draw
President Swan Districts 1983-95
Life Member – Swan Districts, WAFL
Inductees
Gary Ablett Junior
357 games, 445 goals
Geelong Cats (247 games, 321 goals - 2002-10, 2018-20) / Gold Coast Suns (110 games, 124 goals - 2011-17)
2009, 2013 Brownlow Medal
2007, 2009 Premierships
2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017 Best and Fairest
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 All Australian
2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 AFLPA MVP
2007, 2008, 2009 AFLCA Best Player
2011-16 Gold Coast Captain
Tim Evans
59 games for Geelong 1971-74, 26 goals
232 games for Port Adelaide 1975-86, 1019 goals (second-most SANFL goals)
10 games for SA, 41 goals
1977, 1979, 1980, 1981 premierships
1977, 1978, 1980 (146), 1981, 1982 (125), 1984 (127) SANFL leading goalkicker
1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 Port Adelaide leading goalkicker
Port Adelaide FC Greatest Team (full forward)
3x century goalkicker 1980, 1982, 1984
Dustin Fletcher
400 games, 71 goals for Essendon 1993-2015
2x Premierships 1993 2000
1x Best and Fairest 2000
2x All Australian 2000 2007
David Kantilla (deceased)
113 games for South Adelaide 1961-66, 106 goals
180 (est) games for St Mary’s 1958-59 – 1968-69
4 Games for SA
South Adelaide Best and Fairest 1961, 1962
St Mary’s Best and Fairest 1960/61
South Adelaide Premiership 1964 (Best on Ground)
St Mary’s Premierships 1958/59, 1959/60, 1965/66 and 1966/67 (plus seven losing grand finals).
First Tiwi Island player with substantive career in the SANFL
Indigenous Team of the Century (Interchange)
NT Team of the Century (ruck, vice-captain)
NTFL Hall of Fame (Legend)
1968/69 St Mary’s Captain / Coach.
Hayden Kennedy
495 VFL/AFL games umpired 1988-2011, plus three state games (record-holder at retirement)
1995, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003 Grand Finals
39 Finals
1997 All Australian Umpire
AFL Umpires coach 2013 – 21
John Worsfold
209 games for West Coast 1987-98, 37 goals
Five games for WA
Two games for Australia
1992, 1994 Premierships
1988 Best and Fairest (re-named as the John Worsfold Medal)
1988, 1990 All Australian
Captain 138 games, 1991-98 (club record-holder)
Coach 281 games for West Coast 2002-13 (club record-holder)
2006 Premiership Coach
Coach 66 games for Essendon 2016-20
