Nick Riewoldt sets staggering first in Hall of Fame honour

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Star Channel 7 commentators and football champions Nick Riewoldt, Luke Hodge and Erin Phillips have been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Phillips, one of the greatest AFLW players of all time, is the second woman to enter the Hall of Fame, while Riewoldt, quite remarkably, became the first No.1 draft pick to be inducted.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nick Riewoldt inducted into Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Riewoldt was eligible for the award two years ago but was unable to take part in the ceremony because he was living in the US.

On Tuesday night in Melbourne, he was the first player at the event to be honoured with his overdue award.

Riewoldt holds St Kilda's record for the most games as captain, with 221 of his 336 matches.

The key forward was a five-time All-Australian who went agonisingly close to a premiership, playing in St Kilda's draw and two losses across 2009-10.

Riewoldt said he had made his peace with not being able to help the Saints win their elusive second flag

"Rather than feeling like I walked away with the game still owing me something, I walk away feeling like the game gave me absolutely everything," he said.

After he was taken with the No.1 draft pick in 2000, the Queenslander booted 718 goals for St Kilda.

He was captain of the club in 2005 and from 2007-16, and was a six-time best-and-fairest winner.

Veteran AFL journalist Caroline Wilson congratulated Riewoldt on his amazing career.

"There he is ... our Monday night (Agenda Setters) colleague, the 300-plus gamer," Wilson said.

"He has just been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame. There he is with his family. He's got two tables there. There he is with (AFL chair) Richard Goyder. Of course, inducted two years ago, but back in Australia and able to accept the award, the first No.1 draft pick to actually become elevated into the Hall of Fame."

Phillips is not only the second woman inducted, but becomes the first father-daughter combination.

The Adelaide and Port Adelaide star was a marquee name when the AFLW started in 2017 and she joins women's pioneer Debbie Lee, who was inducted four years ago.

Phillips paid an emotional tribute to her dad Greg, and Lee, who were at Tuesday's annual induction dinner in Melbourne, in her acceptance speech.

"To Dad, I can't imagine how hard it would have been to tell your 13-year-old daughter that she couldn't play the game she loves any more," she said.

"And 27 years later, she's standing next to you in the Hall of Fame."

Phillips thanked the "incredible women" who made the AFLW possible and singled out Lee.

"You kicked down this door so others could walk through," she said. "I'm so proud to be by your side and I can't wait to kick down more doors with you Deb."

Phillips ended her stellar playing career at the end of 2022. The five-year player eligibility rule for the Hall of Fame was changed for women last year. AFLW players can now be inducted within a year of retirement and she was an obvious candidate.

Her father, Port Adelaide great Greg, was inducted in 2020. Fos and Mark Williams, Hayden Bunton Sr and Jr and umpires Jack McMurray Sr and Jr are the father-son inductees.

Phillips was Adelaide's inaugural captain and the first women's best and fairest winner, playing in three Crows flags despite needing a knee reconstruction.

She then switched to Port Adelaide when they joined the league in 2022.

When the women's league started in 2017, marquee players such as Phillips were crucial for its profile and credibility.

Phillips, a former WNBA and Australian basketballer, immediately established herself as one of the AFLW's elite players.

Hodge, of course, is also a No.1 draft pick and had a glittering career with Hawthorn after he was taken with the first pick in the 2001 'Super draft'.

He played in four premierships player with Hawthorn and was captain of the club's 2013-15 three-peat.

He was also a three-time All Australian, a dual Norm Smith medallist (in the 2008 and 2014 grand finals), and a dual club champion.

Also on Tuesday night, South Australian goalkicking machine Ken Farmer was elevated to legend status.

Farmer, who died in 1982, is the SANFL's most prolific goalkicker, with 1417 for North Adelaide from 1929-41 in 224 games at an extraordinary average of 6.33 per game.

He was never goalless in a game and coached the Roosters to two premierships.

Seven-time East Perth premiership player George Owens was this year's first historical inductee.

Apart from his swathe of premierships at East Perth and the 1925 Sandover Medal, Owens also umpired five WAFL grand finals.