Jake Niall June 17, 2012



THE Western Bulldogs are pushing for one of football's forgotten stars, century goalkicker and Brownlow medallist, Kelvin Templeton, to be included in the AFL Hall of Fame ''sooner rather than later''.
Templeton is one of only four players to have won both the Brownlow and the Coleman medals - others are Tony Lockett, Malcolm Blight and Bernie Quinlan, with Collingwood's Des Fothergill winning the goalkicking (pre-Coleman medal) and Brownlow.

But he is the only one of that group who has been overlooked by the Hall of Fame. Templeton finished up as a player at Melbourne in 1986, having crossed from Footscray in a deal that saw him and Collingwood's Peter Moore join the Demons on huge contracts.

While Templeton has been nominated by the Dogs, he has not had his case pushed strongly in public forums and is not as closely identified with the club as other players who spent their entire careers at Footscray/Western Bulldogs. Bulldogs chief executive Simon Garlick said yesterday the club would be ''strong advocates'' for Templeton's elevation to the Hall of Fame.

''We obviously would be strong advocates for Kelvin's elevation,'' he said.
''We're sure it will happen at some stage, given he's one of the rare players who've won both the Brownlow and the Coleman and was a phenomenal player for our football club.
''We'd be keen for that to be sooner rather than later.''
Garlick said Templeton was in the club's own Hall of Fame.
Templeton, who served as chief executive of the Sydney Swans, has been attending Bulldogs games regularly this year.

Today, Templeton is expected to join several past best and fairest winners in forming a guard of honour for the late Charlie Sutton.
Ex-Bulldogs coach Terry Wallace, who upset the administration when he walked out of the club in 2002, will be among the former best and fairest winners who will be part of the line honouring Sutton at today's game against Port Adelaide.
In Sunday Age opinion, I assess why some players seemingly worthy of Hall of Fame inclusion have yet to be admitted.
''The politics of it does get in the way,'' Wallace says.
He added that once he had left Hawthorn, the chances of him later making that club's team of the century (2001) ''was virtually zero''.