South Australian football champion Sonny Morey has been named the AFL's 2024 Sir Doug Nicholls Round honouree.
The Central District legend will be recognised at this year's AFL Dreamtime clash between Richmond and Essendon on the 25th of May at the MCG.
Morey was born at Yambah Station near Alice Springs and faced plenty of hardship growing up as a member of the Stolen Generations.
He is a revered figure of South Australian football after playing 213 SANFL games for the Bulldogs between 1964 and 1977 and becoming the first player at the club to reach the 200-game milestone.
The Arrernte man represented South Australia on four occasions and also produced tremendous football up in the country.
He man won the Norm Russell Medal as Central's best-and-fairest player in 1970 and was runner-up in the 1972 Magarey Medal.
After retiring from the SANFL, he joined Barossa and Light Football League club Eudunda as captain-coach and led the club to its first premiership in 18 years.
Morey would later play for the Salisbury Football Club in what was then known as the Northern Metropolitan Football League.
He said being the first player to reach 200 games at Central District was an "absolute honour".
"It's a lot different today – you can get 200 games up really quickly," Morey said.
"Not playing in finals, and if you're injured you might play ten out of the 18 games.
"To do it, I was pleased but somebody had to set a benchmark for the footy club."
Last year, he was inducted into the South Australian Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2023 inductees during the Magarey Medal awards night in Adelaide.
The AFL will celebrate and recognise those moments forged by First Nations people throughout Sir Doug Nicholls Round, which will be held over two weeks across Round 10 and 11.
