HUMBLING EXPERIENCE AS SPORTS GREATS ELEVATED TO NEXT LEVEL
COLLECTIVELY they’ve won NRL and AFL grand finals, conquered the world, broken down barriers in women’s sport and excelled in every avenue of their decorated careers.
But being recognised on the Queen’s Birthday honour list? That news humbled them like nothing they’d experienced before.
Nine of Australia’s finest sportsmen and women were recognised on Monday, receiving awards for outstanding service or achievement in the community.
Rugby league great Ricky Stuart was awarded the honour of Member of the Order (AM), as were motorsport icons Larry Perkins and John Bowe.
“I thought they must’ve called the wrong bloke,” laughed Perkins, a former Supercars and Formula One driver and six-time winner of the Bathurst 1000.
“For everyone who gets a gong there’s far more out there who are just as deserving who don’t get it.
“And that always sits uncomfortably with me. If you’ve been fair and had a good attitude and you got on with it, why should one bloke get a gong when another doesn’t? But I’m very happy that someone seems fit to recognise that maybe I did do more than I needed to do. I won’t be knocking it back!”
Stuart, who has won NRL titles as a player and coach and starred for NSW and Australia, was recognised for his significant service to the community through the Ricky Stuart Foundation, which is aimed at raising the awareness of autism and helping those living with disabilities.
“I don’t think (this honour has come) for the amount of tries I scored,” Stuart said. “I enjoy helping others, especially those who can’t help themselves. The foundation gives me that opportunity.
“Being awarded the honour is such a humbling experience. When I first found out I was very, very proud.”
Legendary Indigenous AFL star Michael Long was one of six sports stars to be given a new title of Medal of the Order (OAM), along with Socceroos great Robbie Slater, basketball star-turned-AFLWtrailblazer Erin Phillips, five-time NRL champion Glenn Lazarus, women’s rugby league pioneer Ruan Sims and sports administrator Tony Cochrane.
Slater won an English Premier League title with Blackburn and represented Australia 44 times, but said this acknowledgment outweighed anything he achieved on the football pitch.
“So many people think they’re owed things, but football owes me nothing because the game has given me everything – and it’s now given me something else that is so, so special … something that’s bigger than anything I ever did as a player,” Slater said.
Lazarus said: “I’m very surprised but very honoured. It’s a real privilege.”