Dunstall kicked 1254 goals to be the third greatest VFL/AFL goalkicker of all time and a four-time premiership hero with Hawthorn in a decorated 269-game career between 1985 and 1998.
In a touching speech, the champion full-forward spoke about his new status in the Hall of Fame, some of his best Hawthorn memories and what the sport as a whole means to him.
On how Legend status sits with him and his first few years at the Hawks
“It was interesting listening to Ayresy’s words (Gary Ayres). There’s a lot of work that has gone into it, I must admit. I didn’t exactly knock everyone over with my athletic ability when I came down. I think our very first session, the first time I started, we did a five-kilometre time trial which was 12 and a half laps of a 400-metre circumference at Glenferrie Oval and I got lapped by everybody and half a dozen lapped me twice which immediately meant I was in the extra running group. They would have extra groups on the weekend. Back then in pre-season, you’d train five nights a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday would be running groups and on Tuesday and Thursday, you’d work on your skills. But for those who missed a session, you’d have to do an extra running session on the weekend and I immediately got put into that group despite the fact I was doing the five (sessions) during the week. We’d go down to Sandringham and run through the bushes, there’s trails up on the cliff and you’d do sprints down the ramps and back up and the first time I went there, I got lost. I had to actually work my way back to the road to get back to the carpark where we started. Even when I’d gone, I’d gotten an absolute bake from Allan Jeans that I was wasting his time, so it’s fair to say I was coming from a long way back.”
