Richard Jones | The Bendigo Football Netball League will induct its fifth group of Hall of Fame players and coaches this year.

BFNL general manager Cameron Tomlins said it was exciting to recognise a cross section of great identities who had shaped the league over a long period. “It is an exciting event and one looked forward to by footballers and netballers alike,” he said.

This year’s Hall of Fame inductees will be the fifth group elevated to the top level with the first BFNL Legends also to be named. There are 52 Hall of Famers listed in the BFNL to date with the previous induction evenings held in 1986, 1996, 2010 and 2014. A selection panel has been appointed by the BFNL board and includes chairman Peter Davey, Andrew Jakubans, Peter Tyack, Richard Jones, Ron Cawthan and Paul Byrne.

A netball appointee will be appointed in early June following the unavailability of selector Catherine Wicks. Mr Jakubans served as panel chairman in 2010 and 2014 with Mr Jones a selector in both 2010 and 2014. Mr Tyack was on the 2014 panel. BFNL general manager Cameron Tomlins will be the panel’s executive officer. As well as the latest group of Hall of Famers and the first Legends to be inducted the panel will also name a 22-strong Team of the Decade for the 2000s: 2010-2019.

It’s expected that all the BFNL Michelsen medallists from those seasons will be placed in the final side by the expert panel of selectors. Nominations for the 2019 Hall of Fame closed at the end of May. The Hall of Fame dinner to recognise the new inductees, the first Legends and the Team of the Decade members will be held in early November.