Ron Adair

Northern Ireland-born Ron Adair first played in Western Australia nearly 70 years ago when he joined Victoria Park in 1949.

He made his State debut at the age of 19 against an Australian eleven. He won First Division titles with North Perth (1952) and Swan Athletic (1957) and won the Ledger Medal for the 'Fairest and Best' player in three successive years - 1953 (North Perth), 1954 (Maccabeans) and 1955 (Azzurri).

As a defender he was known as the 'Iron Man' and was celebrated for his prodigious leap, often outjumping players much taller than him.

He has the distinction of playing in every State match during his WA career, being selected on 23 occasions, eleven of those as captain.

He was in charge of WA when it finished runner up to New South Wales in the Inter-States carnival in Adelaide in 1954 when he was named the tournament's 'Best player'.

He represented Australia on 13 occasions, making his debut in Adelaide in a 5-0 win over China and capped off a fine performance by being named the 'Find of the Match'.

He captained Australia against Vienna Rapid (1955) and Hearts (1959).