The AFL Commission confirmed their awards at their meeting late last year and the new Life Members will be welcomed and honoured at the Season Launch to be held in Melbourne on Thursday, March 9.
Steele was one of five inductees announced by the AFL today after reaching 300 total AFL games.
The now 32-year-old has played 289 games and 25 pre-season games for the Club across 14 seasons so far and was only a second-year player when he etched his name in the history of Collingwood as a member of the 2010 premiership side.
Inducted as a Life Member of Collingwood at the Club’s most recent AGM, Steele has achieved team and individual success which has included selection in the 2018 All Australian team, an Anzac Day Medal, a Gary Ayres Award and two Copeland trophies.
Eddie was awarded AFL Life Membership under the category of ‘Special Services to the Game’.
Eddie took over as President at Collingwood Football Club in 1998. At the time, the Club had 27,099 Members, building its membership to 85,226 Members in 2019.
While the crowning glory was the 2010 AFL Premiership, Eddie played a key role in progressing the Club and growing it from a single men’s football team to a Club housing eight teams – including men’s and women’s football teams, a netball team, a wheelchair and community football team – ensuring a broader and more inclusive Club.
He also oversaw the AFL program’s shift of home ground from Victoria Park to the MCG in 1999 and its complete departure from Victoria Park as a training venue for Olympic Park – a venue at the centre of Melbourne’s sporting precinct – in 2004.
The Club’s community programs, particularly the Magpie Nest homelessness initiative and the Barrawarn First Nations training program, were Eddie’s passionate interests.
GAMES QUALIFICATION
Steele Sidebottom
289 premiership games and 25 pre-season games for Collingwood
Premiership player, 2010
All-Australian, 2018
2 x Club Best and Fairest, 2017 and 2018
Gary Ayres Award, 2018
Anzac Day Medal, 2016
22under22 Team, 2012 and 2013
SERVCIE QUALIFICATION:
Eddie McGuire
Across his 23 years as Club President, Eddie oversaw:
- The 2010 AFL Premiership.
- Six grand final appearances (2002, 2003, 2010 x2, 2011, 2018).
- 13 finals campaigns.
- Collingwood’s move from Victoria Park to Olympic Park and the MCG.
- The drive to advance women’s sport including the introduction of AFLW and Super Netball to the Club in 2016.
- Introduction of Wheelchair and community football teams.
- Redevelopments of Victoria Park and Olympic Park and establishment of the Glasshouse.
- Collingwood becoming the first AFL Club to sell all of its gaming venues – and establishment of a Club Future Fund.
- The establishment of community programs including the Magpie Nest Program and the Barrawarn Program.
- The transformation of Collingwood from a suburban Club in the 1990s to one of the biggest sporting clubs in Australian sport.
Separate to Collingwood, Eddie has represented AFL football across many capacities, from a leadership perspective, his advocacy and within his media roles. This commenced with his early news reporter roles, to the host of the Footy Show from 1994 – 2005, radio (Triple M) and Fox Footy commentary, as well as numerous hosting and working roles across industry events.
In 2000, Eddie was honoured with the Australian Sports Medal for services to Australian Football and the Centenary Medal for services to the media and in 2004, he was inducted as a Life Member of the Collingwood Football Club.
