In becoming Collingwood’s 55th Hall of Fame inductee, Scott Burns paid tribute to several key figures that played vital roles in his outstanding career.

Burns, 37, highlighted Gavin Brown and Nathan Buckley, who were his captains in all bar one year of his career, as the players who set the standard for him during his 264 games.

“I just loved the way Browny went about it, I really did. Browny was a lot quieter than probably Bucks, but (it was) the way he went about it,” Burns told collingwoodfc.com.au moments after he was honoured at the Crown Palladium.

“I remember we played a game at Victoria Park and American Footballer Joe Montana was watching.

“Browny took his trademark two or three marks running back with the flight of the ball and Joe Montana signed Brown’s jumper basically saying something along the lines of ‘you’ve got balls’.

“Joe saw that for one game but I saw it the whole time I played with Browny. That was a privilege.”

“Nathan is just a completely different beast. He’s the only player I’ve seen who can kick five goals from full forward or six at centre half forward, average 30 disposals as a midfielder and defeat Matty Richardson and Wayne Carey as a centre half back.

“There aren’t too many players who can do that. It was a real honour to play alongside Nathan.”

View all 55 members of the Collingwood Football Club Hall of Fame.

Burns refused to restrict recognition to his teammates, nominating several of the club’s sport science staff that he attributes with the prolonging of his 14 year career.

“There’s no doubt that David Buttifant (sport science director), Mick Dugina (his assistant), Dave Francis (physiotherapist) and Gary Nicholls (physiotherapist) really kept me on track. I had a masseur who I saw once a week who was fantastic.

“I reckon in my last five or six years they really helped me a lot off field in terms of getting my body right week in week out with my training load and massaging and stretching one-on-one. No one ever complained when they did it so they certainly extended my career by three or four years.”

Burns was one of three Collingwood legends to be inducted on Monday night.

The occasion marked Burns’ first appearance at the club since his retirement speech at the 2008 Copeland Trophy. Despite his absence, due mostly to his role as an assistant coach with the West Coast Eagles, Burns said he still takes much joy from the successes of those he used to play alongside.

“I really do enjoy watching Harry, Pendlebury, ‘Daisy’, I love the fact that Marty Clarke’s back, ‘Tazza’ has come back, ‘Johnno’, ‘Dids’ and ‘Maxy’.

“I still see them and still enjoy their success and hope that they always do well.”