Six new inductees for NSW Hall of Champions

Six NSW sports greats are to be inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions at the rebel NSW Champions of Sport ceremony to be held at the International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour on 28th November.

Joining an illustrious alumnus of 388 sports greats from 59 sports are Brad Dalton (Basketball), Craig Johnston (Football), Phil Kearns AM (Rugby Union), Joanne ‘Joey’ Peters (Football), Prashanth Sellathurai (Gymnastics) and Liesl Tesch AM (Wheelchair Basketball & Para Sailing).

NSW Sport Hall of Champions Committee Chair, Alan Whelpton AO, said the accomplishments of the six inductees during their distinguished careers earned them worthy selection and noted “the six inductees are recognised for their outstanding sports careers which saw them reach the pinnacle of their chosen sport. They represented their country, state, sport, and themselves with distinction and inspired a new generation of athletes to follow in their footsteps.”

Sport NSW Chairperson, Carolyn Campbell, said the inductees reflected the inclusive nature of sport adding “sport has the great ability to bring together male and female players of all abilities, shapes, sizes and ethnic backgrounds and provide the opportunity to enjoy organised competitions and the ability to excel and reach the highest levels.

“These six new inductees to the NSW Hall of Champions have shown the way and we honour their selection.”

Basketball - Brad Dalton
Brad Dalton competed at two Olympic Games – 1984 and 1988, and two World Championships – 1982 and 1986 with the Boomers.

In 1979 he was part of the inaugural NBL season, beginning a 13-year career playing 290 games with the City of Sydney Astronauts, West Adelaide Bearcats, Sydney Supersonics, Geelong Cats and Sydney Kings.

The Boomers’ fourth placing at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games was their best ever international result, signalling their status as a rising team.

Football - Craig Johnston
Playing in the 1980s for one of the greatest UK teams in football history, Craig Johnston is the first Australian to play for Liverpool in the English First Division, achieving more than any Australian footballer of his generation.

In 271 appearances for Liverpool across seven years, the midfielder had victories in five League Championships, the European Cup, the FA Cup, two League Cups, two Charity Shields and scored 40 goals.

Growing up in Newcastle, NSW, Johnston’s junior career began with Lake Macquarie City in Newcastle.

In the 1983-1984 season, Johnston was a part of the Liverpool team that claimed the treble – League Champions, European Cup and the League Cup. While the European Cup is the jewel in football’s crown, scoring the winning goal against Everton at the 1986 FA Cup was a sweet personal moment for Johnston.

At age 27 Johnston retired in 1988.

A true entrepreneur, Johnston invented the Predator boot, taken on by adidas and made famous by players such as David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane.

He was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 2005.

Rugby Union - Phil Kearns AM
Australia’s most capped hooker, and arguably the world’s best at the time, Phil Kearns was a key part of the highly successful Wallabies team of the 1990s.

He played 67 Tests for Australia, 10 as captain, scoring 34 points in an 11-year international career from 1989 to 1999.

Phil Kearns was on the Wallabies triumphant 1991 and 1999 World Cup campaigns and played in the 1995 World Cup. He was on four Bledisloe Cup-winning teams - 1992, as captain in ‘94 and 98, and 1999.

He notched up 73 caps for the NSW Waratahs between 1989 and 1999, 28 as captain. He played for Sydney for three years.

Phil won Rugby’s greatest prize – the William Webb Ellis Cup – twice and was inducted into the Australian Rugby Hall of fame in 2018.

Wheelchair Basketball & Sailing - Liesl Tesch AM
Seven-time Paralympian in both basketball and sailing - Liesl Tesch has a record which may never be beaten.

She competed with the Australian women’s wheelchair basketball team, the Gliders at five consecutive Paralympic Games 1992 to 2008, winning silver in 2000 and 2004 and bronze in 2008. Liesl became the first woman to play wheelchair basketball professionally - playing internationally in men’s teams.

After retiring from basketball, Tesch won Paralympic gold sailing in the SKUD18 at the 2012 and 2016 Games with Daniel Fitzgibbon.

In 2017 she became the first wheelchair user to be elected to the NSW Parliament, representing the electorate of Gosford in the NSW Legislative Assembly

Football - Joanne ‘Joey’ Peters
A veteran of 110 'A' internationals, Joanne ‘Joey’ Peters was a pioneer of Australian women’s international football. She was one of the first to play professionally overseas - playing in the US and for the Brazilian team Santos in 2004.

Peters represented Australia in the 1999, 2003 and 2007 FIFA Women's World Cups. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the midfielder scored a goal in the preliminaries against the US. She played for the NSW Sapphires, Northern NSW Pride, Sydney United and Sydney Olympic and the Newcastle Jets.

She was awarded the Australian 2009 Women’s Footballer of the Year and named in the FFA Hall of Fame 2000's Team of the Decade.

Gymnastics - Prashanth Sellathurai
With five Commonwealth Games medals, three World Championship and five World Cup medals, Prashanth Sellathurai is one of Australia’s most decorated male gymnasts.

The pommel Horse specialist burst onto the scene in 2006 with a silver medal at the World Championships and two silver medals at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. A string of dominant performances around the globe followed, including World Cup silver in 2007 and gold in 2008, and winning the 2011 FIG World Cup Series on the Pommel Horse.

At the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 the Australian men’s team made history when they won gold, with Sellathurai playing a crucial role. He won gold in the pommel horse, took the bronze on Parallel Bars and qualified for the Rings final, finishing sixth at these Games.

A high point in Sellathurai’s career was winning back-to-back bronze at one of Gymnastics pinnacle events – placing 3rd on Pommel Horse at the 2009 and 2010 FIG World Championships.

With his strength, precision and stamina, Sellathurai has helped put Australia on the international gymnastics map. 

Hall of Champion inductees are approved by the Minister for Sport following recommendations from the Hall of Champions Selection Committee and NSW peak sporting bodies.

The NSW Hall of Champions  is located at the Quaycentre, Sydney Olympic Park.

Tickets to the rebel NSW Champions of Sport Ceremony are now available.