AFL North Coast's Ackerly Colliver medal named in honour of Macleay Valley Eagles AFL club stalwarts Kevin Ackerly and Ronda Colliver

One untold story may attest to this.

When camping at Longreach, Queensland, Kevin noticed an abandoned dog constantly roaming around the grounds for two days.

The dog would scurry back into the wilderness when the time came.

Seeing how lost the dog was, Kevin took him to the vet, travelled with him back to South West Rocks in 2016 and has been his ever since - aptly naming him Longreach.

There are many stories attesting to the marvellous character of both Kevin and Ronda with the dynamic duo putting time and effort into supporting Macleay Valley youth over several years.

The two were the heart and soul of the Macleay Valley Eagles AFL club, leading various teams to premierships and importantly providing support for local youth.

Now, Ronda and Kevin have officially been honoured by AFL North Coast with the under 13s best & fairest award named the Ackerly Colliver medal.

"It's nice to be thought of, the work we did was more than just football," Kevin said to the Argus.

"I came from a poor background and I know what it means to have people take an interest in you.

"I know how much Ronda put into it, we've been together for 30 years and had the same interests, she really wanted to help the community in different ways whether that be her work at the op shop or when we volunteered at PCYC."

AFL Northern NSW community football and competition manager, Paul Taylor, said planning for the medal started last year but COVID put that to one side.

2021 being the 40^th season for AFL North Coast meant they wanted to do something special.

A lunch at South West Rocks Tavern left Kevin "speechless" after the idea was put forward to him.

"Unfortunately it didn't come back on our radar until Ronda passed," Mr Taylor said.

"He was a bit speechless, he's a very mild mannered and modest guy but he said he was really touched.

"We said we'd like it to be the age group that has the most relevance for you and Ronda."

"He sat and thought for a bit and settled on under 13s because he'd coached 13s to a couple of premierships and fits the Paul Kelly Cup age group which they'd been instrumental in getting teams down to state titles."

Kevin and Ronda's work at PCYC Kempsey also saw them work closely with youth in that age group.

The inaugural Ackerly Colliver medal winner was Isaac Luke from Port Macquarie Magpies.

Locally, Riley Bechaz-Hatton from South West Rocks Dockers finished third in the under 11s best & fairest.

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