Richmond great Matthew Richardson has revived the push for Saverio Rocca to be inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, arguing the former North Melbourne and Collingwood spearhead has been overlooked for far too long.
While Gary Ablett Jr and Dustin Fletcher were among the headline names in the latest group of inductees announced on Tuesday night, Rocca was again left out.
Rocca finished his AFL career with 770 V/AFL goals, placing him 17th on the all-time list. Geelong forward Jeremy Cameron has recently moved past him, but Rocca still sits ahead of notable names including Barry Hall, Stephen Kernahan, Wayne Carey and Peter Hudson, all of whom are already in the Hall of Fame.
Richardson highlighted what he sees as the key point in Rocca’s case: every eligible player in the top 30 goal kickers of all time has already been inducted, except Rocca. Players must be retired for five full seasons before they can be considered for Hall of Fame selection.
Speaking on 3AW, Richardson made his frustration clear.
“This is my case for why he should be in the Hall of Fame,” Richardson told 3AW.
“Sav Rocca is not in the Hall of Fame and every single year, I cannot believe it.
“If you look at the top 30 V/AFL goal kickers of all-time, Rocca is 17th.
“Out of that top 30, every single player that is eligible is in the Hall of Fame, except Saverio.
“I don’t know why he’s not in. I think he should be in. I think he is one of the stiffest omissions.
“The other guys in the top 30 who aren’t in, Lance Franklin’s not eligible yet, he’ll go straight in. Tom Hawkins, he’ll probably go straight in. Jack Riewoldt will go in. Josh Kennedy from the Eagles probably will and Taylor Walker will.
“They’ll all go in and Sav Rocca probably still won’t be in. I just don’t know why he’s not in.”
Rocca was a 10-time leading goal kicker across his time at Collingwood and North Melbourne. After finishing in the AFL, he also spent seven seasons in the NFL as a punter with Philadelphia and Washington.
Richardson knows exactly where Rocca stands among the game’s best goalkickers. He is 13th on the V/AFL all-time list himself and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.
This year, Ablett was the only first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee from the 2020 retirement class. Looking ahead, Hawthorn great Shaun Burgoyne and Carlton star Eddie Betts become eligible next year, with both widely expected to gain immediate induction.
That only sharpens the spotlight on Rocca’s absence, with Richardson making it clear he believes one of the game’s most prolific forwards deserves his place among football’s immortals.
