Life Member
Inducted 2021
Peter Sharley left, Simon Sharley middle, Neville Sharley right
President Michael Dadds writes;
Peter played 88 games for the Blacks from 1982 to 1988 as a dashing half-back flanker. He kicked zero goals. He was awarded a Full Blue in 1983, and also played state footy that year. A very fine player, his really enduring contribution to the Blacks has, however, been made off-field, over the past 11 consecutive years.
Peter re-engaged with the AUFC when his son Simon started playing for the club in 2008. He was appointed Club Doctor in 2010 and has occupied that position since. Sometimes he takes this responsibility way too seriously, for example last year he popped Payinem-in-the-@rse’s coach and key player Jace Bode’s dislocated shoulder back in, allowing him to return to the field to lead the forces of darkness to victory by 10 points – a fine (albeit stupid) example of the Blacks’ adage that winning isn’t everything. Surely the Universe was watching though.
Peter has been a Vice President, Senior Vice President, Blacks’ Committee member since 2014, and a member of the Executive Committee (Chairman) since 2017. He has raised many thousands of dollars for the Club through sponsorship negotiations. He is actively involved in AUFC Event planning, and has made the End of Year Presentation Dinner his own. He has literally been the driving force behind virtually all of the Blacks’ most meaningful initiatives in recent years. He has been a literal power-house. He spent the better part of 4 years of his life, never to be recovered, in order to bring the AUFC together at park 12. This has meant more to the club than just about any other project in recent history. He did it through sheer unrelenting force of will.
Peter received the AUFC Best Club Man Award in 2015, and the Outstanding Service Award in 2020. Peter has also served on the AU Blues Committee for 33 years. He received the AU Sport “Service to Sport” Award in 2012 in recognition of his dedication to that organisation. If life membership of the Blacks were awarded for volume of effort then Peter would have been inducted several years ago. He has, now, however, well and truly met the Blacks’ longevity criteria for life membership – strictly observed in order to preserve the integrity of this most illustrious of honours. Peter is truly one of the great contemporary Blacks volunteers.
Not known for emotional displays, induction into life membership of the World’s Greatest Football Club did, evidently, mean something to Peter. Quote: “I’m actually pretty chuffed to think that my name will be going on that board”. He is a cracker. Nobody deserves this honour more than Peter.