Hell ! I knew he had cancer, but it’s still a shock. I saw just about every match that Ian played for us. He was one of the greatest of the great. The famous half-back line, Epis - Shelton - Davis, has lost its heart.
He was a hard footballer, hard as nails. He was also one hell of a nice bloke. I had a long conversation with him at an Essendon function some years ago, covering every topic under the sun. I remember calling him “Bluey” and he politely asked me not to call him that. His name was Ian, he said, his friends never called him “Bluey” — that was just a piece of marketing bulldust.
Requiescat in Pace, Ian Shelton.