Football legend Barrie Robran, whose career was marked with a statue outside Adelaide Oval, dies

South Australian football legend Barrie Robran has died, age 77.

Robran played for North Adelaide between 1967 and 1980, and served as a playing-coach for the final three years of his career.

He was honoured with a statue outside Adelaide Oval in 2014.

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He was the first footballer to receive a statue at the redeveloped Adelaide Oval.

Robran won three Magarey Medals, given to the best player of the SANFL season, won two SANFL premierships, and was a seven-time North Adelaide best and fairest winner.

Hailing from Whyalla, he was inducted into the Australian football Hall of Fame in 1996 and elevated to Legend status in 2001.

He represented South Australia 17 times, captaining the side in 1974.

Robran sits alongside Sir Donald Bradman and Bart Cummings as legends in the South Australian Sports Hall of Fame.

In a statement, AFL chief Andrew Dillon paid tribute to Robran.

"This is a terribly sad day for South Australian football, as Barrie Robran was the outstanding player in a time when the game was built around state pride, and testing yourselves at a state level against the best from around the country," Dillon said.

"While fans in other states may argue over who were their best-ever players, that same debate has always been absent in Adelaide as any South Australian who saw Robran play simply defers to him as the greatest.

"That includes his opponents and contemporaries in SA football, who always placed him first on the podium and marvelled at his ability to play both on the ball and at centre half-forward with aplomb. Those who watched him, and played with and against him, talk of his complete skill-set as an elite high-mark, two-sided with both hand and foot, courageous, one-touch when gathering the ball and an elite football IQ that always had him at the centre of the action, with the ability to dominate the key moments as he did in the premierships of 1971 and 1972.

"Off the field, he always remained humble and served the game in numerous off-field roles, at his beloved North Adelaide, while also serving as a state selector for SA.

"Barrie will be deeply missed and remembered as one of the very greatest the game has produced in Australia, and we send our best wishes to all the Robran family in this difficult time."