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Full name
Les Gardiner
Known as
Les Gardiner
Born
25 January 1923
Died
26 December 2012 (aged 89)
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 20y 103d
Last game: 30y 223d
Height and weight
Height: 173 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Senior clubs
Essendon
Jumper numbers
Essendon: 11, 18
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Essendon | V/AFL | 1943, 1945-1953 | 166 | 0 | 0.00 | 70% | 14.00 | — | 2.00 | 19 |
Total | 1943, 1945-1953 | 166 | 0 | 0.00 | 70% | 14.00 | — | 2.00 | 19 |
Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only
AFL: 5,146th player to appear, 1,075th most games played, 11,504th most goals kickedEssendon: 569th player to appear, 61st most games played, 1,078th most goals kicked
Dependable, reliable and solid are over-used terms in football, but they epitomised Les Gardiner's approach throughout his ten-season, 166-game VFL career with Essendon. Most of those games were spent either in a back pocket or across half back where the qualities mentioned above, allied with great determination and tremendous pace, made him extremely difficult to beat.
Gardiner debuted with the Dons in 1943, winning the club's best first year player award, but he was then forced to miss the entire 1944 season with a spinal injury. He resumed as good as new in 1945, and went on to be a key member of Essendon's premiership teams in 1946, 1949 and 1950. His performance in a back pocket in the 1950 Grand Final defeat of North Melbourne was particularly noteworthy. Always the consummate team man, Gardiner was the recipient in 1951-2-3 - his last three seasons of league football - of Essendon's 'most unselfish player' award.
Author - John Devaney