Australian Football

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Key Facts

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

Les Gardiner

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
EssendonV/AFL1943, 1945-195316600.0070%14.00—2.0019
Total1943, 1945-195316600.0070%14.00—2.0019

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 5,146th player to appear, 1,047th most games played, 11,456th most goals kickedEssendon: 569th player to appear, 61st most games played, 1,076th 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

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.