Australian Football

North Melbourne has been blessed with many formidable defenders over the years, but few tougher or more hard-nosed than Les Reeves. Quick, tempestuous and highly aggressive, he relished the physical side of the game, and was extremely hard to beat one on one. Recruited from Wesley College, he was the archetypal no nonsense type of player whose twin objectives were to prevent his direct opponent from getting the ball, and to kick it as far as possible out of the danger zone if he happened to gain possession himself.

Reeves was on a half back flank when North lost to Essendon in the 1950 VFL Grand Final, and he played a total of 116 senior games for the club between 1946 and 1953. Once his senior career was over he served as playing coach of the club's reserves for a time.

Author - John Devaney