Les Hardiman

Arriving at Geelong from local feeder club Chilwell, Les "Splinter" Hardiman was a central figure in the club's golden era of the 1930s. The son of former Cat Jack and brother to premiership teammate Peter, he established himself as a versatile key position star capable of dominating at either end of the ground. While he topped the club's goalkicking in 1933—the same year he won the Best and Fairest—he was equally renowned for his defensive prowess. His defining moment came in the famous 1937 Grand Final against Collingwood, where he was swung from full-forward to centre half-back to quell Magpie superstar Ron Todd. Hardiman held Todd to a single goal after the switch, a tactical masterstroke that helped secure his second premiership in the hoops.

At the peak of his powers following the 1937 triumph, Hardiman departed the VFL in a shock move to Western Australia. He was one of several high-profile Victorian stars, alongside Fitzroy legend Haydn Bunton Sr, lured to Subiaco in a recruiting coup that made headlines across the country. He continued to excel in the WANFL, winning a best and fairest and topping the goalkicking, before returning to Victoria after serving in World War II to captain-coach Yarraville in the VFA. A member of Geelong's Team of the Century, his life was cut short when he was tragically killed in a car accident in 1962.