Collingwood Forever

Collingwood has known plenty of wild men over its history. But none have been wilder or seemingly less in control than Len Hustler.

His was a career dotted with indiscretions and lengthy suspensions, all of which ultimately combined to derail any chances of seeing whether he had what was needed to be an elite level footballer.

But he had talent, that’s for sure. That much was obvious when he joined our seconds team from Abbotsford midway through 1938. Even though he was only 17, he was big and strong and burly and could take a mark. He played 15 games with the reserves that year, mostly as a forward, and kicked 13 goals – a very promising start.

And in the early rounds of 1939, he exploded. He kicked four goals in the first round, seven in the second and five in the third. There was talk of a senior debut not being far away. But he hit a slightly quieter patch, then suddenly surprised everyone by taking a post as captain-coach with a team in Griffith, NSW.

After his first game there the Wagga Wagga Advertiser said that he had “fully justified his engagement.” “Over six feet in height and weighing over 14 stone, his high marking, long kicking and general knowledge should prove a big factor in future games for Griffith,” the paper said.

Unfortunately, just a few weeks later he was reported for kicking an opponent and knocking him out. He was suspended for 12 months, and his NSW sojourn ended abruptly.

He returned to Collingwood in 1940 and did well enough in the senior practice matches to prompt one newspaper reporter to say he was sure Len would “make the grade”. He resumed his career with the reserves, playing seven games in the back half of the year and kicking 17 goals (his 21 the previous year had been enough to win the reserves goalkicking, even though he’d spent the second half of the year in Griffith).

He would go on to be a part of the 1940 reserves premiership side, kicking two goals and being named in our best players in the Grand Final. True to form he was also reported for fighting with his Carlton opponent.

He finally enjoyed a solid developmental year in 1941, playing 16 reserves games. By now he was established as a follower/forward, brought into teams when they felt they needed more bulk or height or vigor, or as a key position option close to goal. He was finally given his senior debut in the second round against Richmond in 1942.

That day started well, with Len kicking the first goal of the game. But it was all downhill from there, with the team on the end of a then record 138-point thrashing. He was immediately dropped, and didn’t see senior football again for another 12 months.

He managed a few games in the first half of 1943, but was reported and charged with kicking while playing with the seconds midway through the season. The VFL took the charge extremely seriously – nobody is a big fan of kicking – and suspended him for two years.

That meant he wasn’t able to come back until midway through 1945. Most observers thought Collingwood would let him go, but the Magpies felt there was a good footballer there. So they persisted. He not only returned to reserves football but even managed four further senior games.

The last of those was the infamous 1945 preliminary final against Carlton. He was named at full-forward that day, for what was one of the wildest and most ill-tempered games on record. He kicked two goals, which was no mean feat, but coach Jock McHale was later criticised for leaving him in the forward line rather than relieving the tiring Alan William. He wasn’t reported himself but was heavily involved in many of the nastiest incidents. In a nicely ironic twist, he still found himself fronting the Tribunal – but this time as a witness in what was the game’s only report (his assailant was rubbed out for four weeks).

That proved to be Len’s last game with Collingwood. He was training with us during the 1946 pre-season, but it’s not known where he played that year. He was cleared to Hawthorn in 1947, but never played senior football there.

He continued playing with Abbotsford Brewery in the Saturday Morning Football League. He was rubbed out for four weeks during the year, but returned to be part of the Grand Final against Raymonds. There, once again, he was reported on two charges of having kicked an opponent and three charges of having struck opponents. This time he was banned for life.

Given Len Hustler’s overall career, that was probably a fitting way to go out.

– Michael Roberts