PLAYER: 1979-93

GAMES: 298: South Fremantle 140; Brisbane 101; Footscray 47; Collingwood 2; WA 8

PREMIERSHIPS: South Fremantle 1980

HONOURS: Brownlow Medal 1985; South Fremantle fairest and best 1982, captain 1984; Footscray fairest and best 1986; Tassie Medal 1984, 86; Simpson Medal 1984, 86; All-Australian 1984, 86

The most important talent in football is to find and win the football.  Brad Hardie had the happy knack of doing both.  An unfashionable build with tree-trunk legs and a torso like a lump of granite but he was quick off the mark, read the play brilliantly and was a ferocious competitor.  Burst onto the national scene in the 1984 state-of-origin match against Victoria at Subiaco Oval when his dashing rebound from defence earned him a Simpson Medal.  The following year the redhead shocked the football world by taking the Brownlow Medal as Footscray finished third. 

There was constant tension with coach Mick Malthouse the following year and despite winning the club’s fairest and best, he quit the Bulldogs to join the fledgling Brisbane.  The stocky defender became a forward and won Brisbane’s goal-kicking in 1989-90 before shifting to Collingwood.  Hardie returned to South Fremantle to finish his playing career as a forward pocket specialist.  His interstate performances were a highlight and his two Simpson and two Tassie medals, and the Brownlow gave him the label of “football’s most decorated player” in the 1980s.