Hall of Fame: Forward star Ron Todd angered Collingwood after defection

RON Todd ruled the forward line at Collingwood in the late 1930s but it was his shock ­defection from the Magpies that led to one of the game’s biggest controversies.

Ron Todd was a forward star at Collingwood but his shock defection to Williamstown angered the Magpies.

RON Todd was a footballing freak well ahead of his time.

He ruled the forward line at Collingwood in the late 1930s and was an even more commanding presence with Williamstown during the 1940s.

But it was Todd’s shock ­defection from one club to the other that led to one of the game’s biggest controversies.

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The circumstances of his departure and the fact his ­career straddled two competitions, the VFL and VFA, meant he never received all the laurels that should have come his way before and after his death in 1991.

He was selected in Collingwood’s Team of the Century in 1997 but controversially deleted when a selector threatened to walk away from the panel in protest.

Todd’s posthumous admission to the Australian football Hall of Fame rectified one of the game’s great injustices.

No less a player than Harry Collier described Todd as “a magnificent full-forward ... had he stayed at Collingwood I think he could have been the best of them all”.

Collingwood forward Ron Todd soars for a mark against St Kilda at Victoria Park during the 1930s.

Todd was the best mark of his era, soaring with spring-heeled leaps that kept defenders wary of his presence and photographers eager not to miss the moment.

He overcame an early awkward style in which he leant back on the follow-through to become a superstar goalkicker.

But offered a life-changing deal of £500 plus match payments to transfer to Williamstown in early 1940, the full-time railway worker knew he had little option but to accept.

Even then, he changed his mind after agreeing to the deal, saying: “There are other things to life besides money.”

But it was too late. Williamstown held him to the agreement.

The sorrow of a suburb was matched by the anger of Collingwood chiefs.

Their hero was gone — at 23 — after 76 games and 327 goals. Todd had kicked 120 goals and 121 goals in his last two seasons.

He dominated at Williamstown in two stints, separated by his service in the air force.

In 1945 he kicked a VFA ­record of 188 goals in a season, including 20 goals against Oakleigh in one match.

RON TODD

Born: 1916 Died: 1991

Collingwood (VFL): 76 games, 1935-1939, 327 goals

Williamstown (VFA): 141 games, 1940-1949, 672 goals

Collingwood 1936 premiership team

Williamstown 1945, 1949 premiership teams

Leading goalkicker: 1938-1939 (VFL); 1945-1946 (VFA)

Collingwood Hall of Fame

Originally published as Hall of Fame: Forward star Ron Todd angered Collingwood after defection