Peter Hodyl enjoyed what was virtually two careers with the Swan Districts Football Club, one as a battler, and the other as a star player, captain, runner up for Fairest and Best, and State representative.

You could almost make that three careers, because the Bassendean junior was first seen in a black and white guernsey in 1977 as a sixteen year old in the colts side, but, not enjoying the strange surroundings away from his mates, he returned to his former club.

 

Returning two years later, Hodyl won the colts fairest and best as a midfielder in 1980, followed by the reserves fairest and best in 1982. Eight years later he was to go within a whisker of making it a clean sweep of club trophies when runner up to that years' Sandover Medallist, Mick Grasso.

 

It was in 1982 that he made his league debut, in a game against South Fremantle in front of twenty thousand spectators. “It was awesome,” he recalled. “But I think I spent most of the game on the bench! Still very exciting.”

 

He found it tough going in those early years. “I played about half a dozen league games in 1982 and 83, with twelve or thirteen in 84,” he said. “I didn't get picked for any of the hat trick of premierships in those years.” In 1985 Hodyl became a regular in Swans league side, attracting interest from the South Bunbury Football Club, who were looking for a playing coach.

“I did a self-assessment of where my football was at, and, having been married in January of 1986, decided the opportunity to play and coach in the very strong South West League too good to knock back,” he recalled. “It was also a good chance for my wife, Nessa, and I to start our new life together away from the comfort zone.

 

It was a good decision.

 

He told of the recruiting of a young Shane Strempel to South Bunbury. “I had known Shane as a young fella, and had heard he was working at Cervantes. We (Coach, President, Vice President and Treasurer) drove from Bunbury to Cervantes, but to our frustration, he wasn't there. Told he was at his girl friend's place in Fremantle, we hot footed it to Freo, finally catching up with him after a lot of running around. Without any beating around the bush, we got straight to the point: “After what we've done to sign you, you are in no position to say no.”

 

“He signed.”

 

In Hodyl's third year as playing coach, South Bunbury went through the 1988 season undefeated, winning a premiership. “I felt I had done my job down there, and, with some persuasion by new Swans coach, Ed Blackaby, I put in a good pre season and decided to give league footy a red hot go this time around.”

Playing as a ruck rover, Hodyl came back as a revelation to Swans. “West Coast entering the AFL had brought the WAFL standard down a peg, and I think I might have matured a bit as a player,” he said. “It was certainly a lot better for me, whatever the reason.” Runner up for Swans fairest and best in his second season back, with the return of John Todd to the helm, he became a specialist forward.

It was in this role that he was selected in the Western Australian side to play South Australia in Adelaide, in a match in which the Sandgropers were the longest priced underdogs in the history of football between the two States, with the Croweaters still at full strength in pre AFL mode, while WA had their best playing with West Coast. Hodyl booted two goals in a heroic display from the visitors, going down eventually by twenty one points.

Peter also was an influential player in Swan Districts finals aspirations that year. With only eighteen fit players at three quarter time in the preliminary final against the favoured South Fremantle, acting captain Hodyl had two goals on the board within five minutes of the start of the last term, and his side held on for the remainder of the match, subsequently taking the flag a week later, with victory over Claremont. Vice captain to the injured Brad Shine, Hodyl had taken over the skipper's role for much of the season.

Captain of Swans in 1991, Peter was selected for Western Australia's State clash with South Australia in Perth, named in the best players and kicking three goals in a match in which revenge was obtained, with a forty four point win. At the peak of his form at the age of twenty nine, he retired at the end of that season. “I had undergone an operation to cut bone spurs out of my ankle, which normally doesn't mean much time in recovery, but it took me six months to actually walk properly again, so I called it quits,” he explained.

After spending the latter half of the 1992 season with Kellerberrin, Hodyl was appointed playing coach of Kalamunda the following year.

Determination was the keyword for the five foot eleven Peter Hodyl. He chased players with the intention of catching them, and while an aggressive and volatile competitor, he was not without skills, being a good kick, especially around goal.

After a fourteen year absence from the game, Peter was talked into pulling on the boots at the age of forty five for a “back to the future” return to Bassendean Amateurs. “I trained for eight weeks, played for four weeks, and was out injured for seventeen ,” he joked.

Of his opponents, he said: “This may sound like a cliché', they were all hard, as they all seemed to have better natural skills, but I always found the Collard boys tough, as well as Paul Hasler from West Perth,” adding with a wry grin:“Toddy was the toughest.” He named Phil Narkle, Ron Boucher, Brad Shine, “but you could throw a blanket over the 1982-3-4 Swans sides.” The 1990’s would include Brendan Retzlaff, Andy Holmes, and Mick Grasso.

 

A full time fireman of 17 years, and partner in Ubrewit, the greatest taste in personal brewing and the easiest way to do it, Peter is a father of two, with son Ben following in Dad's footsteps and playing with Bassendean. He and Nessa look forward to their annual fishing trip to Exmouth, with Nessa catching up on her reading while Peter has the harder task of catching a few bigguns.

 

Peter Hodyl, after initially finding the going tough in league football, became a leading and influential member of Swan Districts sides in the early nineties, an inspirational captain, and a hard at it footballer.

 

Rumour has it that Ubrewit is considering bottling some of that Bunbury air.