One of the most durable and fearless players to ever play the game of football was former Claremont and Carlton champion, Ken Hunter.  Robert Walls, a leading critic and former Carlton coach named Hunter as one who “never showed fear, put in a short step, or dogged it”. Yet Hunter, who weighed twelve stone in his heyday and stood six foot tall, was regarded early in his career as “too frail” for the WANFL, let alone the VFL. His thin frame belied the courage and heart within, and he would go where angels feared to tread. The countless injuries he suffered as a result never diminished the fearlessness of his approach to the game.  Several broken jaws plus a career- threatening back injury in 1983 were not only shrugged off by the undeterred Hunter, but seemed to make him all the more determined.It wasn’t only his toughness that stamped him as a great player...Ken Hunter was one of the best aerialists in the game, and his spectacular marking was a big drawcard for crowds in both Western Australia and Victoria.Joining Claremont in 1974 from Carlisle juniors, Hunter made his league debut the following year, when he played four games. In the 1976 season he began his flirtation with injury, breaking his jaw on two separate occasions. Spending the off-season in Darwin, he returned for the 1977 season hoping for a change of fortune.     Hunter must have felt that things had turned around for him, his performances for Claremont demanding State selection, and he was chosen for what was to be the last non-State of Origin match between Western Australia and Victoria on June 25, 1977, after less than thirty league games under his belt. Disaster struck again, though, as after being named on the bench, he was felled again soon after running onto the ground during the third quarter, with the result another broken jaw..his third in two seasons.The first State of Origin game between Western Australia and Victoria took place at Subiaco in October of that year, and Hunter had recovered from his setback to be part of that historic win for the local side. Ken Hunter continued to dominate for Claremont in a variety of positions, but mainly at centre half back, for the next four seasons, and was runner up for the club’s fairest and best on four occasions, three of those as runner up to Graham Moss.  In both 1979 and 1980 he was selected as an All Australian, and it was in those seasons that he returned to Darwin to play in the off season.  Carlton swooped in 1981, and after 99 games with the Tigers, Hunter made his VFL debut and had an auspicious start with his new club. In a premiership season for the Blues, Hunter was the winner of the club’s fairest and best award,which, coupled with the premiership medal, was a dream come true, and  a just reward for his persistence against the odds, with injuries and a perceived lack of size.In 1982 he was selected for the Big V to play against South Australia, on the way to a second successive premiership with Carlton. Hunter played a further seven seasons with the Blues, in a variety of positions, adding a further premiership in 1987, and topping the goalkicking as a forward in 1983. After 147 games with the club, plus his 99 with Claremont, he retired in 1989. Hunter later served on the Carlton Board Of Directors.  Considering the time he missed with injury, to play 256 quality games of league football was a terrific achievement. He is a member of the Western Australian Football Hall Of Fame.Ken Hunter was a much admired exponent of the high mark and epitomy of the word “tough” to fans of all persuasions. He was an ornament to the game,  a great advertisement for West Australian football, and would surely be in contention for any “best of” team, whether it be Claremont, Western Australia, or Carlton.