THE biggest names in Collingwood Football Club's history have breasted the bar at Adelong's Royal Hotel.

The pub - in rugby league territory in southern NSW - boasts a main bar that once graced the Magpies' clubrooms.

It was bought by the Thompson family when the Collingwood club was renovated, and given a new lease of life.

Featuring ornate panel work, the bar takes pride of place in Adelong's "top pub".

Adelong's historic Royal, dating back to 1868, was almost destroyed four years ago when a truck smashed through the main bar.

Located at the bottom of a hill, the pub took the full force of the truck, a seafood delivery pantech, on January 12, 2005.

The accident killed the Sydney driver and wrecked the pub's main bar, front veranda and upstairs accommodation.

Fortunately the early morning accident meant the pub was empty of patrons and staff.

The Royal was put on the market in the wake of the crash and sold at auction for $235,000 in December 2007.

Publican Peter Thompson and his fiancee Laurel Organ were living in Wollongong at the time, and had never heard of Adelong before buying the hotel.

They arrived to find they had bought an "eye sore" but could see potential in the once-grand building.

A second-generation publican, Peter had run the Edinburgh Castle and Oxford Tavern in Bathurst for eight years before moving to Adelong.

With a population of 1300, Adelong is nestled in the hills between the Hume Highway and Tumut on the Snowy Mountains Highway.

Once based on gold, the town's economy is now largely agricultural, with beef and forestry the major industries.

Peter and Laurel estimate they have spent close to $500,000 on rebuilding the Royal from scratch.

The result is faithful to the original building, with triple-thickness brickwork, veranda posts recast at the Wagga Wagga iron foundry and heritage paint work.

The pub houses an eclectic collection of hotel memorabilia and interesting sculptural works.

A scripted mosaic in glass, produced by local commission artist Kim Moore, dominates the wall above the main bar.

"This is a beautiful country-style pub in the true sense of the word," Peter said.

"Life is much simpler here but still very challenging - there was not even a teaspoon in the place when we arrived."

Peter and Laurel began trading in December 2008 - four years after the truck accident.

"We had a warm and friendly reception - we didn't realise how much people had missed the pub," Peter said.

"These people were grateful we had come along and given them back their hotel."