Nick Davis (footballer)
Nick Davis (born 30 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the AFL.
Collingwood
Born in Melbourne, and moving to Sydney at the age of four, Davis played rugby league football as a schoolboy before becoming involved in Australian rules.[1] He was drafted by Collingwood, the club where his father Craig played 102 of his 163 VFL/AFL games, with a father-son pick in the 1998 AFL Draft. Davis was never comfortable living under the microscope at Victoria Park, where the expectations placed upon him were magnified by the spectre of his father's courageous attitude to the game and triumph over adversity, combined with the Magpie fans' insatiable desire for success.
After 16 games in his debut season, a homesick Davis fled back to Sydney after just two days of his second pre-season campaign. It took two weeks for him to regain enough composure to return to Melbourne.
At the end of his two-year contract, Davis re-signed and rewarded the club's faith with a solid year, kicking 36 goals in 21 games. But after an injury-riddled pre-season in 2002 and some indifferent performances early in the year, pressure mounted on Davis to re-sign with the Magpies. He said he wanted to wait until the end of the season, a decision that did not go down well with the Magpie hierarchy.
After playing 20 games – including a cracker against Adelaide in the preliminary final win that steered Collingwood into the 2002 Grand Final – Davis told the Magpies he wanted to go home. A last-minute trade – a bargain that cost the Swans just a second round pick in the 2002 draft – paved the way for Davis to move home.
Sydney career
He hit the ground running in 2003 with 32 goals in 24 appearances before injuries again interceded in 2004; first hip, then ankle. The rigours of rehabilitating an injured ankle quickly eroded Davis's desire to play footy. For two days in June 2004, the club did not know of his whereabouts and when he did return, he was having serious thoughts about shifting to rugby league.
Davis's enthusiasm eventually returned and, although he showed glimpses of his best (like the three impressive goals in the round 21 win over the Bombers at Telstra Stadium), he carried the remnants of the hip and ankle injuries through the year.
2005 - Realising potential
Despite a three-week stint on the sidelines with a hamstring strain mid-year, Davis's form continually improved throughout 2005. He was rewarded for his superior fitness with the occasional run through the midfield, while 12 of his 31 goals for the season came in the final month.
2005 Semi-Final
His 4 goal heroics during the final quarter of the 2005 second semi-final at the SCG against Geelong will be long remembered amongst fans and players alike.
The Swans a long way behind at three-quarter time. They'd been beaten to the ball for most of the night by Geelong who entered as underdogs.
In a low-scoring game, the Cats' 17-point lead looked imposing. And when David Johnson – Davis's direct opponent – kicked the first goal of the last quarter, the margin looked insurmountable. Immediately after this fellow teammate Brett Kirk rushed over to Davis to let him know that he had to account for his mistake that had put his team further behind.
The nature of the game meant that forwards Barry Hall and Michael O'Loughlin were provided with little space to operate and few clean marking opportunities.
In the ensuing 20 minutes, two difficult snaps and a set-shot from Davis meant the Swans were only three points down with only minutes to play.
With ten seconds remaining there was a ball-up within twenty metres of the Swans' goal. Davis collected the tap of ruckman Jason Ball but did not have time to take a clean possession. Davis was also on the wrong side of the goal for a right-footed player of his nature. Davis juggled the ball before snapping a shot with his left-foot, kicking a goal and sealing the match with just 3 seconds remaining. The goal, which gave the Sydney Swans their only lead of the game, sent the crowd at the SCG into hysterics. The game is considered to be one of the most exciting finals in recent history.
Premiership win
The Swans went into the preliminary final against the Saints the next week and won thanks to an amazing last-quarter burst, and won the 2005 AFL Grand Final the following week. If it wasn't for Davis's heroics in the Semi-Final, say many Sydney fans, they would never have made it to a flag.
Season Statistics
Year | Team | Number | Games | Kicks | Handballs | Marks | Tackles | Total Disposals | Goals | Behinds | Goal Accuracy % | Brownlow Medal Votes |
1999 |
Collingwood |
19 |
16 |
117 |
54 |
43 |
9 |
171 |
5 |
9 |
36 |
0 |
2000 |
Collingwood |
19 |
14 |
142 |
69 |
76 |
10 |
211 |
13 |
8 |
62 |
1 |
2001 |
Collingwood |
19 |
21 |
242 |
100 |
115 |
27 |
342 |
36 |
15 |
70 |
5 |
2002 |
Collingwood |
19 |
20 |
156 |
39 |
84 |
15 |
195 |
31 |
22 |
58 |
2 |
2003 |
Sydney |
2 |
24 |
211 |
105 |
91 |
35 |
316 |
32 |
19 |
63 |
0 |
2004 |
Sydney |
2 |
12 |
67 |
37 |
34 |
9 |
104 |
21 |
7 |
75 |
1 |
2005 |
Sydney |
2 |
23 |
210 |
89 |
95 |
29 |
299 |
38 |
21 |
64 |
0 |
2006 |
Sydney |
2 |
17 |
160 |
74 |
92 |
34 |
234 |
23 |
18 |
56 |
0 |
2007 |
Sydney |
2 |
18 |
139 |
73 |
69 |
23 |
212 |
33 |
21 |
61 |
1 |
2008 |
Sydney |
2 |
3 |
21 |
12 |
15 |
4 |
33 |
3 |
4 |
43 |
0 |
| Totals | | 168 | 1465 | 652 | 714 | 195 | 2117 | 235 | 135 | 64% | 10 |
External links
Caroline Wilson Profile
Caroline Wilson has been chief football writer for The Age since 1999. Caroline was the first woman to cover Australian Rules football on a full-time basis and the first woman to win the AFL's gold media award. She has won the AFL Players Association's football writer of the year (1999) and the AFL Media Association's most outstanding football writer and most outstanding feature writer (2000, 2003, 2005). She also won a Melbourne Press Club Quill Award in 2003. Before joining The Age, Caroline covered four Wimbledon's, three British Open's and an FA Cup final and worked in radio (winning the 1995 RAWARD for best current affairs commentator). At The Sunday Age Caroline won journalist of the year (1993) and best feature writer (1994). She has covered both the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games for The Age. And she has covered three Commonwealth Games – she reported on the Edinburgh Games in 1986, the Auckland Games in 1990 and the Melbourne Games in 1996.
AFL NSW manager Dale Holmes appointed Western Sydney CEO
Dale Holmes has been named as the inaugural chief executive of expansion club Western Sydney. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: The Australian
THE man who has overseen the AFL in NSW has been named as the inaugural chief executive of expansion club Western Sydney.
Dale Holmes, 42, will start his new job immediately, leaving his role as general manager of AFL (NSW/ACT), which he had filled since 2004.
Western Sydney is due to join the AFL in 2012 and chairman Tony Shepherd said Holmes had already been a driving force in setting up the club.
"Dale has driven much of the work that went into the establishment of Team GWS and setting up its community focus and community advisory group," Shepherd said.
"He made a decision that after working with the organisation in its infancy (that) he wanted to see it through and to realise the vision of having a team in Greater Western Sydney that truly represented the community and the people of the region."
Holmes said building Sydney's second club was "without doubt the biggest challenge" facing the AFL, but he was excited to take it on.
"I am a firm believer that having a second side based in Greater Western Sydney is important in really engaging almost two million people in our game," Holmes said.
"It is an opportunity to increase awareness and support of our game but also is an opportunity to work closely with the local community to build jobs, opportunities and awareness of the people and businesses of this region."
Holmes played three games with North Melbourne in 1987 and has also played with East Sydney in the AFL NSW league.
Last Modified on 24/08/2011 14:52