Anthony Rocca
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| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | August 15, 1977, |
| Recruited from | Reservoir-Lakeside/Northern U18 |
| Height/Weight | 195cm / 104kg |
| Playing Career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 8, May 19, 1995, Sydney Swans vs. Carlton, at Sydney Cricket Ground |
| Team(s) | Sydney Swans (1995-1996)
22 games, 11 goals Collingwood (1997-) 185 games, 330 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season | |
| Career Highlights | |
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Anthony Rocca (born August 15, 1977) is an Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the AFL.
Of Italian descent, Rocca is the younger brother of fellow Australian rules footballer and former teammate Saverio Rocca. Known as a family man, Anthony was rated highly as a youngster and was selected with pick no.2 by the Sydney Swans in the 1994 AFL Draft. A lifelong Collingwood supporter (hailing from the Reservoir area, an area in the Collingwood supporter base's heartland), Rocca has said in recent interviews that at the time he was at Sydney his heart was not completely in it and he was homesick.
After two seasons at the Swans Rocca was traded to his preferred home, Collingwood. He made a name for himself as a strong forward, with a booming 70+ metre kick, just like his brother. His importance to the Magpies forward structure was crucial, and he led the team's goalkicking, albeit with 38 goals in the year his team made a Grand Final in 2002. In 2003, with the Magpies again facing Brisbane in the Grand Final, Rocca was suspended in the Preliminary Final against Port Adelaide, shattering his dream of playing in another Grand Final. Without Rocca, the Magpies forward line structure was completely changed from the one that had been so successful throughout 2003, and by coincidence or not, Collingwood lost the match by a whopping 50 points.
In 2004 he missed 7 matches with injuries, and fared even worse in 2005, snapping an achilles tendon during the Round 4 clash against the Kangaroos, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
During the 2006 season Rocca returned to the side and proved important to the Magpies' structure up forward. In the Round 2 match against Hawthorn he booted 8 goals against unheralded young defender Zac Dawson. The decision by Hawks coach Alistair Clarkson to play Dawson on the much stronger and athletic Rocca was heavily criticised in the media. Rocca spoke out on this and was quoted as saying "he has to learn". He kicked a career best season return of 55 goals and was the clubs leading goalkicker for the third time. His first half of the season was fantastic, while he struggled in the second half. He made the news in the Round 16 clash against the West Coast Eagles where he had shown the ball to umpire Hayden Kennedy, while walking off his mark, after Rocca turned-over a free kick, after a mistake by Kennedy minutes before. In round 22, Anthony played against his brother, Saverio, for Sav's farewell game before heading to the United States to become a gridiron punter.
