Eddie Betts

Eddie Betts
Personal information
Full name	Eddie Betts
Date of birth	(1986-11-26) 26 November 1986
Place of birth	Port Lincoln, South Australia
Original team	Calder Cannons (TAC Cup)
Draft	#3, 2005 Pre-Season Draft, Carlton
Height/Weight	173cm / 73kg
Position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current club	Adelaide
Number	18
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2005–2013 2014– 'Total	Carlton Adelaide	184 (290) 0 (0) 184 (290)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2007	Indigenous All-Stars	1
International team honours
2010	Australia	2
1 Playing statistics correct to end of 2013 season.
Career highlights
Carlton Best First-Year Player 2005 AFL Goal of the Year 2006 Carlton leading goalkicker 2010, 2012

Eddie Betts (born Edward Roberts on 26 November 1986) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Crows ^[1] in the Australian Football League, having previously played for the Carlton Football Club.

Early life

Betts was born in Port Lincoln, South Australia and grew up with his mother in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. He played junior football for the Mines Rovers Football Club. At age 15, Betts had intended to move to Port Lincoln with his father to continue playing junior football there. However, he kept getting into trouble off the field, including smoking, drinking, drugs and truancy. As a result, his mother arranged for Betts to instead move to Melbourne, under a program run by indigenous former footballer Phil Krakouer.^[2]

In Melbourne, Betts played football for Templestowe, where he won the EFL Division 3 league best and fairest in 2002,^[3] and TAC Cup football for the Calder Cannons. He represented Vic Metro as a 16 year old in the 2003 AFL National Under 18 Championships and was selected in the Under 18 All-Australian team that season. He was too young to be selected in the AFL Draft at the end of 2003, and he played another season with the Cannons, but was hindered by osteitis pubis. He was overlooked in the 2004 National Draft as a result.^[2]

AFL career

After being overlooked in the National Draft, Betts was recruited to the AFL through the 2005 Pre-Season Draft by the Carlton Football Club with the No. 3 pick.^[4] He attracted attention as a lively small forward during the 2005 Pre-Season, and made his AFL debut in Round 1, 2005 against North Melbourne. His early performances saw him become a regular member of the senior team, filling the niche of goal-sneak and chaser for the club, while his sometimes freakish displays of skill saw him labelled an excitement machine by commentators.

Throughout his first four seasons, Betts had a consistent output of 20-25 goals as a small forward playing underneath full forward Brendan Fevola.^[5] In 2006, Betts won the Goal of the Year, for his goal in Round 21 against Collingwood;^[6] in an amazing solo effort, Betts smothered Tarkyn Lockyer's attempted clearing kick, ran to gather it just before it went out of bounds, and steadied himself to score with a banana from an impossible angle.^[7] From 2007, Betts began to spend some rotations as a midfielder, particularly late in the season after the appointment of Brett Ratten as Carlton coach, but remained primarily a small forward.

From 2009, Betts' goalkicking output increased. He kicked 38 goals in 2009, then 42 in 2010 to top Carlton's goal kicking for the first time. He played his 100th AFL game in Round 3, 2010 against Essendon at the MCG. His 2010 season saw him make the top 10 in the club Best and Fairest for the first time. Betts kicked another 50 goals in 2011, including a career-best eight goals against Essendon in Round 18, and then 48 goals in 2012 to be the club's leading goalkicker for the second time.^[8] He finished second in the best and fairest in 2012, narrowly beaten by Heath Scotland,^[9] and he was nominated in the 40-man All-Australian squad in both 2011 and 2012, but did not make the final team in either year.^[10][11][12]

2013 Free Agency

The conclusion of the 2013 AFL season saw Betts enter the free agent market. On October 3, Betts notified Carlton he has accepted a 4 year contract worth $2 million (AUS), to join Adelaide. Carlton had 72 hours to match the Crows offer but declined before that time elapsed, allowing the confirmation of Betts' switch to occur on October 4.^[13]

Personal life

Betts teaches part-time at Assumption College in Kilmore, Victoria.^[14]

In December 2009, Betts was arrested and fined by police after being drunk in public following Carlton players' Christmas party.^[15] He was also fined and suspended for one month by the club for the incident. He and other players were sent to a boxing gym and underwent a strenuous training program. This in fact had a positive effect and they applied themselves so well that they achieved best ever levels of fitness (which had never been one of Eddie's strengths) and convinced the club that they had the right attitude.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21]}

He is engaged to Anna Scullie and together they have a son who was born in October 2012.^[22]

References

External links

• Eddie Betts's profile on the official website of the Carlton Football Club
• Eddie Betts's statistics from AFL Tables
• Eddie Betts Profile in Blueseum

v t e Australian squad – 2010 International Rules Series Captain: Goodes Banfield Betts Boyd Cross Dangerfield Duffield Fletcher Frawley Gibbs Gilbert Goldsack Green Ibbotson Jack McVeigh Montagna Riewoldt Simpson Swan Varcoe Wojcinski Picken Coach: Malthouse

v t e Australian squad – 2013 International Rules Series Captain: Wells Armstrong D. Barry Betts Aaron Davey Alwyn Davey Edwards Ellis-Yolmen Franklin Harbrow J. Hill Leroy Jetta Lewis Jetta Lovett-Murray McGrath Motlop Neade Stokes Thomas Wellingham Yarran Coach: O'Loughlin