Brett Kirk
| Brett Kirk | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | 25 October 1976 | ||
| Original team | North Albury (NSW) | ||
| Debut | Round 19, 1999, Sydney Swans v. Kangaroos, at SCG | ||
| Height/Weight | 184cm, 81 kg[1] | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1999–2010 | Sydney Swans | 241 (96) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to end of 2010 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
Brett Kirk (born 25 October 1976) is a former Australian rules football player of the Sydney Swans, and was the AFL's International Ambassador.[2]
AFL career
Kirk grew up in Albury, New South Wales. He was recruited to the Sydney Swans as a mature-aged rookie and was twice dropped from the team, but he found his way back on to the list. Kirk was regarded as "one of the toughest and most respected midfielders in the competition".[1][2]
Kirk played 241 games for the Swans since making his debut in 1999, including the last 200 without missing a match. He was nominated All-Australian in 2004.[1] Kirk won the best and fairest twice, in 2005, the year the club won the AFL premiership, and again in 2007. He was co-captain of the Swans from 2005-2010.[2]
He surpassed Jared Crouch's Swans record of 194 consecutive AFL matches in the game against Geelong in round 18, 2010. He had a total of 1278 tackles in his career, which is the fourth most of any AFL player (2014).[3] Kirk played his final and 200th consecutive game (having not missed a match since Round 14, 2002) when he faced the Western Bulldogs in the second round of the AFL finals on Saturday 11 September 2010. It is the fifth longest such streak, and is one of two by Sydney Swans players (the other being Adam Goodes) in the top 5.[4]
He retired at the end of 2010.[2]
Coaching and ambassador role
In 2011, he spent six months travelling the world and spreading the word about football as the AFL's International Ambassador.
Kirk joined the Fremantle Football Club as an assistant coach at the end of the 2012 season.[5] Prior to that, he worked at the Gold Coast Football Club in a role designed to help implement a winning culture at the club.[6]
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | Goals | B | Behinds | K | Kicks | H | Handballs | D | Disposals | M | Marks | T | Tackles |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Kirk won an AFL Premiership |
| Led the league for the Season only* | |
| Led the league after finals only* | |
| Led the league after Season and Finals* |
*10 games required to be eligible.
| Season | Team | # | Games | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Sydney | 31 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 65 | 19 | 84 | 18 | 11 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 13.0 | 3.8 | 16.8 | 3.6 | 2.2 |
| 2000 | Sydney | 31 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 45 | 33 | 78 | 13 | 18 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 6.4 | 4.7 | 11.1 | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| 2001 | Sydney | 31 | 19 | 14 | 8 | 130 | 101 | 231 | 56 | 39 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 6.8 | 5.3 | 12.2 | 2.9 | 2.1 |
| 2002 | Sydney | 31 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 96 | 137 | 233 | 39 | 78 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 5.3 | 7.6 | 12.9 | 2.2 | 4.3 |
| 2003 | Sydney | 31 | 24 | 9 | 5 | 168 | 209 | 377 | 44 | 140 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 7.0 | 8.7 | 15.7 | 1.8 | 5.8 |
| 2004 | Sydney | 31 | 24 | 10 | 11 | 236 | 237 | 473 | 54 | 127 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 9.8 | 9.9 | 19.7 | 2.3 | 5.3 |
| 2005† | Sydney | 31 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 299 | 271 | 570 | 68 | 136 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 11.5 | 10.4 | 21.9 | 2.6 | 5.2 |
| 2006 | Sydney | 31 | 25 | 8 | 13 | 285 | 211 | 496 | 99 | 142 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 11.4 | 8.4 | 19.8 | 4.0 | 5.7 |
| 2007 | Sydney | 31 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 223 | 293 | 516 | 80 | 149 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 9.7 | 12.7 | 22.4 | 3.5 | 6.5 |
| 2008 | Sydney | 31 | 24 | 9 | 12 | 257 | 282 | 539 | 71 | 151 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 22.5 | 3.0 | 6.3 |
| 2009 | Sydney | 31 | 22 | 8 | 4 | 173 | 295 | 468 | 44 | 170 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 7.9 | 13.4 | 21.3 | 2.0 | 7.7 |
| 2010 | Sydney | 31 | 24 | 12 | 4 | 161 | 236 | 397 | 68 | 117 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 6.7 | 9.8 | 16.5 | 2.8 | 4.9 |
| Career | 241 | 96 | 75 | 2138 | 2324 | 4462 | 654 | 1278 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 8.9 | 9.6 | 18.5 | 2.7 | 5.3 | ||
Personal life
In 2008, Kirk was given the honour of meeting with the Dalai Lama during his Australian tour in which he presented the Dalai Lama with a signed Swans jersey.[8] Kirk is known as a practicing Buddhist and has a tattoo of a Buddhist symbol on his back.[9] When the young Swan Dan Hannebery seemed anxious, Kirk recommended that he do some meditation and read The Power of Now and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hinds, Richard, The Swans, player by player, The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 September 2005
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Kogoy, Peter, Brett Kirk joins Fremantle Dockers as assistant coach, The Australian, 29 August 2012
- ↑ "Player Totals". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ↑ AFL Tables - Miscellaneous Player Records
- ↑ Fremantle Football Club - Coaching Staff
- ↑ Bluestone Edge and Kirk join GC SUNS, goldcoastfc.com.au, 6 December 2011
- ↑ Brett Kirk's player profile at AFL Tables
- ↑ 30,000 get wet to hear Dalai Lama, Brisbane Times, 2007
- ↑ Captain Kirk leads next generation
- ↑ Samantha Lane, Hannebery Has New Focus
External links
- Brett Kirk's profile on the official website of the Sydney Swans
- Captain Kirk leads next generation – Sydney Morning Herald
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Barry Hall |
Sydney Swans Best and Fairest 2005 |
Succeeded by Adam Goodes |
| Preceded by Adam Goodes |
Sydney Swans Best and Fairest 2007 |
Succeeded by Jarrad McVeigh |
| Preceded by Jonathan Brown |
AFLPA Best Captain Award 2010 |
Succeeded by Chris Judd |
| Preceded by Michael O'Loughlin |
AFLPA Madden Medal 2010 |
Succeeded by Cameron Ling |
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