Dustin Fletcher

Dustin Fletcher
Personal information
Full nameDustin Andrew Fletcher
Date of birth7 May 1975
Original teamWestern Jets (TAC Cup)
Draft(F/S), 1992 National Draft
Height/Weight198 cm / 92 kg
Position(s)Defender
Club information
Current clubEssendon
Number31
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
1993–Essendon396 (71)
International team honours
YearsTeamGames (Goals)
2005–2014Australia7 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to end of Round 4, 2015 season.
Career highlights

Dustin Andrew Fletcher (born 7 May 1975) is an Australian rules footballer, currently playing with the Essendon Football Club. He is known as one of the finest defenders in the history of the Essendon Football Club.[1]

AFL career: 1993–present

Fletcher was recruited by Essendon in the 1992 AFL Draft, he played his first game for the Bombers against rivals Carlton in his senior year of high school, while attending Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School.

He was a key member of Essendon's 1993 premiership team in his first AFL season, a team which is referred to as the "Baby Bombers".

Fletcher also played in the 2000 premiership win, in which he won the club's best and fairest award.

Dustin and his father, Ken Fletcher, currently hold the record for the most VFL/AFL career games played by a father and son, with 660 games between them.

A banner congratulating Fletcher

He also holds the record of being the most watched AFL footballer of all time, with a cumulative attendance of 19,103,542 spectators at matches in which he has played from 1993 to present.[2]

Fletcher holds the outright Essendon games record, having overtaken the previous record of 378 games held by Simon Madden in Round 1, 2014. Playing in his 384th career game in Round 7, 2014, he moved into third on the all-time AFL games list, overtaking Robert Harvey.

He is due to play a 23rd season, having signed a one-year contract to play in 2015, meaning he is poised to play 400 games and move into second on the all time games played list.[3]

After Round 1, 2015 Fletcher became the second oldest player to play AFL at 39 years and 333 days behind Vic Cumberland.

Playing style

Fletcher's execution of the torpedo punt was often used as a set-play clearing strategy by coach Kevin Sheedy. In a game in 2007, he kicked a torpedo punt goal from more than 70 meters.[4] According to The Sunday Age, it was the fifth longest kick in the history of the VFL/AFL.[5]

International rules

Fletcher served as the Australia international rules football team's goalkeeper for four series: the 2005 series, the 2006 series the 2010 series and the 2014 International Rules Series. Along with Barry Hall, Fletcher was one of Australia's co-captains for the 2006 series.

Statistics

Statistics are correct as of the end of Round 4, 2015 . [6]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
1993 Essendon 31 17 0 0 128 45 173 43 24 0.0 0.0 7.5 2.6 10.2 2.5 1.4
1994 Essendon 31 13 2 0 76 41 117 27 10 0.2 0.0 5.8 3.2 9.0 2.1 0.8
1995 Essendon 31 22 4 3 199 101 300 94 23 0.2 0.1 9.0 4.6 13.6 4.3 1.0
1996 Essendon 31 23 16 10 235 52 287 105 16 0.7 0.4 10.2 2.3 12.5 4.6 0.7
1997 Essendon 31 16 9 2 175 62 237 76 14 0.6 0.1 10.9 3.9 14.8 4.8 0.9
1998 Essendon 31 18 4 2 186 39 225 57 16 0.2 0.1 10.3 2.2 12.5 3.2 0.9
1999 Essendon 31 19 3 8 198 51 249 74 18 0.2 0.4 10.4 2.7 13.1 3.9 1.0
2000 Essendon 31 23 14 6 276 81 357 93 26 0.6 0.3 12.0 3.5 15.5 4.0 1.1
2001 Essendon 31 21 4 4 239 62 301 78 18 0.2 0.2 11.4 3.0 14.3 3.7 0.9
2002 Essendon 31 18 3 2 202 44 246 51 30 0.2 0.1 11.2 2.4 13.7 2.8 1.7
2003 Essendon 31 14 0 0 145 34 179 44 14 0.0 0.0 10.4 2.4 12.8 3.1 1.0
2004 Essendon 31 20 1 3 220 42 262 70 28 0.0 0.2 11.0 2.1 13.1 3.5 1.4
2005 Essendon 31 17 0 0 226 37 263 70 13 0.0 0.0 13.3 2.2 15.5 4.1 0.8
2006 Essendon 31 16 0 0 211 67 278 98 12 0.0 0.0 13.2 4.2 17.4 6.1 0.8
2007 Essendon 31 19 3 2 309 85 394 144 30 0.2 0.1 16.3 4.5 20.7 7.6 4.6
2008 Essendon 31 18 2 3 198 84 282 96 18 0.1 0.2 11.0 4.7 15.7 5.3 1.0
2009 Essendon 31 18 1 1 218 102 320 86 30 0.1 0.1 12.1 5.7 17.8 4.8 1.7
2010 Essendon 31 16 1 1 216 75 291 79 28 0.1 0.1 13.5 4.7 18.2 4.9 1.8
2011 Essendon 31 19 1 0 213 76 289 77 32 0.0 0.0 11.2 4.0 15.2 4.0 1.7
2012 Essendon 31 18 1 2 244 45 289 88 20 0.1 0.1 13.6 2.5 16.1 4.9 1.1
2013 Essendon 31 13 0 0 151 47 198 63 14 0.0 0.0 11.6 3.6 15.2 4.8 1.1
2014 Essendon 31 15 1 0 198 81 279 103 11 0.1 0.0 13.2 5.4 18.6 6.9 0.7
2015 Essendon 31 3 1 0 43 14 57 17 3 0.3 0.0 14.3 4.7 19.0 5.7 1.0
Career 396 71 49 4506 1367 5873 1733 448 0.2 0.1 11.4 3.5 14.8 4.4 1.1

Honours and achievements

References

  1. ↑ Anderson, Jon (27 May 2010). "Pick 1: Fletcher or Scarlett?". Herald Sun.
  2. ↑ http://afltables.com/afl/crowds/summary.html
  3. ↑ Spits, Scott (2 October 2014). "Dustin Fletcher to play in 2014". The Age. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  4. ↑ Clough, Michael (24 April 2007). "AFL Round 4 Review". Ohmy News. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Sunday Age, sport section, back page, 22 April 2007.
  6. ↑ http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/D/Dustin_Fletcher.html

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Mark Mercuri		 Essendon Best and Fairest winner
2000 		Succeeded by
Jason Johnson