David Teague (footballer)

David Teague (born 5 May 1981) is an Australian rules football coach and former playerer who played for Carlton and the Kangaroos in the Australian Football League. He is an assistant coach at the Adelaide Football Club.

Playing career

Primarily a defender, Teague was recruited in the 2000 AFL Rookie Draft by the Kangaroos Football Club, and he made his debut for the Kangaroos in 2001. He played a total of 33 senior games for the Kangaroos in four seasons on the list.

At the end of 2003, Teague was traded, along with Digby Morrell to the Carlton Football Club in exchange for Corey McKernan, as part of the club's recycled player policy that season; the trade reunited Teague with former Kangaroos coach Denis Pagan, who was now at Carlton. Teague won the John Nicholls Medal in 2004, his first season with his new club. He played almost every game in 2005, but played only seven games for Carlton in 2006, playing as one of the best in their VFL-affiliate, the Northern Bullants. He was seen as fitting neither into Carlton's defensive line-up, nor its youth policy. This trend continued in 2007, with Teague playing no games for Carlton. Teague was delisted from the Carlton playing list at the end of the 2007 season.

Throughout his playing career, Teague was well-regarded for his courage in defence. In 2004, he won the Robert Rose Award as the most courageous player in the league, as voted by the players. His style made him a dominant player in wet conditions.

Coaching career

On 12 October 2007, it was announced that Teague would continue with the Carlton Football Club, as a development coach with Carlton, and as playing-coach for the Northern Bullants (on the Bullants list as a VFL-listed player). In 2009, Teague retired from playing with the Bullants, but retained his coaching roles, and was able to coach the Bullants into the club's first Grand Final since 1984, however they finished runners-up to North Ballarat. In 2010, he again coached the Bullants into the Grand Final (which they again lost to North Ballarat).

In 2011, Teague was appointed as an assistant coach for the West Coast Eagles. After three seasons with the Eagles, Teague joined St Kilda in November 2013. In October 2014 Teague was appointed assistant coach (forwards) with the Adelaide Crows under newly appointed senior coach Phil Walsh who he had previously worked with during his time at West Coast.

External links

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