Aaron Fiora (born 19 April 1981) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for and in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL).

Richmond career

Originally from

Naracoorte, South Australia Naracoorte is a town in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, approximately 336 kilometres south-east of Adelaide and 100 kilometres north of Mount Gambier, South Australia, Mount Gambier on the Riddoch Highway (A66). History Before the ...

, Fiora played his junior football with

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...

in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL) and made his senior debut with Port Adelaide in 1999. Fiora was selected in the 1999 AFL draft at pick number three by the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

. Considered at the time to be one of the most talented young footballers in the world Fiora made his AFL debut in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, playing mainly as a wingman and showing pace and excellent oral skills.

St Kilda career

At the end of 2004 Fiora was traded to St Kilda as part of a deal involving

Troy Simmonds Troy Simmonds (born 13 July 1978) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne, Fremantle and Richmond in the Australian Football League. AFL career Melbourne: 1999 – 2001 Simmonds was first drafted by Melbourne in ...

and

Heath Black Heath Black (born 28 May 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Fremantle and St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL). Football career Noted for his speed and long left foot kicking, Black was recruited with ...

. He was still a fringe player but played several solid games in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

before a quieter

2006 AFL season The 2006 AFL season was the 110th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured si ...

as he struggled with form despite playing 17 matches. Fiora was retained when new coach

Ross Lyon Ross Lyon (born 8 November 1966) is a former Australian rules football player and the senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously coached St Kilda from 2007 to 2011 and the Fremantle Footbal ...

took over in 2007 and was given the number 17 jumper, previously worn by tough midfielder Stephen Powell. Under Lyon's tutelage Fiora enjoyed an excellent and consistent season, playing in all 22 matches. However, after playing 10 matches in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, including a final, Fiora was delisted by St Kilda.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiora, Aaron 1981 births Living people Richmond Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Port Adelaide Magpies players Casey Demons players Coburg Football Club players Australian rules footballers from South Australia Australian people of Italian descent