Andrew James Krakouer (born 4 February 1983) 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 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 ...
and
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...
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).
Early life
Krakouer is the son of
Jim Krakouer
James Gordon Krakouer (born 13 October 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the 1980s and '90s for North Melbourne and St Kilda in the VFL and Claremont in the WAFL. He is the father of former Richmond and Collingwo ...
and nephew of
Phil Krakouer
Phillip Brent Krakouer (born 15 January 1960) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club during the 1980s. Notable for his speed, freakish skills and an uncanny ability to pass the ball to his brothe ...
. He began playing colts football for
South Fremantle in the WAFL. He is the cousin of former Gold Coast and Port Adelaide player
Nathan Krakouer
Nathan Krakouer (born 5 May 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the nephew of former North Melb ...
.
AFL career
Richmond
He was drafted with the 41st selection in the
2000 AFL draft by
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
, who had received the draft pick by trading
Ben Harrison to the
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...
.
Before making his AFL debut, Krakouer played for Richmond's affiliate team the
Coburg Tigers
The Coburg Football Club, nicknamed the Coburg Lions, is an Australian rules football club based in Coburg, a northern suburb of Melbourne, and currently playing in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It is based at Coburg City Oval since 191 ...
in the VFL. He made his debut against
Essendon Essendon may refer to:
Australia
*Electoral district of Essendon
*Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington
*Essendon, Victoria
**Essendon railway station
**Essendon Airport
*Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League
United King ...
at the MCG in round 7, 2001 and kicked two goals and was Richmond's only multiple goal scorer in the 46-point loss to the Bombers.
A small crumbing forward with excellent evasive skills, Krakouer finished 2nd in Richmond's goal kicking in 2003, 3rd in 2004 and 4th in 2005 and 2006. Krakouer was also a good tackler and in 2004 he laid 95 tackles which was the highest at Richmond and 9th overall in the AFL for that season.
He, along with his brother Tyrone, was charged with assault causing
grievous bodily harm
Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The ...
on 24 December 2006 after an incident in
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
on 22 December 2006.
Krakouer was delisted by the Tigers on 22 October 2007.
Prison and WAFL football
He returned to Western Australia and played in the WAFL for
Swan Districts
The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb ...
.
He was found guilty in June 2008 of assault with intent to cause bodily harm, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' jail. He was sentenced to four years' jail with a minimum non-parole period of 16 months. The sentence was later reduced from 48 to 32 months' jail time.
Krakouer played for the
Wooroloo Prison
Wooroloo Prison Farm is an Australian minimum-security prison located in Wooroloo, Western Australia. It was established in 1972 under an arrangement that it would offer some of its amenities to the community of Wooroloo. It was previously the si ...
team, which participated in the
Mercantile Football Association
The Metro Football League (MFL) is one of two community based football leagues based in Perth, Western Australia. The league is made up of 10 clubs over one division.
History
Formerly known as the Mercantile Football Association, the leagu ...
.
Krakouer was released from prison on parole in August 2009, and signed on to play the 2010 football season for Swan Districts in the WAFL. He performed very well for the Swans, winning the
Swan Medal
Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...
as the fairest and best player at the club and the
2010 Sandover Medal as the fairest and best player in the WAFL. He won the
Simpson Medal
The Simpson Medal is an individual prize awarded for Australian rules football in Western Australia. The medal has been donated by Dr Fred Simpson and family since 1945.
Simpson Medals are currently awarded to the following players:
*The best pla ...
as the best on ground in the Swans' one-point win against
Claremont in the WAFL Grand Final, after amassing 42 disposals and kicking four goals, including the game-winning goal in the 33rd minute of the final quarter. A special analysis of the game showed that Krakouer would have polled 290 Champion Data ranking points (
Supercoach points) in the game, more than any player has polled in an AFL game since the statistical technique was implemented in 2004.
AFL return
On 7 October 2010,
Collingwood signed Krakouer. The newly established
Gold Coast Suns
The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara.
The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...
agreed to pre-list him as one of its ten uncontracted players, and then immediately trade him (along with
John Ceglar
Jonathon Ceglar (born 14 February 1991) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Ceglar was also listed with the Collingwood Footba ...
, and a draft pick from each of the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds) to Collingwood in exchange for its first round selection in the
2010 AFL Draft (pick number 25 overall). Krakouer was unable to join his new teammates on the club's pre-season training camp in
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, as his prior conviction meant he was denied entry to the United States.
Krakouer kicked 35 goals in 23 games in his first season with Collingwood and finished 2nd in the Collingwood goal kicking (behind Travis Cloke - 69 goals), including three goals in the
2011 Grand Final loss to Geelong. He won the
2011 AFL Mark of the Year, receiving the
Alex Jesaulenko Medal
The Alex Jesaulenko Medal refers to three unrelated medals in Australian rules football, all named in honour of Alex Jesaulenko, a legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame. The medals are currently awarded annually to the best player in the ...
and a $10,000 cash prize from
Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd. is an Australian fast food franchise of the Burger King Corporation. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin. Hungry Jack's owns and operates or sub-l ...
, for his mark in Round 9 against the
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) sinc ...
at
Etihad Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...
.
Krakouer ruptured his
anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...
in a pre-season practice match in February 2012, however he returned to AFL later in the 2012 season for the final home and away match against Essendon (kicking 1 goal) and the following week he kicked 4 goals in Collingwood's 38-point loss to the
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawt ...
in the Qualifying Final at the MCG.
In early 2012, Krakouer changed his guernsey number to the number three after
John McCarthy was delisted. His father,
Jim
Jim or JIM may refer to:
* Jim (given name), a given name
* Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James
* Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy
* OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism
* ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring
* ''Jim ...
wore this number for most of his career. However, during his rehabilitation from his knee injury he decided to revert to the number 7 he wore successfully in 2011.
Krakouer was delisted at the end of the 2013 season. In November 2013, Krakouer signed on to play for
West Perth for the next 2 years. However, before the beginning of the 2014 season, Krakouer walked away from the contract with
West Perth in favour of an employment opportunity in the mining industry, however the job opportunity didn't eventuate and so Krakouer finished his career off at West Perth playing 4 games.
Krakouer's final League career game and goal tally was 227 games and 271 goals which included:
AFL
* Richmond: 102 games / 102 goals
* Collingwood: 35 games / 50 goals
VFL
* Coburg Tigers: 39 games / 57 goals
* Collingwood: 14 games / 5 goals
WAFL
* Swan Districts: 32 games / 48 goals
* West Perth: 4 games / 8 goals
Krakouer also played in five League Grand Finals in his career and averaged 2.40 goals per game which was an excellent return for a small crumbing forward:
* 2002 AFL Preseason Grand Final for Richmond vs
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 ...
(1 goal) at
Etihad Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...
.
*
2007 VFL Grand Final for
Coburg Tigers
The Coburg Football Club, nicknamed the Coburg Lions, is an Australian rules football club based in Coburg, a northern suburb of Melbourne, and currently playing in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It is based at Coburg City Oval since 191 ...
vs
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
(1 goal) at
MC Labour Park
Princes Park (or Carlton Recreation Ground, currently known by its sponsored name Ikon Park) is an Australian rules football ground located inside the wider Princes Park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North. It is a historic venue, ...
*
2010 WAFL Grand Final
The 2010 WAFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Claremont Football Club and the Swan Districts Football Club on 19 September 2010 at Subiaco Oval, to determine the premier team of the West Australian Footbal ...
for
Swan Districts
The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb ...
vs
Claremont Football Club
The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Claremont, Western Australia, that currently plays in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Its official colours are na ...
(4 goals) at
Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood.
Subiaco Oval was the high ...
*
2011 AFL Preseason Grand Final for Collingwood vs Essendon (3 goals) at Etihad Stadium.
* 2011 AFL Grand Final for Collingwood vs Geelong (3 goals) at the
MCG
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...
.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krakouer, Andrew
1983 births
Living people
Australian people convicted of assault
Sandover Medal winners
Richmond Football Club players
Collingwood Football Club players
South Fremantle Football Club players
Swan Districts Football Club players
Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football
Australian rules footballers from Western Australia
Coburg Football Club players