Che Cockatoo-Collins (born 5 March 1975) 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 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). Cockatoo-Collins was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Queensland, before moving to

Cairns, Queensland Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, where he began playing junior football with the Cairns City Cobras Australian Football Club. Cockatoo-Collins moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

with his family whilst still at school and signed up with the

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

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) where he became noticed for his skills and pace. Cockatoo-Collins played 25 SANFL games before being drafted by

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 ...

Essendon career

Debuting with AFL club

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

as a 19-year-old, Cockatoo-Collins slowly started to improve his game. He played 16 games in 1994, averaging 16 disposals per game and kicking 24 goals. He did well in the next season, but the 1996 season was to be his break-through year. He played all 24 games that his club played apart from one, kicking 37 goals and picking up 15 disposals a game. His form then dropped off in the next two seasons, eventually being traded to

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

at the end of the 1998 season.

Port Adelaide career

Cockatoo-Collins proved in his first season at the club (

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

) that he was a useful pickup. He played 12 games, kicking 23 goals. The next season however was to be a sad one for him, only playing 2 games due to persistent injury troubles. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, he played 22 out of 24 games, kicking 41 goals and averaging 15 disposals in his best season yet. In the next two seasons, he was to kick 40 goals in total, but only being able to play 16 games in what was to be his last season. At the end of the

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, he was delisted.

Retirement

Cockatoo-Collins kept on playing for the

, becoming a solid contributor to the team. He announced his retirement from the SANFL in February 2006. Cockatoo-Collins then played for United in the

Adelaide Plains Football League The Adelaide Plains Football League (APFL) is an Australian rules football competition based in the Adelaide Plains region immediately north of Adelaide, South Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football Leag ...

in 2007 and 2008, missing the 2007 grand final. Cockatoo-Collins had a small role in the 2005 Australian movie 'Look both Ways' starring William McInnes and Justine Clarke. He is the man who walks into the editors office at the start and is told to go away. He is seen photocopying in a later scene as well.

Personal life

Cockatoo-Collins's younger twin brothers

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and

Donald Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

also played for Port Adelaide Football Club and in the AFL for

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The "Cockatoo" part of his surname derives from his maternal great-great grandfather in Cape York being known as "Old Man Cockatoo". His nephew, Nakia Cockatoo, is a professional footballer with the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockatoo-Collins, Che Essendon Football Club players Port Adelaide Magpies players Port Adelaide Football Club players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players 1975 births Living people Allies State of Origin players Australian rules football players from Cairns