Craig Bolton (born 31 May 1980) is a former
Australian rules footballer who played for 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 ...
and the
Sydney Swans in the
Australian Football League (AFL). He often plays at full back or on the half back flank. He is unrelated to former Swans teammate
Jude Bolton
Jude Bolton (born 15 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL) between 1999 and 2013.
Early life
Growing up, he supported the St Kilda Footbal ...
.
Playing career
Having played for the
Eastlake Football Club
The Canberra Demons (formerly known as the Eastlake Football Club) is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in the inner-south of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The senior team competed in the North East Austral ...
in
Canberra, and the
NSW
)
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
/
ACT Under 18s team, Bolton was picked by Brisbane in the 3rd round of the
1998 AFL Draft. He was on the Lions' list from 1999 until 2002, making his debut against
Carlton in Round 1 of the 2000 season. Being unable to gain a regular place in the very strong Brisbane team of the time forced Bolton to depart the club at the end of the 2002 season, managing only 29 games since his debut.
Bolton was selected by Sydney in the 2003 pre-season draft and was immediately given a starting role in the team. Quickly cementing his place in the side's backline, Bolton missed only one game in his first seven years with the Swans. His first three years with Sydney mirrored his time at Brisbane, with the Swans' making the preliminary finals in 2003, semi-finals in 2004 and the grand final in 2005. As opposed to his emergency listing for the 2001 and 2002 Grand Finals for the Lions, Bolton was now a regular member of the team for Sydney, and as such played a part in the Grand Final victory over
West Coast, earning his first premiership medal, as well as finishing third in the club's Best and Fairest Award.
Gradually establishing himself as one of the
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
's standout defenders, Bolton was awarded a place in the
2006 All-Australian team on the half-back flank position, and again in the
2009 team at his preferred position of centre-half back. He also finished third in the Swans' 2007 Best and Fairest Award.
At the beginning of the 2008 season, Bolton was named Swans' co-captain, alongside
Brett Kirk
Brett Kirk (born 25 October 1976) is a former Australian rules football player of the Sydney Swans and was the AFL's International Ambassador. Kirk is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Sydney Swans.
AFL career
Kirk grew up in Al ...
and
Leo Barry. Later that year Bolton represented the
Dream Team Australian rules football team
The AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match was a one-off all-star game between two representative sides organised by the Australian Football League to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Australian rules football. The match was intended to celebrate t ...
in the
Hall of Fame exhibition match at the MCG.
The latter half of his season in 2008 was somewhat restricted by a groin injury. After the Swans exited the finals, he travelled to Germany with teammate
Adam Goodes
Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallist, d ...
for surgery.
In 2010, Bolton sustained a bad Achilles tendon injury against West Coast at the SCG in Round 5, ruling him out for the year.
On 24 March 2011, Bolton announced his immediate retirement after an ankle injury which would rule him out of the upcoming
2011 AFL season
The 2011 AFL season was the 115th 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 sev ...
.
Media career
Following his playing career, Bolton commenced a media career as an Australian Rules Football commentator on
ABC Local Radio and also a guest commentator of the sport on the
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
.
Career achievements
* International Rules Australian representative 2004
* Premiership player 2005
* 3rd best and fairest 2005, 2007
* 2006
All Australian
The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led by ...
* 2008 – present Co-Captain
* 2009
All Australian
The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led by ...
Statistics
:
Craig Bolton's player profile at AFL Tables
/ref>
, - style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 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 S ...
, style="text-align:center;",
, 26 , , 15 , , 7 , , 4 , , 120 , , 41 , , 161 , , 54 , , 6 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 8.0 , , 2.7 , , 10.7 , , 3.6 , , 0.4
, -
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2001
, style="text-align:center;",
, 26 , , 8 , , 3 , , 2 , , 48 , , 33 , , 81 , , 23 , , 8 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 6.0 , , 4.1 , , 10.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.0
, - style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2002
, style="text-align:center;",
, 26 , , 6 , , 0 , , 1 , , 24 , , 17 , , 41 , , 9 , , 7 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 4.0 , , 2.8 , , 6.8 , , 1.5 , , 1.2
, -
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2003
, style="text-align:center;",
, 6 , , 24 , , 0 , , 0 , , 177 , , 108 , , 285 , , 93 , , 35 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 7.4 , , 4.5 , , 11.9 , , 3.9 , , 1.5
, - style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2004
, style="text-align:center;",
, 6 , , 24 , , 6 , , 0 , , 164 , , 106 , , 270 , , 81 , , 57 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 6.8 , , 4.4 , , 11.3 , , 3.4 , , 2.4
, -
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2005
, style="text-align:center;",
, 6 , , 26 , , 1 , , 3 , , 211 , , 137 , , 348 , , 112 , , 62 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 8.1 , , 5.3 , , 13.4 , , 4.3 , , 2.4
, - style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2006
, style="text-align:center;",
, 6 , , 24 , , 3 , , 4 , , 245 , , 104 , , 349 , , 144 , , 59 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 10.2 , , 4.3 , , 14.5 , , 6.0 , , 2.5
, -
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2007
, style="text-align:center;",
, 6 , , 23 , , 3 , , 2 , , 244 , , 110 , , 354 , , 138 , , 40 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 10.6 , , 4.8 , , 15.4 , , 6.0 , , 1.7
, - style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 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; ...
, style="text-align:center;",
, 6 , , 24 , , 2 , , 1 , , 249 , , 153 , , 402 , , 148 , , 45 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 10.4 , , 6.4 , , 16.8 , , 6.2 , , 1.9
, -
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2009
, style="text-align:center;",
, 6 , , 20 , , 0 , , 0 , , 188 , , 140 , , 328 , , 101 , , 31 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.4 , , 7.0 , , 16.4 , , 5.1 , , 1.6
, - style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2010
, style="text-align:center;",
, 6 , , 5 , , 0 , , 0 , , 26 , , 33 , , 59 , , 11 , , 9 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.2 , , 6.6 , , 11.8 , , 2.2 , , 1.8
, - class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3, Career
! 199
! 25
! 17
! 1696
! 982
! 2678
! 914
! 359
! 0.1
! 0.1
! 8.5
! 4.9
! 13.5
! 4.6
! 1.8
References
External links
Sydney Swans site player profile
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Craig
1980 births
Living people
Brisbane Lions players
Sydney Swans players
Sydney Swans Premiership players
All-Australians (AFL)
Australian rules footballers from the Australian Capital Territory
NSW/ACT Rams players
Eastlake Football Club players
Australia international rules football team players
One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players
Australian rules football commentators