David Rhys-Jones (born 16 June 1962) 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

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

and the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

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). Rhys-Jones's reputation as a footballer is somewhat sullied by his regular visits to the

AFL Tribunal The AFL Tribunal is the disciplinary tribunal of the Australian Football League (AFL), an Australian rules football competition. The Tribunal regulates the conduct of players, umpires, and other officials associated with the AFL and its clubs. ...

; he currently holds the record for being the most reported player in VFL/AFL history, having had his number taken by umpires 25 times over his 13-season career. But when fit and available, Rhys-Jones's versatility, pace and agility made him a valuable footballer; the best example being when he was given the challenging task of playing in defence on champion

Dermott Brereton Dermott Hugh Brereton (born 19 August 1964) is an Australian former professional Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League (AFL) who is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. Of Irish descent (his p ...

in the 1987 VFL Grand Final and held him goalless for the only time that season, resulting in Carlton winning its 15th VFL premiership and Rhys-Jones being awarded the

Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the Grand Final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990 the competition was known as the Victorian Football ...

Career

Rhys-Jones began his career with South Melbourne in 1980, which relocated north becoming the Sydney Swans in 1982. He moved back south to join Carlton in 1985 after a pay dispute. He remained with Carlton until his retirement in 1992. Rhys-Jones was a superbly balanced footballer, capable of playing in multiple positions and equally adept as a goalkicking option as he was at shutting down opponents. His nullifying of

in the 1987

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

earned Rhys-Jones the

. He was awarded nine

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

votes that year. In 1992, Rhys-Jones was appointed captain-coach of the

North Launceston Football Club The North Launceston Football Club, nicknamed ''The Bombers'', is an Australian rules football club based in Launceston, Tasmania. Australia. Since 2009 they have played in the newly formed Tasmanian State League. History The club started as " ...

. After playing his 50th game in the 1995 winning grand final team, Rhys-Jones left to coach Frankston in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

. After three years of successive finals appearances, including two grand finals, Rhys-Jones quit Frankston to concentrate on media commitments. In 2000, he was appointed coach of

Heidelberg Football Club Heidelberg Football Club is an Australian rules football club in Heidelberg, Victoria, currently competing in the Northern Football League. History Established in 1876, Heidelberg Football Club is one of the oldest Australian rules football club ...

. After a run of injuries in 2001, he decided to pull on the boots himself. The tribunal ruling that he was not allowed on the field forced Rhys-Jones to give his quarter-time team addresses from behind the boundary line. The following year, he announced in his biography that he used

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

during his playing career.

Statistics

: , - style=background:#EAEAEA , scope=row , 1980 , , , , 40 , 4 , , 3 , , 4 , , 30 , , 14 , , 44 , , 10 , , , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 7.5 , , 3.5 , , 11.0 , , 2.5 , , , , 0 , - , scope=row ,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, , , , 30 , 18 , , 1 , , 5 , , 175 , , 108 , , 283 , , 56 , , , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 9.7 , , 6.0 , , 15.7 , , 3.1 , , , , 3 , - style=background:#EAEAEA , scope=row ,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, , , , 30 , 21 , , 3 , , 11 , , 186 , , 168 , , 354 , , 59 , , , , 0.1 , , 0.5 , , 8.9 , , 8.0 , , 16.9 , , 2.8 , , , , 1 , - , scope=row , 1983 , , , , 30 , 14 , , 9 , , 6 , , 154 , , 115 , , 269 , , 58 , , , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 11.0 , , 8.2 , , 19.2 , , 4.1 , , , , 0 , - style=background:#EAEAEA , scope=row ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, , , , 30 , 19 , , 23 , , 13 , , 178 , , 127 , , 305 , , 64 , , , , 1.2 , , 0.7 , , 9.4 , , 6.7 , , 16.0 , , 3.4 , , , , 0 , - , scope=row , 1985 , , , , 26 , 19 , , 22 , , 13 , , 156 , , 153 , , 309 , , 59 , , , , 1.2 , , 0.7 , , 8.2 , , 8.0 , , 16.3 , , 3.1 , , , , 2 , - style=background:#EAEAEA , scope=row ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, , , , 26 , 17 , , 4 , , 3 , , 166 , , 134 , , 300 , , 70 , , , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 9.8 , , 7.9 , , 17.6 , , 4.1 , , , , 3 , - , scope=row bgcolor=F0E68C ,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

^# , , , , 26 , 20 , , 7 , , 4 , , 172 , , 166 , , 338 , , 64 , , 21 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 8.6 , , 8.3 , , 16.9 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , 9 , - style=background:#EAEAEA , scope=row ,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, , , , 26 , 19 , , 17 , , 7 , , 150 , , 111 , , 261 , , 69 , , 33 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 7.9 , , 5.8 , , 13.7 , , 3.6 , , 1.7 , , 3 , - , scope=row , 1989 , , , , 26 , 16 , , 2 , , 3 , , 129 , , 143 , , 272 , , 69 , , 27 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 8.1 , , 8.9 , , 17.0 , , 4.3 , , 1.7 , , 0 , - style=background:#EAEAEA , scope=row ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, , , , 26 , 8 , , 15 , , 6 , , 52 , , 46 , , 98 , , 26 , , 7 , , 1.9 , , 0.8 , , 6.5 , , 5.8 , , 12.3 , , 3.3 , , 0.9 , , 0 , - , scope=row ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, , , , 26 , 1 , , 1 , , 1 , , 3 , , 2 , , 5 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 3.0 , , 2.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0 , - style=background:#EAEAEA , scope=row ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, , , , 26 , 6 , , 5 , , 2 , , 27 , , 23 , , 50 , , 8 , , 8 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 4.5 , , 3.8 , , 8.3 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , 0 , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 182 !! 112 !! 78 !! 1578 !! 1310 !! 2888 !! 613 !! 96 !! 0.6 !! 0.4 !! 8.7 !! 7.2 !! 15.9 !! 3.4 !! 1.4 !! 21

Honours and achievements

Team * VFL premiership player ():

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy which has been awarded each year since 1951 by the Australian Football League (known prior to 1990 as the Victorian Football League) to the best-performing club in the home-and-away sea ...

():

Individual *

Personal life

Rhys-Jones married his second wife Cheri Donnelly in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in 2001. They have a son together, Cooper, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome, and a daughter, Madison.Herald Sun: Family battles with Cooper's insatiable hunger
/ref> Additionally, Rhys-Jones has three children from his first marriage: Sharna, Molly, and Dakota. Rhys-Jones and wife Cheri took over the Canada Hotel on Melbourne's

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...

, in 2002, renaming it the Plough and Harrow Hotel. That year, Rhys-Jones joined a reality show on Channel 7, called '' The Club'', and he was chosen by audience votes to coach a new Australian rules football team in the

Western Region Football League The Western Region Football League is an Australian rules football semi-professional league, based in the western suburbs of Melbourne, for both seniors and juniors. History The league was formed in 1931 as the "Footscray District Football L ...

. The team was named the Kensington Hill Hammerheads, which Rhys-Jones coached to a premiership in its first (and only) year. Rhys-Jones lives in Melbourne.

References

Bibliography

External Links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys-Jones, David Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Carlton Football Club players Carlton Football Club Premiership players Sydney Swans players North Launceston Football Club players North Launceston Football Club coaches Norm Smith Medal winners 1962 births One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players