David Sierakowski (born 29 December 1974) 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 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 ...

. He was recruited to the Saints in the 1992 AFL Draft under the father-son rule. He spent the whole of 1993 season in the reserves developing his game and settling into Melbourne life with relatives. He became a solid

key position Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

player, particularly in defence. During his 1993 debut year with just 3 games, he spent 3 months in Perth under orders of coach

Stan Alves Neil Stanley "Stan" Alves, Order of Australia, OAM (born 22 May 1946) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Playing career Melbourne Alves played 226 games and kicked a total of 160 goals for the Melbourne Football Club from ...

to improve his fitness. Sierakowski returned to St Kilda and played most of the 1994 season in major roles down back in the senior side. This season saw David win the club's Best First Year and Most Improved Player Awards. Sierakowski played in St Kilda’s 1996 AFL Ansett Australia Cup winning side. Throughout the year, Sierakowski found himself playing both forward and defensive roles, taking a liking to the wide open spaces of

Waverley Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian-based Victorian Football ...

and building a reputation along the way. A major career highlight included playing in the 1997

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 ...

side. By 1998, he had become a versatile player and was spending more time in ruckman roles. He capped off a stellar year earning

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

selection for WA and played against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

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 ...

. The off-season meant major knee surgery after suffering from recurring

patella The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...

tendonitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elb ...

. Mid-way through 1999 came the first of a series of major knee injuries, when Sierakowski snapped his right patella tendon in a game against

Fremantle 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 ...

. He was sidelined for nearly 12 months and returned to play 13 games in 2000 under new coach

Tim Watson Timothy Michael Watson (born 13 July 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After retiring from the game, he has continued working in the Australian footb ...

and finished 6th in the club's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award. The off-season saw the robust utility traded to the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

in a trade that enabled

Fraser Gehrig Fraser Gehrig (born 3 March 1976) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL) . Gehrig was a versatile player during his AFL career, begi ...

to return to Melbourne. WCE drafted

Daniel Kerr Daniel Alan Kerr (born 16 May 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played 220 games for the club between 2001 and 2013, as a hard-running inside midfield ...

. Sierakowski, originally from Perth, moved back to his home state in 2001. He made his debut for the club in Round 1 of that year against Geelong at

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major AFL stadium, a secondary football oval, a cricket field, an open air swimming pool, a number of ...

but was struck in the back of the head by an errant swinging forearm. Knocked unconscious mid-air from the severity of the blow, and landing awkwardly, he suffered a second knee injury, requiring a reconstruction that forced him out of the game until 2002. He returned but struggled to find form, with a series of hamstring injuries and continuing knee problems. Unable to capture his true form, he retired at the end of 2003. Sierakowski has stayed involved in football at WAFL level as an assistant coach with

Subiaco Football Club The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions and known before 1973 as the ''Maroons'', is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAF ...

, initially under

Peter German Peter German (born 2 February 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer. Since retiring he has become a successful coach. German coached Subiaco to the 2004 and 2006 WAFL premierships and was rewarded by being named as an assistant to ...

where the club won 2 Premierships in 3 years. Under

Scott Watters Scott Watters (born 25 January 1969) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. As a player, he was drafted from the South Fremantle Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) to the West Coast Eagles in the Austr ...

, he had been an important part of the match committee. He now owns and manages Scout Entertainment, which is in liquidation.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sierakowski, David St Kilda Football Club players West Coast Eagles players 1974 births Living people Subiaco Football Club players Australian people of Polish descent Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Western Australian State of Origin players