Dylan Roberton (born 21 June 1991) 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
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 ...
and
St Kilda Football Club
The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league.
The club ...
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). He was selected with the 49th selection in the
2009 AFL National Draft from the
Dandenong Stingrays
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays are an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition.
1992 saw the birth of the Southern Stingrays, developed under the leadership of Steve Kennedy (Regional Ma ...
in the
TAC Cup
The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...
by .
Playing career
![Dylan Roberton July 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Dylan_Roberton_July_2010.jpg)
Career with Fremantle (2010–12)
Roberton started the 2010 season playing for
East Perth
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from ...
in the
WAFL and was named to make his AFL debut for Fremantle in the Round 6
Western Derby
The Western Derby () is the name given to the Australian rules football match between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL). As both teams are based in Perth, the capital ...
.
In 2011 he was used as Fremantle's first ever substitute player in their opening round match against 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 ...
, replacing
Rhys Palmer
Rhys Palmer (born 13 February 1989) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club, Greater Western Sydney Giants and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He won the ...
in the third quarter.
Career with St Kilda (2013–2021)
At the end of the 2012 season, Roberton requested a trade from the Dockers to a Melbourne-based team. When a trade did not eventuate he was delisted by Fremantle and then invited to train with
St Kilda. He was signed as a "delisted free agent" on 30 November 2012 by the Saints.
In 2017, Roberton was named in the 40-man
All-Australian team
The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, 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-perf ...
squad as one of the best rebounding defenders in the league. Roberton also capped a brilliant season, finishing second in the
Trevor Barker Award
The Trevor Barker Award is an Australian rules football award for the player voted the St Kilda Football Club best and fairest player during the home and away season in the Australian Football League by a voting panel.
The St Kilda Best & Fair ...
. He also extended his contract for another four years, until the end of the 2021 season.
In Round 4 2018, Roberton collapsed on the field in a game against Geelong at Kardinia Park. It was determined that Roberton was suffering from a heart condition, and he was unable to retake the field. Roberton’s heart rate had soared to around 300 beats per minute which is more than 100 beats per minute beyond the max heart rate of a person of his age. Roberton ultimately did not return to football in 2018. In a pre-season game in 2019 in Ballarat, Roberton felt unwell and missed the rest of the match. He did not play the 2019 season.
Roberton returned to the leadership group ahead of the 2020 season. Roberton played in the Saints' Round 1 clash against North Melbourne, his first AFL-level game since his collapse in 2018. However, Roberton did not play at AFL level again in 2020 following the resumption of the season following the
Coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...
hiatus from April to June.
In early January 2021 defender Roberton announced he was taking a break from his footballing duties to consider his future in football. Roberton has been attempting to make a full return to football following a collapse as a result of a heart condition in Round 4 2018. Roberton ultimately announced his retirement from the game on 6 March, stating that "I've come to a point where I need to put my family and future first...after lengthy discussions with my family and on the advice of my doctors, I've made the extremely hard decision to hang up the boots."
Coaching
Roberton was appointed the forwards coach of the ' AFLW team in October 2021.
Personal life
In January 2013, it was revealed that a major reason for Roberton wanting to return to Victoria was to be closer to his and his partner Amy's families. The couple's first son, named Boston, was born in November 2012.
Roberton's second son was born in June 2014, and a daughter was born in June 2015.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberton, Dylan
1991 births
Living people
Fremantle Football Club players
East Perth Football Club players
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Dandenong Stingrays players
St Kilda Football Club players
Sandringham Football Club players