Daniel Cross (born 30 March 1983) is a former professional

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 and

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

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). A

Charles Sutton Medal The Charles Sutton Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged best and fairest for the Western Bulldogs throughout the Victorian Football League/ Australian Football League season. The medal is named a ...

list with the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

, he finished his 249-game career with 210 games at the Western Bulldogs and 39 with Melbourne. He has served as the development and rehabilitation coach of the Melbourne Football Club since October 2015.

AFL career

Early career (2002–2004)

Cross was recruited by the

with the 56th overall selection in the 2000 national draft. He made his AFL debut in a 19-point victory against in round 10, 2002. Despite the Bulldogs winning the match, he managed only two disposals. He played a further three games for 2002. He played his first match for 2003 in round 4 against , but struggled to make a big impact. He was dropped after round 6 to the VFL to play with Weribee. After impressive performances with Werribee, Cross was recalled to the Bulldogs side. His return to the Bulldogs side was good enough for him to keep his place in the side the following week, but after a disappointing performance against Richmond in round 17, he was again dropped. He was promoted to the AFL side in round 22, and managed 18 disposals, in what was an otherwise disappointing game for the Bulldogs due to losing by 84 points to the . He made the decision to stay with the Western Bulldogs for the 2004 season, despite only managing to play a total of ten games in his first three seasons. After playing just two games in the first ten weeks of the 2004 season, Cross was able to play the remaining twelve matches of the season and was named the round 19 nominee for the Rising Star after recording 28 disposals against at the

Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...

Key midfielder at Western Bulldogs (2005–2010)

The Western Bulldogs made an impressive start to the 2005 campaign under new coach

Rodney Eade Rodney Eade (born 4 April 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach in the Australian Football League. He is a former coach of the Sydney Swans, the Western Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Football Club. He has, to date, coached 37 ...

. The Bulldogs opened the season with a 32-point victory over , and he was vital in the win, collecting 24 possessions. He received his first ever Brownlow vote for his round 7 performance against Brisbane, where he recorded 29 possessions in the 23-point win. He finished the season with 563 disposals, and finished with the most handballs in the league with 384. Cross reached his 50-game milestone in round 4 2006, against where he collected 20 disposals in a 1-point victory over the Cats. He played his first finals match against Collingwood in the elimination final where he registered 32 disposals in a 41-point victory, however the Bulldogs lost the next week to . His season comprised many high-disposal matches and he finished the season third overall for disposals and second overall for handballs in the league. He suffered a serious injury against in round 11 2007 and missed the following six games. In his return match against , he collected 30 disposals. 2008 saw Cross play a more integral role in the midfield, with

Scott West Scott West (born 14 November 1974) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented the in the Australian Football League (AFL). Having won a club-record seven Charlie Sutton Medals, West is recognised as one of the Bulldogs' greatest- ...

suffering a long term injury. He played his 100th AFL game in round 15 against Melbourne, where he registered 25 disposals in a 31-point victory. He was one of the three Bulldogs players nominated for the 2008

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

award, eventually won by Gary Ablett. The Bulldogs made it to the preliminary final, in what was the best on-field season for the team to that point in Cross' career, they lost the preliminary final to eventual runners up, Geelong, by 29 points. His season was rewarded with the

as the club best-and-fairest, finishing 24 points ahead of

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 ...

list,

Adam Cooney Adam Cooney (born 30 September 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He won the Brownlow Medal in 2008, with 24 votes b ...

. He also received the inaugural Scott West award for the most courageous player and the Bruce Wilkinson award for the best player as voted by the trainers. In October 2008, he married long-time girlfriend Samantha Mallia. Cross played every match of the 2009 season, where he accumulated a total of 581 disposals. The Western Bulldogs again made the preliminary final, but lost the match to by 7 points. He underwent a double ankle reconstruction in the off-season of 2009, but managed to return during the

2010 NAB Cup 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, where the Bulldogs were the eventual winners. He played every match of the season which saw the Bulldogs reach a third consecutive preliminary final, but ultimately lost to St Kilda by 24-points. He was the runner up in the best-and-fairest, finishing nine votes behind

Ryan Griffen Ryan Leigh Griffen (born 27 July 1986) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs and the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). Griffen was born in Goolwa, a South Australi ...

. He also played in the 2010

International Rules International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...

Series against Ireland.

Final years at Western Bulldogs (2011–2013)

He continued his consistent performances in 2011 where he averaged over 24 possessions per game for the seventh season in a row. He received the Scott West award and was ranked first at the club for tackles (125, averaging 5.7), handballs (323, averaging 14.7) and marks (125, averaging 5.7). He was nominated for the most courageous player at the

AFL Players Association awards The AFL Players Association (AFLPA) awards are a group of awards given annually to players in the Australian Football League, voted for by all AFL players. Main awards The AFLPA nominates the following four awards as their main awards. Leigh Ma ...

, which was eventually won by captain, Jonathan Brown. During 2012, he shifted between the midfield and defence. He won the Scott West award for the second consecutive year. Cross played the first eight games of 2013 before being dropped from the senior side, where he played for the Bulldogs aligned side, Williamstown, before earning a recall in round 19 against . In the week leading to the final round clash with Melbourne, it was announced the Bulldogs would not renew Cross' contract, ending his 11-year playing career with the club, in addition, it was the first time in a decade he did not finish inside the top-10 for the best-and-fairest.

Move to Melbourne (2014–2015)

In November 2013, Cross signed with as a delisted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on a one-year contract. Brought into the club due to his 'reputation for elite preparation and leadership to help out the younger players', he was named in the leadership group alongside

Lynden Dunn Lynden Dunn (born 14 May 1987) is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for Melbourne from 2005 to 2016 and for Collingwood from 2017 to 2020. He kicked 99 goals in 198 games. ...

and Chris Dawes in April 2014, replacing the injured

Jack Trengove Jack Trengove (born 2 September 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer who most recently played for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A Australian rules football positions#Midfield, midfielde ...

and retired Mitch Clark. He played the first thirteen matches of 2014 before succumbing to a broken leg during the round 14 match against , he played the remainder of the match, but was forced to miss the next five matches through injury. He was offered a contract extension for 2015 in July due to his leadership experience. He returned to the side in round 20 against and played the remaining four matches for the season. He won the

Dick Taylor Richard Clifford Taylor (born 28 January 1943) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and founding member of the Pretty Things. Taylor was an early bassist for the Rolling Stones, but left the band to resume his studies at Sidcu ...

trophy for finishing fifth in the best-and-fairest behind Nathan Jones,

Dom Tyson Dom Tyson (born 8 June 1993) is a former professional Australian rules footballer playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, tall and weighing , Tyson is capable of contributing as both an inside and outside midfielder. ...

Bernie Vince Bernard Vince (born 2 October 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club, Adelaide and Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has since become involved in the football me ...

and

, he was also rewarded with the James McDonald award for best team man. Cross was maintained in the leadership group for 2015 and played every match for the season, mainly across half-back. He recorded an equal career-high 39 disposals against in round 22, however, three days later, it was announced Melbourne would not offer Cross a contract extension and he subsequently announced his retirement effective after the round 23 match against . He was awarded the Ron Barassi Jnr leadership award for 2015 alongside

. In October, he accepted an off-field role to stay at Melbourne as development and rehabilitation coach from 2016 onward. He also acts as the team's runner on game day since 2016.

Albury FC (2016 - 2021)

Cross returned to play with his original club,

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

in the

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray are ...

in 2016 in a part time roles as a player, when time permitted him with his work commitments at Melbourne FC. He represented the O&MFL in 2016 against the

Hampden Football League The Hampden Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league based in South-Western Victoria, with clubs located in towns along or near the Princes Highway from Camperdown to Portland. The league is a major country ...

and won the best on ground award - the Norm Minns Medal. He then followed this up with a 2016 O&MFL premiership, plus the best on ground award in the grand final - the Did Simpson Medal. Cross then played in Albury's losing 2017 grand final, then played in another O&MFL premiership in 2018.

Victoria Harbour incident

On 4 October 2007, Cross and teammate Tom Williams leaped into the water of

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

to rescue a schoolgirl attempting to commit suicide. Despite the girl not wanting to be saved, they hauled her to safety after hearing bystanders screaming for help. When they emerged from the harbour they both had minor bruises and cuts. Both were reported to be in good spirits after the incident. Following the incident, Cross and Williams were awarded certificates of commendation by Hong Kong's Director of Marine.

Statistics

, - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

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2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 38 , , 6 , , 0 , , 1 , , 19 , , 36 , , 55 , , 19 , , 9 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 3.2 , , 6.0 , , 9.2 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 38 , , 14 , , 1 , , 0 , , 55 , , 131 , , 186 , , 43 , , 39 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 3.9 , , 9.4 , , 13.3 , , 3.1 , , 2.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 22 , , 2 , , 5 , , 179 , , 384 , , 563 , , 127 , , 94 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 8.1 , , 17.5 , , 25.6 , , 5.8 , , 4.3 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 24 , , 9 , , 6 , , 262 , , 363 , , 625 , , 146 , , 108 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 10.9 , , 15.1 , , 26.0 , , 6.1 , , 4.5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 15 , , 1 , , 2 , , 126 , , 241 , , 367 , , 89 , , 59 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 8.4 , , 16.1 , , 24.5 , , 5.9 , , 3.9 , - 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;", , 4 , , 25 , , 5 , , 2 , , 241 , , 422 , , 663 , , 138 , , 117 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 9.6 , , 16.9 , , 26.5 , , 5.5 , , 4.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 23 , , 5 , , 2 , , 162 , , 419 , , 581 , , 128 , , 100 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 7.0 , , 18.2 , , 25.3 , , 5.6 , , 4.3 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 25 , , 2 , , 4 , , 238 , , 423 , , 661 , , 139 , , 136 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 9.5 , , 16.9 , , 26.4 , , 5.6 , , 5.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 22 , , 1 , , 2 , , 207 , , 323 , , 530 , , 125 , , 125 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 9.4 , , 14.7 , , 24.1 , , 5.7 , , 5.7 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 17 , , 2 , , 1 , , 163 , , 242 , , 405 , , 88 , , 69 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 9.6 , , 14.2 , , 23.8 , , 5.2 , , 4.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 13 , , 4 , , 2 , , 117 , , 177 , , 294 , , 71 , , 57 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 9.0 , , 13.6 , , 22.6 , , 5.5 , , 4.4 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 18 , , 17 , , 1 , , 3 , , 123 , , 244 , , 367 , , 71 , , 90 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 7.2 , , 14.4 , , 21.6 , , 4.2 , , 5.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 18 , , 22 , , 0 , , 1 , , 216 , , 275 , , 491 , , 116 , , 76 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.8 , , 12.5 , , 22.3 , , 5.3 , , 3.5 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 249 ! 34 ! 31 ! 2113 ! 3687 ! 5800 ! 1304 ! 1082 ! 0.1 ! 0.1 ! 8.5 ! 14.8 ! 23.3 ! 5.2 ! 4.4

References

External links

* *
Daniel Cross' profile
from DemonWiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Daniel Australian rules footballers from New South Wales Western Bulldogs players Melbourne Football Club players Murray Bushrangers players Williamstown Football Club players Albury Football Club players Charles Sutton Medal winners 1983 births Living people Australia international rules football team players