Dennis Brett Armfield (born 22 December 1986) 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

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 ...

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). After moving from Canberra to Perth as a child, Armfield spent all his junior years playing

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

, where, among his duties, he was his team's designated place-kicker. After converting to Australian Rules Football at the age of 17, where he played for the local Kalamunda Football Club, before being recruited that year by

Swan Districts Football Club The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb ...

in Western Australia in 2002, playing as a utility/midfielder. He worked his way through the Swan Districts junior ranks, and in 2006 was awarded the club's rookie of the year award, as well as being best on ground in the 2006 reserves grand final. He played all twenty games for the Swans' seniors in 2007. Armfield nominated for the 2007 national draft. He was noted for his fast pace and quick acceleration, and a strong tackling style remnant from his rugby union background. He was selected by the

with a third round selection (No. 46 overall). At the age of almost twenty-one years when, he rather old for a National Draft selection at the time. Armfield made his debut in round 10, 2008 against

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. Armfield was primarily back pocketer in his first four seasons with the club, playing 60 of a possible 92 games throughout that time, as either a midfielder/small forward, or in defensive roles against small forwards. He became a regular player in 2012, playing 21 out of 22 games, and added a strong counter-attacking game to his defensive abilities, kicking 16 goals for the season; he won the Best Clubman and Spirit of Carlton awards at the 2012 Best and Fairest awards night. Armfield became a cult figure at the club, popular among fans, and was elevated to the club's leadership group in the 2017 season. Despite the position, a drop-off in form saw him play only five games for the season, and he retired from the AFL at the end of the year. During his time at Carlton, Armfield studied podiatry, after previously studying physiotherapy.

References

External links

* *
Dennis Armfield
player profile page at WAFL FootyFacts
WAFL player statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armfield, Dennis 1986 births Carlton Football Club players Swan Districts Football Club players Living people Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Preston Football Club (VFA) players