Paul Licuria (born 4 January 1978) 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

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 ...

and

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...

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).

AFL career

Sydney Swans

Licuria was drafted to in the 1995 National Draft as a second round selection, after having two knee reconstructions at ages 16 and 17. He was recruited as a hard-working midfielder but also was rumoured as a recruit to keep

Anthony Rocca Anthony Rocca (born 15 August 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League. Rocca is currently serving as North Melbourne's development coach. Sydney ...

at the club as they were good friends. Licuria struggled to get a spot in the side after his debut in 1997. He played 4 games in 1997, and then only 6 more in 1998, not having the impact he would have liked.

Collingwood Football Club

Licuria was traded to the club he supported as a child, , as part of a deal which saw Sydney receive their first round selection, (no.3 overall). Licuria immediately made an impact at the club with his ability to win the ball off half-back; however, his disposal let him down, and his consistency had dropped off, causing him to be dropped halfway through his first year. However, he came back into the side and won a Rising Star nomination for a 28 possession game against 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 ...

. His form at the time showed signs of what was to come and he carried this form into the 2000 season, finishing 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 ...

, and playing every game with an average of 21 touches. His 2001 and 2002 seasons were brilliant. His disposal was once again questioned, but his incredible workrate and consistency were rated very highly. He played every game in both seasons, averaging 23 and 22 touches a game in respective seasons. He capped both terrific seasons by winning the

Copeland Trophy The E.W. Copeland Trophy is an Australian rules football award given by the Collingwood Football Club to the player adjudged best and fairest for Collingwood during the year. The Copeland Shield, as it was formerly known, was donated by Ern Cope ...

. It stunned everyone with his win in 2001, but in 2002 it was expected in the year the club made it to the Grand Final. Licuria's final series was fantastic. Despite a poor performance in the big game, he would achieve a career-high 40 disposals in the Qualifying Final against and in the 2002 Grand final loss to Brisbane he and Mick Malthouse showed their disappointment in tears, with Licuria visibly

crying Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state, or pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, and even happiness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secr ...

. His 2003 season was productive also, managing 24 games, missing round 1 through suspension, and breaking a consecutive games run of 74 games. He played all games once again in 2004 and 2005, being noted as one of the most durable midfielders, despite his knee problems early in his career. He finished runner-up in the 2004

, once again showing his importance to the side. However, 2006 would see Licuria exposed as a tiring player, with his use of the ball continually debated, and his consistency being questioned. He was rested in Round 16 after an inconsistent start to the year, with highs and lows. He played for Williamstown in the VFL but forced his way back into the side after one week in the reserves. After playing few games during the 2007 season, Licuria retired from the AFL at the end of the season. In 2011, Licuria was inducted into the Collingwood Hall of Fame.

Collingwood Reserves

After Paul retired from AFL football in 2007 he was appointed team manager, with Eddie Hillgrove, of the newly formed Collingwood VFL side under the team's head coach Gavin Brown. Paul also played for the VFL side in the 2008 season and now plays in the VAFA.

Post AFL

Licuria became a contestant on the Channel Seven series

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

for the 2008 series of the show. Overall, Licuria finished third in the competition. He played for

Victorian Amateur Football Association The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria. It consists of seven senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division 4. In addition there ...

club Old Scotch in 2009. Licuria is currently the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the online education training company

alffie alffie is an Australian online training company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It currently provides nationally accredited vocational training in the areas of business, supply chain operations, community services, hospitality, retail ser ...

. Licuria is also a member of the

Board.

Personal life

Paul married British born Barbara Hawley on 15 February 2008. They have a daughter, Saffron Ursula Louisa (born July 2009), and a son Cassius (born October 2011).Paul Licuria takes a barb at Magpie Mick Malthouse
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Licuria, Paul Collingwood Football Club players 1978 births Living people Australian people of Italian descent Australian people of Spanish descent Sydney Swans players Copeland Trophy winners Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Northern Knights players Old Scotch Football Club players Collingwood Football Club administrators