Rory Laird (born 29 December 1993) is a 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 ...

player who plays for the

Adelaide Football Club The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since ...

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 drafted by Adelaide with pick 5 in the 2011 Rookie Draft.

AFL career

In his first season in the AFL, Laird did not play for Adelaide. He played 18 consecutive games for in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL), including three finals, but was dropped from the team that played in the SANFL Grand Final. The Crows elevated Laird to the senior list as a replacement for the injured Sam Shaw in April 2013, and he made his AFL debut against the in round 4 of the season. He immediately became a regular in the side, missing only one further game in the season through injury, and averaging 18.5 disposals per game as a small defender. Laird received the Round 20 nomination for the 2013

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

award, following a 24-possession game against , and signed a two-year contract with the club in the same week. Laird played 16 games in 2014 despite injury issues, playing in defence and occasionally in the midfield. He was dropped to the SANFL late in the season but responded with a 42-possession game to earn a recall. Laird had a breakout year in 2015, playing every game and averaging 24.4 disposals in defence while blanketing his opponents, which earned him a place on the 40-man shortlist for the

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 ...

. During the year, he signed a three-year contract extension with the club. In 2016, he was named in the 40-man All-Australian squad but did not make the team. He improved even more on his form in 2017, starting the season with a 40-possession game against . His form continued to stay at an elite level throughout the season, including a 34-possession game against in Round 12. His consistency was reward with both

All-Australian 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 ...

selection and being nominated by his team for the AFL Players' Association MVP Award. In 2018, Laird won the Malcolm Blight Medal as the Crows' Best and Fairest player. He was also selected in the All-Australian team for the second season in a row. In March 2021, Laird signed a five-year contract extension with the Crows.

Personal life

Laird grew up in the suburb of

Eden Hills, South Australia Eden Hills is a south eastern suburb located in the foothills of Adelaide, South Australia. It is part of the local government area of the City of Mitcham. History Whilst the derivation of the name is not conclusive, the Department of Lands Gr ...

. He attended

Scotch College, Adelaide Scotch College is an Independent school, independent, Uniting Church of Australia, Uniting Church, co-educational, Day school, day and boarding school, located on two adjacent campuses in Torrens Park, South Australia, Torrens Park and Mitcham, ...

, where he was coached by Brownlow Medalist

Gavin Wanganeen Gavin Adrian Wanganeen (born 18 June 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and also for the Port Adelaide Magpies in ...

. Rory has no relation to coach Roy Laird.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to end of Round 23 2022'' , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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" , , 46 , , 18 , , 1 , , 2 , , 180 , , 153 , , 333 , , 74 , , 51 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 10.0 , , 8.5 , , 18.5 , , 4.1 , , 2.8 , , 0 , - ! 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" , , 29 , , 16 , , 2 , , 2 , , 126 , , 129 , , 255 , , 65 , , 37 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 7.9 , , 8.1 , , 15.9 , , 4.1 , , 2.3 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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" , , 29 , , 23 , , 2 , , 4 , , 289 , , 273 , , 562 , , 133 , , 58 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 12.6 , , 11.9 , , 24.4 , , 5.8 , , 2.5 , , 2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, style="text-align:center" , , 29 , , 19 , , 1 , , 1 , , 251 , , 270 , , 521 , , 127 , , 40 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 13.2 , , 14.2 , , 27.4 , , 6.7 , , 2.1 , , 11 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, style="text-align:center" , , 29 , , 25 , , 3 , , 1 , , 367 , , 369 , , 736 , , 143 , , 55 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 14.7 , , 14.8 , , 29.4 , , 5.7 , , 2.2 , , 9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, style="text-align:center" , , 29 , , 20 , , 3 , , 4 , , 319 , , 325 , , 644 , , 124 , , 43 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 16.0 , , 16.3 , , 32.2 , , 6.2 , , 2.2 , , 19 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, style="text-align:center" , , 29 , , 22 , , 0 , , 1 , , 322 , , 301 , , 623 , , 125 , , 47 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 14.6 , , 13.7 , , 28.3 , , 5.7 , , 2.1 , , 2 , - , scope=row ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, , , 29 , , 17 , , 3 , , 1 , , 186 , , 203 , , 389 , , 46 , , 70 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 10.9 , , 11.9 , , 22.9 , , 2.7 , , 4.1 , , 4 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, style="text-align:center" , , 29 , , 22 , , 3 , , 8 , , 314 , , 390 , , 704 , , 82 , , 130 , , 0.1 , , 0.4 , , 14.3 , , 17.8 , , 32.0 , , 3.7 , , 5.9 , , 16 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, style="text-align:center" , , 29 , , 20 , , 7 , , 8 , , 284 , , 375 , , 659 , , 53 , , 162 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 14.2 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 18.8^† , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 33.0^† , , 2.6 , , 8.1 , , 10 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 202 ! 25 ! 32 ! 2638 ! 2788 ! 5426 ! 972 ! 693 ! 0.1 ! 0.1 ! 13.0 ! 13.8 ! 26.8 ! 4.8 ! 3.4 ! 73 Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laird, Rory Living people 1993 births Adelaide Football Club players West Adelaide Football Club players Australian rules footballers from South Australia Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players All-Australians (AFL) Australia international rules football team players Malcolm Blight Medal winners