Ross Funcke (born 16 November 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Richmond career

Funcke was recruited to the Richmond Tigers in the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

AFL Draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League (AFL). History W ...

. Touted as a half-back player, he fulfilled that role for the Tigers, though not too impressively. At the end of the 1999 season Richmond delisted the then 21-year-old Funcke. It seemed that would be the end of his AFL career, but it was not.

Melbourne career

In 2000 Funcke played in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) with the North Ballarat Roosters and surprisingly was picked up by the Melbourne Football Club and given a lifeline at AFL level. By that time, Funcke was a tagger/ run-with player and he was utilised accordingly in his debut season with Melbourne in 2001. After playing the first game in Round 1, 2001, he did not return to the side until Round 19, but performed solidly when he returned, and was impressive in Melbourne's Round 20 win over Sydney. He was retained in the side for the rest of the season, but in 2002 he had a poor year and was finally delisted.

Post-AFL career

Funcke carved out a career with the

Port Adelaide Magpies Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed the Power, whilst its reserves ...

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 t ...

(SANFL) once his AFL career ended, and he became a valuable player for the club. Personal issues forced him home during the 2005 season. In 2006, Funcke has signed on as a player-coach with

Donald Football Club Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

in the

North Central Football League The North Central Football League is an Australian rules football league based in North Central Victoria, Australia. The League was formed in 1930. Previous leagues in the area were the Birchip Football Association (as it was last called until ...

. He married his long-term partner Kellie in October 2006.

External links

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Demon Wiki profile
1977 births Living people Melbourne Football Club players Richmond Football Club players Port Adelaide Magpies players North Ballarat Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Greater Western Victoria Rebels players {{AFL-bio-1970s-stub