Tony Wayne Francis (born 1 April 1969 in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

) is a former

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 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 ...

. Francis attended Campbelltown High School and first played senior football in the

SANFL 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 ...

with the

Norwood Football Club Norwood Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club competing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in the state of South Australia. Its home ground is Coopers Stadium (Norwood Oval), which i ...

, debuting in 1988. After two seasons with the club, he was recruited by AFL side Collingwood, where he made his debut in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Career peak

On his AFL debut, which was also his 21st birthday, Francis was suspended for 6 weeks due to a kicking incident.Full Points Footy
/ref> When he returned, he still showed his trademark aggression, as well as discipline and was an important member of Collingwood's 1990 premiership side. In 1991, Francis improved further, with a major asset being bursts of pace and an ability to win the ball from tight pack situations. This form saw him take out 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 ...

and earn a spot in 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 ...

. 1992 saw

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problems for Francis, but he still enjoyed a solid season.

Later career

Following this, Francis continued to suffer injuries, such as the thigh and knee problems that hampered him in 1995. He showed better signs, however, when he finished 3rd in the 1996 Copeland Trophy award. 1997 saw a groin injury restrict him to 10 games, and he again managed only 10 matches in the 1998 campaign. Collingwood had enough, and Francis was sent to the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club ...

for one last season in 1999. Francis enjoyed solid form as a tough rover, and played 19 matches (although the Saints' second half of the season saw them miss the finals). Soon after, Francis announced his retirement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Tony 1969 births Living people All-Australians (AFL) Collingwood Football Club players Collingwood Football Club Premiership players Copeland Trophy winners Norwood Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Australian rules footballers from South Australia One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players