Trent Aaron Cooper (born 19 June 1974) is a former
Australian rules footballer and coach. Cooper was the senior coach of
Fremantle Football Club in the
AFL Women's (AFLW) for five seasons before departing the club in November 2022 after not being offered a new contract.
Playing career
Cooper played in the
West Australian Football League for
Peel Thunder in 1997 and 1998, and then for one season with
Swan Districts
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 1999. Cooper played a total of 16 league games and 7 goals over three seasons.
Coaching career
Cooper was announced as Fremantle's coach in June 2018, replacing the Dockers' inaugural AFLW coach,
Michelle Cowan.
After Fremantle went through the shortened
2020 AFLW season undefeated, Cooper was awarded the
AFL Coaches Association
The AFL Coaches Association (AFLCA) is the representative body for Australian Football League coaches.
History
The AFLCA was founded in 2002, and as of 2015 had 178 members. Every year annually since 2003, the AFLCA has released a set of awards ...
Coach of the Year award.
In his five seasons in charge, Cooper took Fremantle to the finals on four occasions. He was axed by the club in November 2022 after the conclusion of the AFLW's seventh season. In the days following, Cooper described his departure as an "unpopular decision" and reiterated that he disagreed with the call.
Less than a month after leaving Fremantle, Cooper was hired by the
West Australian Football Commission
The West Australian Football Commission is the governing body of Australian rules football in the state of Western Australia.
Operations
The WAFC was formed in 1989 to manage the sport in Western Australia. The commission is registered as a not-f ...
in a youth development coaching role.
Personal life
Outside of football, Cooper is a high school maths teacher, having taught at
Wesley College and
Chisholm Catholic College.
References
External links
Get to know Trent Cooper Today Tonight (21 February 2019)
Living people
1974 births
Australian rules footballers from Western Australia
Swan Districts Football Club players
Peel Thunder Football Club players
AFL Women's coaches
Fremantle Football Club coaches
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