Sam Lonergan

Sam Lonergan (born 26 March 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted from the Launceston Football Club, via the Tassie Mariners U18s and the Tasmanian Devils, with selection 50 in the 2005 Draft.

Sam Lonergan
Personal information
Full name Sam Lonergan
Date of birth (1987-03-26) 26 March 1987
Place of birth Launceston, Tasmania
Original team(s) Launceston (TSL)
Tassie Mariners (TAC Cup)
Tasmanian Devils (VFL)
Draft 50th overall, 2005
Essendon
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 81 kg (179 lb)
Position(s) Forward/Midfielder
Club information
Current club Launceston
Number 14
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2006–2012 Essendon 79 (39)
2013 Richmond 02 0(0)
Total 81 (39)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2013.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Lonergan captained the Allies (a composite team drawn from Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory), against Victoria during Grand Final week. In that game, he kicked five goals and was the leading possession winner on the ground. He also became the first player in the history of the Tassie Mariners U18s to win successive best and fairest awards. He also played eight games in 2005 for the Tasmanian Devils Football Club in the VFL competition.

Lonergan was chosen as Tasmania's most valuable player at the under-18 championships in 2005, and won the Tassie Mariners U18 Best & Fairest award that same year. He was also chosen in the under-18 All-Australian side.

After a 2012 season where he played 14 games and infamously broke the shoulder blade of Andrew Carrazzo; he was delisted by the Essendon Football Club on 30 October 2012. [1]

Lonergan was picked up by Richmond in the 2012 Rookie draft, played two games for the club in 2013 and retired at the end of that year.[2] Lonergan also supported Richmond while growing up.

In October 2015, Sam was appointed Senior Playing Coach of the Launceston Football Club returning to his home state and his junior club, where he played the majority of his junior football. Sam's original junior club - Tamar Cats - were based near his home town of Beauty Point.

Lonergan, along with 33 other Essendon players, was found guilty of using a banned performance-enhancing substance, thymosin beta-4, as part of Essendon's sports supplements program during the 2012 season. He and his teammates were initially found not guilty in March 2015 by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal,[3] but a guilty verdict was returned in January 2016 after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire 2016 TSL season.[4] He returned to Launceston as playing coach after his suspension.

In 2020 Lonergan became an assistant coach at the Richmond Football Club focusing on midfield development for 1-4 year players.

He is the uncle of Gold Coast's Jesse Lonergan.

Statistics
Statistics are correct to end of 2012 season[5]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2006 Essendon36100224150.00.02.02.04.01.05.0
2007 Essendon36000000000000000
2008 Essendon36199613414928341730.50.37.07.814.92.23.8
2009 Essendon1417101110314324657620.60.66.18.414.53.43.6
2010 Essendon141610710713424131680.60.46.78.415.11.94.2
2011 Essendon1412411258521020390.30.110.47.117.51.73.2
2012 Essendon14146210710321029740.40.17.67.415.02.15.3
Career 79 39 27 578 616 1194 179 321 0.5 0.3 7.3 7.8 15.1 2.3 4.1

References
  1. "Bombers Axe Two". AFL. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  2. "Richmond list changes - richmondfc.com.au". 30 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  3. Twomey, Callum (31 March 2015). "Thirty-four present and former Bombers cleared of all drug charges". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. Travis King (12 January 2016). "Guilty: court bans the Essendon 34 for 2016". Australian Football League. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  5. "Sam Lonergan statistics". AFL Tables. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
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