Scott Thompson (footballer, born 1983)

Scott Thompson (born 14 March 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Melbourne with pick 16 in the 2000 national draft from Port Adelaide in the SANFL, and was traded to Adelaide after the 2004 season.[1] He is currently an assistant coach at the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Scott Thompson
Personal information
Full name Scott Thompson
Nickname(s) Thommo
Date of birth (1983-03-14) 14 March 1983
Place of birth Adelaide, South Australia
Original team(s) North Haven (SAAFL)
Port Adelaide (SANFL)
Draft No. 16, 2000 national draft
Debut Round 10, 2001, Melbourne
vs. St Kilda, at Colonial Stadium
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 86 kg (190 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
20012004 Melbourne 039 0(17)
2005–2017 Adelaide 269 (145)
Total 308 (162)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2008 Australia 1 (2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2016.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2008.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career

Melbourne (20012004)

Thompson debuted with Melbourne in round 10, 2001 as an 18-year-old. After winning the club's Best First Year Player award in 2001, subsequent injuries caused him to struggle to break into the side for the next two years.[2] In 2004 he played every game (barring a one-match suspension for striking) before breaking his foot against Essendon in round 13 and missing the remainder of the year.[3] At the end of the 2004 season, Thompson asked to return to South Australia as his brother was unwell and Adelaide was able to complete a trade, exchanging pick 12 in the national draft.[1]

Adelaide (20052017)

Thompson missed the first game of the 2005 season but played every game from then on for Adelaide, kicking 27 goals for the year. Thompson continued to improve and by 2007 had become arguably one of the elite players in the AFL, averaging almost 25 disposals and 6 marks per game and polling 18 votes in the 2007 Brownlow Medal to finish equal 7th.

Thompson played every game in 2008 and finished third in the Malcolm Blight Medal (Adelaide best and fairest) and for the second year in a row polling the most votes for his club in the Brownlow Medal. Thompson was chosen to play for Australia in the 2008 International Rules Series against Ireland in October 2008 along with teammate Nathan Bock, but was only able to play in the first match due to a leg injury. In the same year, he narrowly avoided a jail term over driving offenses.[4]

After being among Adelaide's best players in a poor 2010 season, Thompson was runner-up to Richard Douglas in the Malcolm Blight Medal for Adelaide's best and fairest player.[5] He went one better the next year, winning the award in a landslide after racking up the second most disposals in the entire competition.[6][7] His season included a 51 disposal game in round 22 against Gold Coast: the second highest amount of disposals in a match by an VFL/AFL player since the recording of statistics, falling two short of Greg Williams' 53 disposals in 1989.[8] Thompson continued to dominate the following season, winning his second consecutive Malcolm Blight Medal and being named in the All-Australian team.[9] He also finished equal fourth in the Brownlow Medal.[7]

Thompson continued to be an integral part of the Crows' midfield in 2013 and 2014, ranking near the top at the club for disposals (1st and 3rd), clearances (1st and 2nd) and tackles (1st and 3rd). He played his 250th AFL match against Greater Western Sydney in round 5, 2014. In round 20 he was forced out of the side due to injury after having played 99 consecutive games for the club. Thompson missed the opening two rounds in 2015, but rebounded to remain one of Adelaide's best midfielders, averaging 26.7 disposals and finishing seventh in Adelaide's club champion award.[7] He also won the Phillip Walsh Medal in Adelaide's defeat of Port Adelaide in round 16, two weeks after the death of Adelaide coach Phil Walsh.[10]

Thompson played 22 matches in 2016, including 300th AFL match in July 2016, in an Adelaide victory over Collingwood.[11] He continued to perform consistently, averaging 24 disposals per game and leading the club in clearances and centre clearances.[7] He signed a new one-year contract at the end of the season, with the understanding that his role would include some coaching responsibilities as well as playing.[12]

Coach Don Pyke flagged the possibility of a new role for Thompson across half-back during the 2017 season.[13] Thompson was not selected in the senior side until Round 16 against the Western Bulldogs, and he was only able to get 10 possessions for the match.[14] He announced his retirement from AFL a few weeks later, planning to play out the rest of the season in Adelaide's SANFL side.[15] At the end of the season he won Adelaide's State League Club Champion as the best player in Adelaide's reserves team. He won it by a single vote over Tom Doedee.[16]

Coaching career

In November 2017, Scott Thompson was announced as an assistant coach in a midfield develop role for the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Statistics

[17]
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
2001 Melbourne 69215127781980.20.15.73.08.72.10.9
2002 Melbourne 652133164915110.40.26.63.29.83.02.2
2003 Melbourne 61353828416634320.40.26.36.512.82.62.5
2004 Melbourne 612841167218856460.70.39.76.015.74.73.8
2005 Adelaide 5242717267166433107961.10.711.16.918.04.54.0
2006 Adelaide 5232210280191471135861.00.412.28.320.55.93.7
2007 Adelaide 52316163092715801321010.70.713.411.825.25.74.4
2008 Adelaide 52316103022545561141090.70.413.111.024.25.04.7
2009 Adelaide 5231110253352605114990.50.411.015.326.35.04.3
2010 Adelaide 521129276261537841000.60.413.112.425.64.04.8
2011 Adelaide 52286343330673941190.40.315.615.030.64.35.4
2012 Adelaide 52510154103277371081190.40.616.413.129.54.34.8
2013 Adelaide 52289293250543951080.40.413.311.424.74.34.9
2014 Adelaide 5193725726251969860.20.413.513.827.33.64.5
2015 Adelaide 52184248313561691270.40.211.814.926.73.36.0
2016 Adelaide 52243256271527721580.20.111.612.324.03.37.2
2017 Adelaide 51005510150.00.05.05.010.01.05.0
Career 308 162 125 3781 3452 7233 1318 1410 0.5 0.4 12.3 11.2 23.5 4.3 4.6

References

  1. Lovett, Michael, ed. (2005). AFL Record Guide to Season 2005. AFL Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 0-9580300-6-5.
  2. "Demonwiki - Scott Thompson". Demonwiki.org.
  3. "AFANA Footy News". AFANA.com.
  4. Fewster, Sean (8 July 2008). "Suspended jail term for Adelaide Crows midfielder Scott Thompson". The Advertiser.
  5. Rucci, Michelangelo (4 September 2010). "Richard Douglas wins Malcolm Blight Medal as Adelaide best and fairest". The Advertiser.
  6. Rucci, Michelangelo (10 September 2011). "Sweet but sour victory for Scott". The Advertiser.
  7. "Scott Thompson - AFC.com.au". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club.
  8. Hamilton, Andrew (21 August 2011). "Adelaide Crows midfielder Scott Thompson racks up 51 disposals as Suns go down". Sunday Mail (QLD).
  9. "Adelaide midfielder Scott Thompson caps sensational season, winning Crows best and fairest". Foxsports.com.au. Fox Sports. 5 October 2012.
  10. Homfray, Reece (19 July 2015). "Terrific Scott Thompson 'honoured' by Phillip Walsh Medal win in Showdown 39". The Advertiser.
  11. Laughton, Max (21 July 2016). "Collingwood let down Scott Thompson by not paying tribute to his 300th game says Kane Cornes". FoxSports.com.au. Fox Sports. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  12. Rucci, Michelangelo (6 October 2016). "Veteran Crows midfielder Scott Thompson starts his coaching apprenticeship in swansong AFL season at Adelaide". The Advertiser.
  13. Fjeldstad, Jesper (21 December 2016). "Adelaide Crows veteran Scott Thompson looks to relish new role across half back". The Advertiser.
  14. Gaskin, Lee (7 July 2017). "Big finish another step in Crow 'evolution'". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  15. Harrington, Anna (25 July 2017). "Adelaide veteran Scott Thompson announces his retirement at the end of the season". foxsports.com.au. Fox Sports. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  16. Phillips, Max (6 October 2017). "Thompson's final salute". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  17. "AFL Tables - Scott Thompson statistics". AFL Tables.
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