Greg Stafford (footballer)

Last updated

Greg Stafford
Personal information
Date of birth (1974-08-27) 27 August 1974 (age 47)
Original team(s) Western Suburbs Magpies (Sydney AFL)
Debut Round 4, 18 April 1993, Sydney Swans
vs.  Essendon, at SCG
Height 203 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Weight 105 kg (231 lb)
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
1993–2001 Sydney Swans 130 0(58)
2002–2006 Richmond 074 0(83)
Total204 (141)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2006.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Gregory Stafford (born 27 August 1974) is an Australian retired professional Australian rules football player who played for the Sydney Swans and the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League.

Contents

Playing Record

Having grown up in Ashbury, New South Wales, Stafford played senior football with the Western Suburbs Australian Football Club (Magpies) in the Sydney Football League. After a few seasons in his local competition, talent scouts realised the potential of the big ruckman who could also kick goals.

AFL career

He was recruited by the Sydney Swans from the local Sydney Football League as a rookie outside of the draft. Stafford created much publicity at the time as one of the first Sydneysiders to reach AFL level when he made his first senior appearance with the Swans. Inconsistency and injury eventually saw him traded to the Richmond Football Club, who were looking to strengthen their ruck division. In a career without too many accolades, Stafford has been consistent, tough and hard-working in the ruck for both the Tigers and the Swans. He announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2006 season, before the Round 22 match against West Coast. Stafford booted 3 goals in his farewell game, having played 204 AFL matches.

Greg played in the 2007 Asian Australian Football Championships for the China Reds.

Greg is now the forward coach at the Melbourne Football Club

Stalked by a fan

In 2002, one of the more bizarre moments in AFL history, a crazed fan ran onto the field during a game and attempted to touch Stafford. It was later revealed that the woman had been stalking him for five years and was quoted as saying "I am not guilty of stalking Greg ... I am guilty of loving Greg." [1]

Related Research Articles

Kevin Sheedy (Australian footballer) Australian rules footballer, born 1947

Kevin John Sheedy AO is a former Australian rules football coach and player in the Australian Football League. He played and coached in a combined total of 929 games over 47 years from 1967 until 2013, which is a VFL/AFL record. Sheedy was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and on the 29th of May 2018 was elevated to legend status.

Gregory Donald Williams is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Geelong, the Sydney Swans and Carlton in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. A midfielder, he is a dual Brownlow Medal winner and at his peak was the then highest-paid player in the history of the sport. He was also a very controversial player throughout his career, and was involved in a variety of scandals throughout the 1990s.

Leon Cameron Australian rules footballer, born 1972

Leon Cameron is a former Australian rules footballer who is the senior coach of the Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS) in the Australian Football League (AFL). His AFL playing career lasted from 1990 to 2003 and included 256 senior games – 172 for the Western Bulldogs and 84 for Richmond.

Paddy Ryder Australian rules footballer

Patrick Ryder is an Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Formerly playing for Essendon and Port Adelaide, he was traded to St Kilda after the 2019 season. Ryder has notable speed, agility and leap for someone of his size and it is these attributes that had his first AFL coach in Kevin Sheedy compare him to Indigenous Australian rules football star Graham "Polly" Farmer. Ryder's father, Revis Ryder, played football for East Fremantle.

Andrew James Krakouer is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Daniel Connors is an Australian rules footballer who was selected at number 58 overall in the 2006 AFL national draft by the Richmond Football Club. Originally from the Echuca Football Club, he played for Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup and was named in the 2006 TAC Cup Team of the Year and the All-Australian team after representing Victoria Country at the National Under 18 Championships. Daniel Connors was considered a "steal" from the 2006 National Draft as many touted him as a possible top 20 pick but slipped down to the 58th selection where Richmond selected him with their third selection.

Jesse White (footballer) Australian rules footballer

Jesse Jackson White is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for SANFL club Glenelg Football Club and formerly for the Sydney Swans and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Sydney Swans with pick 79 in the 2006 national draft.

Nick Daffy is a former Australian rules football player who played in the AFL between 1992 and 2001 for the Richmond Football Club and then played one game in 2002 for the Sydney Swans Football Club.

Michael Anthony Patrick Pyke is a Canadian retired dual-code football player, who was a professional Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans.

Ivan Maric is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club and the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was Richmond's vice-captain in 2015 and 2016. In 2017 he began working as a ruck coach at Richmond.

Greater Western Sydney Giants

The Greater Western Sydney Football Club, nicknamed the Giants, and commonly referred to as the GWS Giants or simply GWS, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales and Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

Nic Naitanui Australian rules footballer

Nicholas Mark Naitanui is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was born in Sydney to Fijian parents, and his family moved to Perth, Western Australia after his father's death. Growing up in Midvale, Naitanui attended Governor Stirling Senior High School, and played football for the Midvale Junior Football Club. After representing Western Australia in the 2007 and 2008 AFL Under 18 Championships, he debuted in 2008 for the Swan Districts Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Naitanui was drafted by West Coast with the second pick in the 2008 National Draft.

Robin Nahas Australian rules footballer

Robin Nahas is a professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club and the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Jonathan Giles Australian rules footballer

Jonathan Giles is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants, Essendon Football Club and West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was listed with the Port Adelaide Football Club from 2006 to 2009, but did not play a senior game for the club. He returned to the AFL with expansion club Greater Western Sydney, making his debut in round of the 2012 season. Giles moved on to Essendon for the 2015 season, and then spent two years with West Coast before retiring due to a degenerative knee condition. In total, he played 63 AFL games.

2013 AFL season

The 2013 Australian Football League season was the 117th season of the elite Australian rules football competition and the 24th under the name 'Australian Football League', having switched from 'Victorian Football League' after 1989.

Toby Nankervis Australian professional rules footballer

Toby Nankervis is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 12 matches for the Sydney Swans from 2014 to 2016 after being drafted by the club with the 35th pick in the 2013 AFL national draft. Nankervis is a three-time premiership player with Richmond, winning in 2017, 2019 and 2020.

Mabior Chol Australian rules footballer

Mabior Chol is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL), having formerly played for the Richmond Football Club. He was drafted by Richmond in the 2016 rookie draft and made his debut in round 23, 2016. Chol was delisted by the club in 2018 before being immediately re-rookied in the 2019 rookie draft. In 2019 Chol won a VFL premiership while playing with the Richmond reserves side. Chol moved from Richmond to Gold Coast as a free agent in October 2021.

Dan Butler (Australian footballer) Australian rules footballer (born 1996)

Daniel Butler is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 45 matches over a five-year tenure at Richmond, after being drafted by the club in the fourth round of the 2014 AFL national draft. He made his debut in round 1 of the 2017 season and became an AFL premiership player that same year. In 2019 he won a VFL premiership while playing for Richmond's reserves side. At the end of the 2019 season he was traded to St Kilda in exchange for a late third-round draft selection. In his first year at St Kilda, he led the club's goalkicking tally, placed second in the best and fairest and was nominated to the extended All-Australian squad.

Ivan Soldo Australian rules footballer

Ivan Soldo is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the cousin of former Richmond ruck Ivan Maric. Soldo set the AFL record for most hit-outs in a debut game during his first match in 2017. In 2019 he became an AFL premiership player with Richmond.

Tyson Stengle Australian rules footballer

Tyson Stengle is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Geelong Cats in the Australian Football League (AFL). Stengle played junior representative football with Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL and represented South Australia at national championships at under 18 level. He was drafted by the Richmond Tigers in the 2017 rookie draft, made his AFL debut in round 15, 2017 and was traded to the Adelaide Crows in the 2018 trade period. Stengle will reignite his AFL career in 2022, joining the Geelong Cats as part of the 2021 trade period.

References

  1. When fans turn fanatic - smh.com.au