Rory Laird

Rory Laird
Laird playing for Adelaide in June 2019
Personal information
Full name	Rory Laird
Nickname(s)	Desk
Date of birth	(1993-12-29) 29 December 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	South Australia
Original team(s)	Kenilworth (SAAFL) West Adelaide (SANFL)
Draft	No. 5, 2011 rookie draft
Debut	Round 4, 2013, Adelaide  vs. Western Bulldogs, at AAMI Stadium
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	78 kg (172 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Adelaide
Number	29
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2013–	Adelaide	247 (30)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2020	All Stars	1 (0)
International team honours
2017	Australia	2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
3x Malcolm Blight Medal: 2018, 2021, 2022 2× All-Australian team: 2017, 2018 2× 22under22 team: 2015, 2016 2013 AFL Rising Star nominee
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Rory Laird (born 29 December 1993) is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Adelaide with pick 5 in the 2011 Rookie Draft.

AFL career

In his first season in the AFL, Laird did not play for Adelaide. He played 18 consecutive games for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), including three finals, but was dropped from the team that played in the SANFL Grand Final. ^[1]

The Crows elevated Laird to the senior list as a replacement for the injured Sam Shaw in April 2013, and he made his AFL debut against the Western Bulldogs in round 4 of the season. ^[2] He immediately became a regular in the side, missing only one further game in the season through injury, and averaging 18.5 disposals per game as a small defender. ^[3] Laird received the Round 20 nomination for the 2013 AFL Rising Star award, following a 24-possession game against North Melbourne, and signed a two-year contract with the club in the same week. ^[4] Laird played 16 games in 2014 despite injury issues, playing in defence and occasionally in the midfield. He was dropped to the SANFL late in the season but responded with a 42-possession game to earn a recall. ^[3]

Laird had a breakout year in 2015, playing every game and averaging 24.4 disposals in defence while blanketing his opponents, which earned him a place on the 40-man shortlist for the All-Australian team. ^[3] During the year, he signed a three-year contract extension with the club. ^[5] In 2016, he was named in the 40-man All-Australian squad but did not make the team. He improved even more on his form in 2017, starting the season with a 40-possession game against Greater Western Sydney. ^[6] His form continued to stay at an elite level throughout the season, including a 34-possession game against St Kilda in Round 12. ^[7] His consistency was reward with both All-Australian selection and being nominated by his team for the AFL Players' Association MVP Award. ^[8]

In 2018, Laird won the Malcolm Blight Medal as the Crows' Best and Fairest player. ^[9] He was also selected in the All-Australian team for the second season in a row. ^[10]

In March 2021, Laird signed a five-year contract extension with the Crows. ^[11]

Personal life

Laird grew up in the suburb of Eden Hills, South Australia. ^[12] He attended Scotch College, Adelaide, ^{[13] [14] [15] [16] [17]} where he was coached by Brownlow Medalist Gavin Wanganeen. ^[14]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to end of Round 23 2024 ^[18]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks
†	Led the league for  the season

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)							Votes
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2013	Adelaide	46	18	1	2	180	153	333	74	51	0.1	0.1	10.0	8.5	18.5	4.1	2.8	0
2014	Adelaide	29	16	2	2	126	129	255	65	37	0.1	0.1	7.9	8.1	15.9	4.1	2.3	0
2015	Adelaide	29	23	2	4	289	273	562	133	58	0.1	0.2	12.6	11.9	24.4	5.8	2.5	2
2016	Adelaide	29	19	1	1	251	270	521	127	40	0.1	0.1	13.2	14.2	27.4	6.7	2.1	11
2017	Adelaide	29	25	3	1	367	369	736	143	55	0.1	0.0	14.7	14.8	29.4	5.7	2.2	9
2018	Adelaide	29	20	3	4	319	325	644	124	43	0.2	0.2	16.0	16.3	32.2	6.2	2.2	19
2019	Adelaide	29	22	0	1	322	301	623	125	47	0.0	0.0	14.6	13.7	28.3	5.7	2.1	2
2020 [a]	Adelaide	29	17	3	1	186	203	389	46	70	0.2	0.1	10.9	11.9	22.9	2.7	4.1	4
2021	Adelaide	29	22	3	8	314	390	704	82	130	0.1	0.4	14.3	17.8	32.0	3.7	5.9	16
2022	Adelaide	29	20	7	8	284	375	659	53	162	0.3	0.4	14.2	18.8†	33.0†	2.6	8.1	10
2023	Adelaide	29	22	3	10	262	375	637	67	175	0.1	0.5	11.9	17.0	28.9	3.0	7.9	20
2024	Adelaide	29	23	2	5	271	364	635	83	132	0.1	0.2	11.8	15.8	27.6	3.6	5.7	7
Career			247	30	47	3171	3527	6698	1122	1000	0.1	0.1	12.8	14.3	27.1	4.5	4.0	73

Notes

1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

1. Capel, Andrew (18 July 2013). "Grand final omission helped fuel resolve for Rory Laird". The Advertiser.
2. Gill, Katrina (19 April 2013). "Laird to debut against Dogs". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
3. "Rory Laird – AFC.com.au". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club.
4. Thring, Harry (13 August 2013). "Young Crow's smooth transition". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
5. Homfray, Reece (22 June 2015). "Rory Laird re-signs with Adelaide until the end of the 2018 season". The Advertiser.
6. Gaskin, Lee (26 March 2017). "Five talking points: Adelaide v Greater Western Sydney". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
7. Gaskin, Lee (9 June 2017). "Match report: Ruthless Crows crush Saints". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
8. McNicholas, Aiden (8 September 2017). "AFLPA MVP nominees announced". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
9. Fjeldstad, Jesper, "All-Australian defender Rory Laird takes out first Malcolm Blight Medal in a canter.", The Advertiser, August 31, 2018.
10. Turner, Kieron, "Rory Laird earns All Australian honours", afc.com.au, August 29, 2018.
11. "Laird Signs On", Adelaide Football Club, Mar 4, 2021.
12. The Blackwood Times , April 2017, p. 1.
13. Gill, Katrina (10 November 2016). "Recruiting Files: Laird". afc.com.au. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
14. Porter, Ashley (13 April 2017). "Rory Laird, the rising Adelaide Crow who was nearly an Essendon Bomber". The Age. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
15. Holderhead, Sheradyn (28 January 2011). "Scotch siblings make a neat double". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
16. Capel, Andrew (19 July 2013). "Laird lets footy to the talking". Herald Sun. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
17. Walsh, Scott (28 May 2014). "Laird stumped by Crow wobbles". NewsComAu. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
18. "AFL Tables – Rory Laird statistics". AFL Tables.

External links

• Rory Laird's profile on the official website of the Adelaide Football Club
• Rory Laird's playing statistics from AFL Tables